2019

Making a major life decision is never easy, especially when it involves interrupting your studies and moving to a new country. That’s exactly what I did when we decided to come to Finland during the middle of my studies. At the time, I wasn’t happy with what I was studying and I felt like I needed a change. Looking back, I can confidently say that it was the right decision for me. When I arrived in Finland, I found myself without any clear direction. The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, and everything felt uncertain. After six months of being home and not studying, I decided to take an immigration training course to learn Finnish. Although it didn’t go as well as I had hoped, I was happy to receive some financial support for my efforts. Six more months went by, and I realized that I was ready to take the next step in my education. Unfortunately, I missed the application deadline for many of the universities and universities of applied sciences in the metropolitan area. However, after some searching, I found a program that was still accepting applications. I researched the learning outcomes and decided that it was a good fit for me. Applying to the program was nail-biting. I had been out of school for a year and was worried about how I would do on the admission test and interview. To my relief, I passed both and received an offer to study at the Häme University of Applied Sciences. I was thrilled to accept it, and my family was extremely happy. Now, with three months to go before the start of my studies, I am excited and a little nervous. I’m grateful for the opportunity to pursue a degree that I’m passionate about and eager to see what the future holds. Although the journey to get here wasn’t easy, I know that it was worth it.