Lumia from the Etelä-Tapiolan lukio general upper secondary school: Combining sports with upper secondary school is easy

Lumia Maasalo, a second-year student at the Etelä-Tapiolan lukio general upper secondary school, smoothly combines competitive synchronised skating with her studies. She wanted her time at upper secondary school to be about more than just sports. She particularly appreciates her school’s great atmosphere, new friends and the opportunity to tailor her studies flexibly.

Lumia Maasalo is a second-year student at the Etelä-Tapiolan lukio general upper secondary school, commonly known as Etis. In the ninth grade, she heard that Etis is a great school with good teachers. Lumia attended an open day: “The facilities, atmosphere and people seemed nice.” The commute from Jupperi was long, but that didn’t bother Lumia, as she enjoyed quiet mornings before the rest of the family woke up. Now in her second year, she drives to school in her own car, having received her driving licence under a special exemption.

For Lumia, the best thing about the Etelä-Tapiolan lukio general upper secondary school is the people. “It’s easy to get to know new people here because everyone is so open and welcoming,” she explains. Her homeroom group bonded quickly within just a couple of days at the start of upper secondary school.

This school year, Lumia is serving as a tutor. When tutors were being recruited, the study and careers adviser messaged Lumia saying she would make a great tutor. “I wanted to join in myself because I wanted to get involved, meet new people and make new friends,” Lumia explains.

Lumia also thinks the teachers at the upper secondary school are wonderful. Her favourite subjects are German, Swedish and social studies. She praises Timo, her social studies teacher: “Timo is truly passionate about the subject he teaches. He tells jokes and gets students involved in the lessons.” Lumia says languages are her thing. They open doors to studying abroad, for example. Even in her free time, Lumia improves her German by following German-language media and listening to German music.

Because of her synchronised skating, Lumia plans to complete upper secondary school in four years. She skates for the Valley Bay Synchro team representing Espoon Jäätaiturit. She has been skating for 13 to 14 years now, ever since she was a little girl. And success has followed, including a silver medal at the World Junior Championships last spring. Lumia also holds a Finnish championship title.

According to Lumia, combining studies and skating works well: “The great thing about upper secondary school is that you get to plan your studies yourself. During the competition season, you can take fewer classes. Absences don’t matter as long as you take care of your studies.” Lumia uses her free periods to do school assignments. She doesn’t feel that sports have affected her academic success.

Despite being an active athlete, Lumia did not want to apply for a specialised sports line in upper secondary school. She wanted to keep her studies and sport separate. Lumia speaks of a synchronised skating “bubble”: on a sports line, there would be athletes from the same sport and even the same team, meaning student life would still revolve around skating. “I wanted to see more of the world than just sport. Besides, sport is unpredictable. If I got injured and had to give up sport, on a sports line I’d still be stuck in that same world,” Lumia points out.

After upper secondary school, Lumia has considered applying to study business, as she is interested in economics and society. She talks with her parents almost daily about topics such as investing and politics. “It would be lovely to go to a German-speaking country for further studies,” Lumia says.

Lumia advises ninth-graders to apply after comprehensive education for whatever truly interests them and where they genuinely want to go, rather than just following friends. “If you’re worried about friends, going to an upper secondary school that genuinely interests you means you’ll find like-minded people and make friends easily.”