My name is Huong Giang Nguyen but my friends usually call me Annie. I am 19 years old. I was born and grew up in a small city in Vietnam. Last year, after graduating from high school, I decided to challenge myself by studying abroad. And now here I am, a second-year student in the Degree Programme in Tourism at Lapland University of Applied Sciences in Rovaniemi, Finland.

Since I was just a toddler, my parents already gave me a lot of opportunities to travel here and there. As I grew up, I gradually realized how much I got interested in tourism and culture. When I was in the last year of high school, I had to decide which major I should choose to study in the future. Without any hesitation, I pick Hospitality Management. However, I needed a more international space to develop myself; that is the reason why I chose to study abroad. After doing some research, I found that Finland is a fantastic place to live and study because of its best education system, welfare and living environment. Moreover, Lapland is always filled with tourists coming from everywhere. My dream was to see winter snow and the aurora. So what could have been a better place for me to major than Lapland UAS?

The education system here is very different from what I have experienced in Vietnam. It is not just sitting at school for hours listening to teachers giving lectures. Beside the knowledge we learn from school, we also have a chance to visit many places like Arktikum museum, workshops regarding local people and reindeer, or one of the beautiful hotels of the Lapland Hotels chain. There are some activities that I have really liked, for example when we created memorable activities for others in a project. I also enjoyed a case when we formed a group with Finnish tourism students and made a video to promote Lapland. The most challenging but also very educating task was when we established our own virtual companies. We had to take care of all the legal issues, accounting, sales and marketing. I think that will help me a lot in my future career.

I have lived and studied here for more than a year now and my experiences have been great all the time. Local people here are so friendly and always willing to help. The study environment is multicultural and the teachers dedicated and helpful. The nature always creates wonderful, peaceful vibes for me. I will never regret coming here to live and study, and I hope I will enjoy my studies here even more in the future with more amazing experiences.

If you are looking for a perfect place to live, an international and friendly study environment , then why don’t you come to Lapland UAS?

-Huong Giang Nguyen-