I'm turning 50 at the end of March. What a huge achievement! I'm so confused about the whole thing that I took a little extra time to organize the party and am going somewhere warm for my birthday. But I wanted to say something before I ran away, so I started thinking about how I became who I am and what I still want to achieve, especially from a working perspective.
Pate is the third collie in our family. We both enjoy the open spaces, Pate has room to run and I have room to let my thoughts fly.
I was good at school. My mother always encouraged me and was proud of her daughter, after all, I was the first in my family to graduate. My grandmother thought I should study to be a doctor. No, just seeing blood makes me dizzy – so I went to study food science at the University of Helsinki. There I got extra points for working in a bakery. And when my supervisor at the time at the Anttila department store construction site went to say that if he had to choose again, he would go to agriculture and forestry. That was it.
During my studies, I gained work experience in the bakery and construction industries, as well as in a slaughterhouse and food product development. After completing my master's degree, the then Makes, now the Ruralia Institute of the University of Helsinki, offered me a variety of tasks while I had three children. One of the best lessons I learned during my time at Makes was the international Adapt project, where I got to work alongside an experienced project manager. I found myself in situations where my skills were not always enough, but I had enough courage. My professional skills grew by leaps and bounds thanks to an absolutely incredible supervisor.
After the birth of my third child, I had to find something to make contacts outside the home. I was the chairman of our village club and became a volunteer leader of my village's Leader project. It was the end of the first Leader programme period and the then executive director, Nina Harjunpää, moved to work at the TE Centre. I was elected to succeed her in 2001 and I have enjoyed the role of executive director ever since, for over 14 years.
In Liiver, I have been able to fulfill myself and develop the area together with residents and entrepreneurs. The result of my work is concrete and inspiring. And best of all, I have once again had superiors who have supported and inspired me to push boundaries and be innovative. And who have appreciated what is not a given in today's working life. Behind it all is also my husband, who has encouraged me in different turns of life.
Previously, children's hobbies, especially figure skating, took up the lion's share of my free time. As I approach my fifties, my children are already grown up and I have more time for myself. I should invent something new again. Internationality has started to interest me. I've thought that it's not my thing, since my language skills aren't exactly excellent. But I guess that's where the magic lies. It's fascinating to do something I don't quite know yet.
I have been lucky to have worked with some amazing colleagues and supervisors throughout my career. I have tried to use the lessons I have learned from them in my own work. I believe in learning by doing and that is what local development work is all about at its best. Let's boldly try something new and learn from it!
In honor of my anniversary, you can support the independence and innovation of young people by donating the amount you want to the Seinäjoki Region Development Association Liiveri ry account FI86 5071 0020 0189 10, with the text Sinikka50 in the message field. The funds will be directed to small Youth Leader projects for young people aged 13–25.
Pate's name comes from our beloved summer destination, Lake Mustajärvi.