When I was a student, I soon found myself working at the history students' organisation Kronos ry. During my time there, I managed to edit the magazine, Kronikka, and serve as the culture co-ordinator and the president. This was the beginning of my passion for organisations, which, the evidence suggests, is still going strong. I have, for example, been a board member of The Finnish Whodunnit Society for almost 20 years and held several positions of trust in the publishing and media industry. These kinds of positions of trust are an excellent way of meeting different kinds of people, arranging events both in Finland and abroad, and learning lots of new things.

The way I see it, participating in the societal life and taking on positions of trust is, in a way, the duty of an academic. For me, it has also been a natural way to make a difference, work with people, and in many ways, learn. Thanks to these activities, I was already familiar with accounts long before I entered the corporate world. However, I have systematically avoided politics so far, but it is nice to preserve a sense of personal freedom when it comes to that, too.

Juggling work and family, means I have had to give up many great hobbies. However, the organisations that have in some way impinged on my academic field and profession overlap nicely with my working life and help put it in a new, broader perspective.