She says; “I’m interested in Arctic issues, especially in Sami matters. I did my bachelor thesis on Sami rights. I went on for exchange to Murmansk, and there with a suggestion from my lecturer, I participated in Skolt Sami seminar, where I got subject for my Master’s thesis. In my thesis I will research the status of Sami people in Finland and in Russia, how does the legislation diverge from each other.”
During her exchange, Iina visited Lovozera, which she said was very interesting, seeing a Sami area in Russia. The exchange changed her life in many ways. As the only exchange student, she got a possibility of getting acquainted with Russian everyday life, which was mind opening for her.
Iina has a wish of being able to stay up in the North in the future, and work with Arctic issues. She is also taking russian courses, which was also the reason she chose to go on an exchange to Murmansk. She says that since there are a lot of Russian people in the North, she would wish to be able to work with them, since now almost all of the russian language law services are offered in Southern Finland.
As an ending she would like to say: “I would like to courage others to follow their dreams. Especially my stay in Murmansk taught me that I’m able to do anything. So have the courage to express oneself, even though your plan might seem crazy to some.”