Where are you from and what were you doing before enrolling in graduate school? 

I’m all the way from Finland. I’ve been living in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland for almost ten years but originally, I am from the eastern part of Finland. Prior to attending Annenberg, I studied journalism at the University of Tampere and graduated in 2017. I started my career as a journalist already during my studies and I’ve been working for some of the biggest newspapers of Finland since 2013. For the past seven years before moving to LA, I worked for Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest daily newspaper of Finland. Most of that time I’ve been covering pop culture, especially music, movies, TV series, and internet culture. I also have been working for example as a foreign news journalist and a news editor. I’ve written two non-fiction books about the history of Finnish pop culture.

How did you learn of the degree program and why did you choose USC Annenberg? 

There’s a scholarship program for experienced journalists in Finland, run by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation. The foundation grants scholarships for journalists who have at least five years of experience in the field to get more knowledge and learn new skills by studying at one of the best universities of the world. I heard about the opportunity to apply for this scholarship and especially to study journalism focused on arts and culture at USC Annenberg a few years ago. Since then, I’ve known that one day I want to get that scholarship to be able to learn more about the journalism I’m mostly working with and to be able to live in Los Angeles for a year. 

What have you enjoyed the most about the degree program? 

There are so many things so it’s not easy to choose one. However, I have to say that ultimately, the best part of the programs has been the possibility to attend classes that are taught by hugely experienced and well-respected journalists. I’ve learned so much just by attending the classes and listening to our professors telling their insights. There’s an endless number of interesting courses in Annenberg and the biggest challenge is to choose which one you want to take.