Hop in to the community
February 24, 2022
- written by Meerimaria Ketokulta
- photo by Mika Myllyntaus
- 5 min read
Joining a new group is always a bit scary. Millions of thoughts speeding in your head, asking if you’ll fit in, find friends or – the worst one – what are you even going to do there? How could you possibly fit in if you’re not already a wizard in the themes, will you have anything valuable to say? And how to know beforehand if something new is worthwhile?
I’d like to think that life is what you make of it. All options are good, and nothing is absolutely better than the other – it’s just personal preference. And in that sense, it’s up to you to choose what you try and when you opt out and stay in your comfort zone.
Everyone in LUTES has a different story and different motivations to join. One joins to find new friends, maybe a business partner for their early idea. One is very interested in entrepreneurship and wants to learn more, even though there is nothing concrete in the making yet. Some might even have their own company before their journey in LUTES. But some of us join just for the fun of it – to give new people and new opportunities a chance, and even gain new ways of thinking and benefitting from the resources LUTES has to offer. I personally am one of those.
I’ve been in LUTES for quite some time now. It took me a whole bunch of courage to walk through the window doors, and I wouldn’t have visited without my friend beside me. But I’m happy I did. During my time I’ve not only learned a lot, but met a lot of new people, and I constantly get fascinated about the millions of motivations and dreams I hear while meeting new people. It’s a big thing for a girl with no ambitious dreams. Seeing other people work towards their goals and be happy for them when they succeed, makes me want to work a little harder too. Combine that with all the stories I’ve heard, all the different backgrounds, values and future goals – it’s like a candy shop.
And that’s the beauty of it: it’s not about fitting in. It’s about the diverse group of individual, active people with numerous different motivations, hobbies and interests, who you will fit in with, because we all do. Diversity truly is a massive asset, and you cannot find anything like this in our campuses. (Fun fact: we almost have a member from every single study field in LUT and LAB – only a few more to go!)
So yes, I’ve been trying to convince you to see the value you can get out of LUTES. To see us as a launchpad and a learning environment, for the interests you have. Because seriously, in the end we are all just what we make of ourselves, and we have the freedom to meet new people and learn something new every day. And the perfect time for you to try our community with a low threshold is Hop In, where we will have our doors open and tables full of snacks just for you to pop by and see if LUTES is what you’re looking for. Take your chance and hop in to new experiences!