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Nadia Paavola grew up in Isokyrö in South Ostrobothnia. Studies took them to Turku and Jyväskylä, but since then they have returned to their home region and now live on the outskirts of Vaasa in Tervajoki. Nadia has always been interested in writing, but in high school, thoughts of a writer's career seemed far away, and the uncertainty of employment as a writer overshadowed their dreams. However, interest in writing won, and Nadia ended up studying Finnish literature and the Finnish language at the University of Turku. In their first year at university, Nadia had their first child.

“Journalist revival drove to study (journalism) at the Ģ��ֱ��”

Nadia understood that writing can have an impact, for example, by providing people with different and surprising perspectives from outside their own environment. They praise the  studies as versatile and say that they provided the tools for diverse work tasks, such as radio, television, print media and online media. Student events were largely missed, as they decided to focus on studying and completing their degree in order to secure employment and support the family. In retrospect, Nadia states that the decision was quite rational for a young adult in their early twenties.

Although the student life for Nadia, who had a family, was somewhat different from that of other students, they reminisce participating in an appro-event with their sister. They say the then Rasmus, now known with the prefix The, performed at the after-party.

"I believe that everything you learn and study is useful at some point"

Nadia's studies were very diverse, as they had studied literature and Finnish language in Turku, and in Jyväskylä Nadia had a minor in political science, which they felt was a good addition to their other studies. However, their studies did not stop there, and Nadia continued to postgraduate studies. The University of Vaasa was chosen as the educational establishment, because it was close to home, and there they completed their licentiate degree.

After nearly 20 years as a journalist in major media houses, they switched to entrepreneurship, and Nadia is currently a freelancer. While in the media houses, Nadia experimented with everything except sports journalism. Although the decision to become an entrepreneur was nerve-racking, the freedom of it all took over. Nadia has been able to do a variety of different things that they might not have been able to do without entrepreneurship.

"The freedom of entrepreneurship quickly took over"

Nadia feels they are good at listening to and telling people's stories, and at providing people with a situation in which they feel they are being heard. They also emphasise networks being an important part of their work. Today, Nadia is also a non-fiction writer. Together with Annukka Jokipii, Professor of Accounting at the University of Vaasa, a non-fiction book entitled “Huijarien Suomi” was born, which deals with misconduct in organisations.

"Stay curious, but also stick to your own values. Go and do the things you can stand behind."

Nadia is aware that young people are concerned about employment opportunities and the ongoing turmoil in big media houses. However, they want to encourage young people: if they have the passion and a desire to tell people's stories, and  to make a difference, it is worth applying to study journalism. It is also an opportunity to ensure that democracy takes place and is implemented in Finland, which Nadia sees as an important value.