Peppi from the sports line of Haukilahden lukio: “Studies in the sports line are flexible”

Finnish baseball player Peppi Korpela is a second-year student in the sports line of the Haukilahden lukio upper secondary school, also known as Jeda. Peppi also plays flag football at the national level. According to Peppi, the school offers excellent opportunities for combining studies and sports.

Peppi Korpela is currently studying her second year in the sports line of Haukilahden lukio. She plays Finnish baseball in the local sports club Espoon Pesis and flag football in the Finnish national team. In fact, the team won bronze in the European Championships in flag football just a week before the interview. Peppi plays Finnish baseball in the women’s Finland series (aiming to advance to the Ykköspesis series) and in the B girls’ team in the Finnish championship league. Peppi’s mother has had a major impact on her choice of sports: “My mom spent her entire youth playing Finnish baseball in the Ykköspesis series and even in the Superpesis league." Peppi herself started playing six years ago. Before that, she had already tried her hand at a variety of other sports, such as ringette.

Peppi chose Haukilahden lukio specifically because of its sports line (and the school is also conveniently close to her home in Espoonlahti). Some of her teammates had previously started studying at Jeda and recommended the school to Peppi.

The sports line offers excellent opportunities for combining school and sports. “Studying is flexible, and the teachers are very understanding,” Peppi says. She is happy that she can participate in morning practices three times a week. Moreover, flexibility is a must during the championship season, as Peppi is more absent than present during the first and last period of the school year. “It is important that the school balances you out through studying, because life is not only about the sports.”

For Peppi, the best thing about upper secondary school has been finding new friends. Not all friends here are athletes; Peppi has also friends who are not involved in any sports. “No matter which course I am taking, I always find friends,” Peppi says happily. According to Peppi, her friends at school are open and talkative.

So far, one of Peppi’s favourite memories from upper secondary school is a team building day in Nuuksio where the students got to spend a night in tents, thanks to their tutors. Now Peppi is a tutor herself, and she is glad that the tutors have a say regarding the contents of the group building trip.

Unfortunately, playing sports has prevented Peppi from participating in some of the student events organised during her time in Haukilahden lukio. However, she is definitely taking part in the seniors’ ball. At this point, many of the students already have their ball dress ready, but Peppi has not yet had time to find one because of baseball. “I’m going to China with my mother, so maybe I will find a nice dress there. I just don’t want to stress about it,” Peppi says.

There has been a lot of public debate about the stressful nature of upper secondary school and the related performance pressure. Peppi believes that the students themselves have a significant effect on how pressured they feel. She points out that Haukilahden lukio has great tutors and teachers.

Peppi intends to complete upper secondary school in four years to avoid any excessive stress caused by her sports career. Her plan after school is to focus on sports and take a gap year or two. Her dream is to be part of the Finnish national flag football team in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. In Peppi’s own words, joining the national team in flag football was easy for her because the game requires a strong arm (which Finnish baseball players usually have) and courage to chase the ball. If her sports career does not work out, or if she injures herself, Peppi has plans for future studies: “Helping others is important to me. That's why I could apply to study psychology." However, she has not yet settled on any specific field within psychology.