What else is she than a tourism student?

Curious to experience

Who is she?

My name is Karoliina, but most people call me Karkki. I’m a tourism student and eager to experience something new all the time. Originally I’m from Joroinen, which is in Southern Savonia, but I’ve lived in a lot of different places, for example in:

• Finland: Kuopio, Tampere and Helsinki
• Spain: Barcelona
• Portugal: Palmela and Funchal

Right now I have settled for a while in Rovaniemi to study Tourism and Hospitality Management at the Lapland University of Applied Sciences. I’m going to graduate this fall and I’m really looking forward for the next chapter in my life after graduation!  

What does she do?

The reason why I chose to study Tourism in Lapland, was that I am always eager to try something completely new. Until that point, I had visited Lapland only once. I never even thought about becoming a tourism student before applying for this degree. I was inspired to apply also partly because of my volunteering job in Portugal, Madeira, where I was a tourist guide who raised money for university students.

Before and during my studies I’ve had an opportunity to take part in many international practices. I have volunteered in Portugal near Lisbon, taken part in many international camps, and been on an exchange in Barcelona in CETT.

Right now I’m doing my advanced training for the student union Rotko. During my training, I’ve had the opportunity to learn and test my skills in practice. I was the project manager for a week-long event “Lapland Opening Week” at the beginning of September and I’m also participating in organizing other events. This training has helped me to see my strengths in the event industry and made me even more certain about my possible future career with events. 

I’ve had an opportunity to work in a lot of different places, and more about the professional side of me you can learn from my Linkedin site. 

What does she expect?

I’ve always loved reading. As a child, I used most of my free time reading books, and it’s still one of my favorite ways to relax and “go on adventures”. Because of my love for books and literature, I’m pretty excited about this study unit. 

I hope I can use the knowledge I already have about literature during this study unit. On the other hand, I hope I’ll learn even more about literary tourism and especially about storification, which is something used in the event industry as well. We are also learning about blogging and how to do it, which is interesting!

Do you read as much as I do, or do you feel it’s more like “a chore”? Let me know!