From visual artist to astronaut?

Evelina Berg studies at the Viherlaakson lukio upper secondary school. Her childhood dream job and interest in natural sciences have led her to adjust her studies.

Evelina Berg is a second-year student at the Viherlaakson lukio upper secondary school. Now, she is a peer supporter and has from the beginning of the academic year been involved in the grouping of new students and helping them prepare their own timetables. Evelina applied to Viheri because of its visual arts programme and got in, but in the first year of her studies, everything changed.

From a young age, Evelina has dreamed of becoming an astronaut, and she has always been interested in natural sciences. In upper secondary school, she noticed that she was doing really well at her basic maths courses – she could complete all the exercises during the lesson. Evelina spoke with the school’s student counsellor and told them that she wanted to be challenged – and the student counsellor encouraged her to adjust her studies.

Evelina left the visual arts programme and switched from the basic syllabus to the advanced syllabus in maths. At the same time, advanced physics and chemistry became part of her timetable. “I’ve always told myself that I can’t take advanced maths courses, that I’m not good at maths. Instead, the approach should be that “I can do it”. You can only learn to count by counting,” Evelina says.

She soon noticed that the advanced syllabi of different subjects support each other better than the basic ones. This makes it easier to learn the subjects. Evelina has also noticed that her skills have improved a lot. “My mathematical thinking has improved.”

Evelina has enjoyed her time at the Viherlaakson lukio upper secondary school. “Teachers are the best. This is a smaller-than-average upper secondary school, which probably contributes to our great team spirit,” Evelina says, happy with her choice.

Even though the focus of her studies has changed, she does not need to abandon art completely. It brings balance to the studies. “Even though I’m not in the visual arts programme anymore, I can still take a lot of art classes,” Evelina says.

Even though Evelina is still in the middle of her upper secondary school education, she has already made unforgettable memories: “My top memories are the peer supporter activities, the cake party organised by teacher Petteri Eränkö and the time spent hanging out at the school café.”

Of course, upper secondary school demands a lot from students, but Evelina has managed to have a life outside of school. In addition to going to school, she works 2–3 times a week, 5 hours at a time. Evelina also goes to the gym 4–6 times a week. “I see my friends at school every day and my boyfriend on the weekends. There is time for everything if you are willing to find it!” Evelina says.

Evelina’s plans for her future after upper secondary school are quite clear. In the context of her dream of becoming an astronaut, Evelina will apply to the Lappeenranta–Lahti University of Technology LUT to study nuclear physics and aerodynamics. Or she will apply to medical school. Even though being in Finland makes becoming an astronaut even more difficult than it already is, life is full of surprises and some encounters can push the dream forward.

Evelina invites ninth-graders to apply to study where the possibilities that interest them are. You might not want to just follow your friends. “Dare to aim higher, you can always readjust later.”