Summer is here. There are many reasons to love summer: the warmth, the vacation (to those who have it anyway), and many more. But we all know there is one part of summer that beats everything else. That’s right, I’m talking about the annual NESU Kesämöksä! During this traditional event, the new board of NESU Finland is chosen.
As our NESU Finland board of ’21-’22 is looking forward to seeing who will succeed us, it’s also a great time to take a look back at our previous year and recap all the memories gained, skills learned and friends made. And if you’re interested in applying to the board yourself, this is a prime chance to hear what this year can be like. Without further ado, here’s what our board members have to say about the past year or so.
Seela Suhonen
Country Representative
Hello and happy summer dear nesuits! To be honest, I cannot believe that I am already 1) talking about summer and 2) talking about summer and the past year in the NESU Finland board 2021-2022 to you, already. However, compared to last year’s board posts, I couldn’t be happier that we are here discussing all the wonderful events of the past academic year we have attended and the comeback of the Finnish student culture. Not for a single moment have I regretted taking one more year of being an active board member as the Chairperson and Country representative of the board and next I’m going to share some of my favorite things from the past year as well as share why YOU should apply for the next board, especially as the next Country rep!
First of all, the most important thing (after saying goodbye to restrictions) this year has been my dear friends on the board. Without the great group dynamics, enthusiastic and quick-minded people, and shared will of being part of the new and better NESU this year, this year would have not been as meaningful as it was to me or to anyone who has been seeing us and possibly worked with us. To share some highlights, this year NESU Finland initiated the new songbook and we got ourselves a fantastic team to create us more inclusive, funnier, and simply better book to sing with from the next autumn onwards. I already know everyone will be so proud of you, biggest thank you Aino, Valerius, Samuel, Janina, Elias, and Daði for your hard work and dedication! Relevantly, we also finally named our harassment contact people to contribute to safer student events. In addition, we visited dozens of Sitz parties, organized the legendary Wappurundi, and met great nesuits and board members, as if there had never been a two-year break. Lastly, we finally got our NESU Conferences back and many of us got to experience some of the greatest memories of our time either in Lappeenranta or Tallinn or in both. When it comes to the NESU Finland board at least, we had full representation during both the weeks and we had a blast, especially with the many new faces who got introduced to the true spirit of NESU!
Regardless of the great things we have had during the past year, I still believe next year will be even greater than this as we get a full year of LIVE events and for example, ITÄ-SUOMEN RUNDI does a comeback! In other words, being a board member of NESU Finland next year is more than recommended, and if you’re even thinking about it. do it. Next year’s board members get to see NESU grow from the first-row seats in addition to attending for example the famous 35/75 celebration for NESU’s 75th year and NESU-KY’s 35th year. The only thing both board members and the next chair of the board need are excitement, motivation, and the true spirit of NESU to develop this dear organization even further.
I am so excited to meet you all at the NESU SUMMER COTTAGE at the beginning of July and am more than eager to see which great people get to experience the board year next year. Thank you to everyone for this year and see you soon!
BR,
Seela
Miro Helminen
Project Coordinator
It was pretty clear for me that I was going to relentlessly try to get into the NESU Finland board quite some time ago already. After not getting in at the 2020 Kesämöksä I was ready to go again in 2021 and what a year it would shape up to be! Luckily we got to do much of the “normal” stuff during our year in the board, including the long-awaited return of Wappurundi which, of course is especially close to my heart. I could not be happier to have experienced this ride with my dear friends. If I was asked to describe how I feel about our year in the board coming to an end the first thing that comes to mind is something along the lines of “Huh, already?!”
As for the Project coordinator position the obvious crown jewels are getting to organize Wappurundi and Itä-Suomen rundi, that is now finally getting its resurrection next autumn. That in mind, for a person to do a good job at this position it would be great to have a good amount of interest towards these events and some fresh new ideas would also not hurt. But do not fret, you are not going to be lone wolfing the process of organizing these events as the other board members, past organizers and such will surely be glad to give their opinions if asked. These two events are the bulk of the task-specific work, and most of the other work is going to be the usual things that every board member takes part in (meetings, representing NESU Finland, having fun etc.)
I can warmly recommend the Finski-board to anyone who has ever even slightly entertained the thought of wanting to apply. During the year you are guaranteed to have great times with amazing people and get to experience NESU in a way that might be slightly different compared to your past experiences. The workload of a board member is very much manageable without hurting your studies or professional life and still, at least for me, this has been the most rewarding of all my past times of being in different positions within student organizations.
That is all for me for now, but if you have any questions about the NESU Finland board or applying or my position feel free to hit me up.
Ciao and see you at Kesämöksä!
Simo Halme
Webmaster
A year ago, when a friend suggested I should apply for NESU Finland’s board, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I must say, even now, almost a year later I find this experience difficult to put in words. The year has been so full of surprises, joys, and challenges, that I don’t think I could’ve managed if it wasn’t for our incredible board. Even if we had our individual responsibilities based on our posts, this was truly a team effort. In every challenge I knew I could count on them, and in every joy, they were right there sharing it with me.
So, if you’re thinking about applying to NESU Finland, I have one advice to you: Do it. If you’re wondering whether or not you should apply to be the Webmaster? Well, that depends. All I can say for sure is that the role you pick might shape your experience in the board. So how was it being the Webmäster?
During this year I’ve had the chance to both learn something new and apply the things I’ve learned before. As your friendly neighbourhood Webman I have had the opportunity to work with Communication coordinators of different NESU organizations. I got to write a few things (which I love), and learn some new technical skills, like WordPress. This was a fun post, as I got to be creative, have some fun, communicate with people, all while enjoying the top-notch events organized by our lovely cities around Finland (and Estonia <3).
Now that the year is closing its end, all I feel is great gratitude. I have received a lot from this community, and it felt fitting to get a chance to give a little back. As I said in the beginning, words can hardly describe the time I had here. So, let’s try numbers. Simo’s year in Finski, by numbers:
Nineteen sits parties (damn you Miro!), two conferences, couple of cabins, a few sips, countless memories (retained and lost), five incredible friends, and the single most memorable year of my life.
Yeah. That about sums it up.
See you all at Möksä!
Stay tuned for the second part coming this Sunday!