General upper secondary school graduate Pietari Ojanen: Good memories from general upper secondary school
Pietari Ojanen will graduate from the Etelä-Tapiola general upper secondary school, also known as Etis, on 5 December 2023. In the graduation ceremony, Pietari will give a graduation speech. An effort of three and a half years is now completed: ”This is an important milestone. It will open up new roads and a new direction,” Pietari says.
Pietari has a lot of good memories from the years at Etis. In particular, he remembers the school-leaving festivities and good friends. “There is a group of four of us who have a lot in common. I think we have become friends for life.”
Originally, Pietari decided to apply to Etis because of its good location and successful history – and because friends did, too. For biology and chemistry, Pietari went to Tapiola Upper Secondary School. “Biology teacher Lasse Lindqvist is really very good,” Pietari explains. “He is participatory, and he poses a lot of questions and doesn’t give up. He challenges people to think. Lasse inspired me to also study other subjects.”
In Pietari's opinion, the most important thing that general upper secondary education has taught him is the thirst for knowledge, the will to learn and ask questions. “Upper secondary school represents academic values and education.”
Work and reading
Pietari worked throughout his studies at Etis. At the moment, he works at the K-market of Ainoa shopping centre. “At work, I meet new kinds of people and see different work opportunities. Working didn't prevent me from studying at all. Before the matriculation examination, I took a couple of months off from work and concentrated on reading.”
In addition to work and studies, Pietari has also found time for hobbies. He plays the guitar, goes to the gym and goes running. He also mentions reading as an important hobby. He originally found reading through the Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings books. “I like reading books a lot. Reading is a good alternative to browsing TikTok or something like that before going to bed,” Pietari says.
“Reading books develops your vocabulary, enables you to live new lives and gives you opportunities to identify with different kinds of people. I read several books at the same time and I keep jumping from one book to the other. I read one book for half an hour and then start reading another one. I read all kind of books; philosophy, fiction and self-help books, for example.”
To study medicine directly after the matriculation examination
The new graduate already has plans for the future. Pietari was admitted to study medicine based on his grades. “I had big expectations and a lot of motivation regarding studies. I was already thinking about studying medicine before upper secondary school, but the biology teacher’s encouragement inspired me to apply to this field even more,” Pietari says. He is not yet sure which field of medicine he is most interested in, but it may be endocrinology. Pietari will start his studies at university after completing his military service.