Being accepted to study history in Helsinki was a dream come true, and I got in on my second attempt. I became active in student organisations, and was part of the 1987 board of the student organisation for history students, Kronos ry.

I started my studies in 1983 and received my Licentiate degree in 2000. My study years were filled with countless wonderful moments in lectures, seminars and student life, and I did work as a researcher at the University for many years afterwards.

If I had to single out one particular moment, it’s probably the ‘nachspiel’ of a Kronos party, in 1986 as I recall. The party had finished at the New Student Building and after having cleaned the place our lively student group went to what was Café Maria in those days in the small hours to wait for the first buses and trains of the morning. That was youth at its best! As for my teachers, I would like to mention Matti Viikari, who gave both humane and expert advice to a student who was working on a Master’s thesis on a subject he was not acquainted with.