We are very excited to congratulate one of our students, Mia Filardi, who is graduating this week with a B.A. in Finnish and minor in Scandinavian Area Studies, for being one of 12 UW students and recent alumni to be awarded a Fulbright this year!
Mia says, "I was awarded the Fulbright-Tampere University Graduate Award to earn a master’s degree in Finland, and I will spend the next two years completing a Master’s of Social Sciences in Peace, Mediation and Conflict Research at Tampere University. I am excited to apply the skills that I have learned at the UW to the field of Peace Research in a country with a long history of peace negotiations."
This is such a fantastic and well-deserved opportunity for one of our amazing students, and particularly one who was part of the largest (and one of the few overall) Finnish language programs in the country. Mia also has plans for taking advantage of some of her spare time while she is in Finland: "Outside of the classroom, I plan to continue to play ice hockey, a sport which I have been playing for most of my life. I am the founder and outgoing president of the Women’s club hockey team here at the UW, and hope to continue to pursue my passion while immersing myself in Finnish culture and putting my Finnish language skills to use."
We could not be prouder of our departing graduate, and we hope she will check in with us during her time in Finland to let us know how she is doing!
Onneksi olkoon, Mia! We wish you the very best for all of your future endeavors!