The internship provided a great deal of independence. I was working with the website dealing with the members from the Faroe Islands, Denmark and Greenland, along with updating exchange stories from professors and students to and from different members within UArctic. I also experienced the surroundings and how Lapland’s nature works in Arktikum, Pilke House, Geophysical Institute, Pyhä Luosto National Park, Sodankylä area, with its beautiful and unique landscapes and surroundings. I also attended the annual River Lights festival as well as met the Finnish Santa Claus at the Santa Claus Village.

During my stay, I also met new people from all over the world, some of whom I've visited in their homes, and they've visited me. I was just on a snowboarding trip in Austria by car, and went to visit one of my German friends in Hamburg on the way back to Denmark.

The internship had great relevance to my education as well to my field of interest, which is the creative field, communication and online marketing. I like to work with visuals, so working with website updating, writing news stories, articles, social media, communication and photography was a perfect combination for me.

Nadja Joensen 3

I did not learn much of the Finnish language. However, I learned about Finnish dining, traditions and culture. One example was pikkujoulu, which is a Christmas party. I was among locals and international colleagues at the office as well as when I was at home, because I was staying in the student village where all the international exchange students were also staying. I was in Lapland from summer to winter, so I got to go out in the nature: sit by the bonfire and cook bananas with chocolate inside, and pick fresh mushrooms and berries for a dish over the fire in the woods with colleagues and friends afterwards.

The Finnish nature is beautiful. In Finland, the forests are everyone’s land. You can go out and pick your own berries, to freshen up your breakfast, to make a delicious berry pie or even soup. I had my birthday celebration there, and a friend baked a blueberry pie with freshly picked berries. Living and working in Lapland, experiencing three seasons within three months, provided me with new knowledge, skills, experience and friends from all over the world.

Nadja Joensen 2

After Lapland, I started my own company and became Sales and Marketing Manager at a publishing company called Snepryd. I started working a lot within the creative field, such as graphical design, photographing, updating website, social media and contacting media and bloggers as well as writing press releases, articles and social media posts.

While I am currently looking for the right job related to my field of specialization and education along with field of interest and skills, I am working as a freelance photographer, graphic designer, web designer, social media manager, sales assistant and copywriter or on equivalent projects. So, this is where my internship has led me so far. And I am looking forward to see where the journey will take me next.

We all have a different journey, and I’m sure I was meant to go to Lapland when I did.