In the spring, we asked who do you think has done a particularly good job and deserves the title of HAMK Person of the Year?
There were a lot of proposals, more than 120 and a total of 73 different HAMK employees received support for HAMK Person of the Year 2021. It can be concluded that dozens of particularly good people work at HAMK.
Lecturers Mika Virolainen and Marika Ahonen and Guidance counsellor Salla Niittymäki were chosen as HAMK Person of the Year 2021. They were awarded at HAMK’s staff days on 19 August. The awards were presented by Jere Ojala, President of the Board of HAMKO, during the broadcast of the staff days.
Each proposal was considered by the HAMKO jury and the selected persons received special praise for the interaction in exceptional circumstances and the support received by the students. Thanks to everyone who submitted the proposal!
Those who were selected received a number of proposals, and we are happy to publish the following comments on each:
Marika Ahonen
“Marika always listens, is present, encouraging and compassionate. Marika is empathetic and understanding. When teaching, Marika knows how to find out the student’s strengths and gently guide them forward using them. Always positive and receptive. Incredible know-how that is transferred wisely to students.”
Mika Virolainen
“A teacher who encourages and inspires students! A personal teaching style and sees effort in teaching and organizing it especially during Corona. Addresses topics in an easy-to-understand and clear, and he is genuinely interested in topics. Has made great distance learning videos. Made the topic interesting and responds quickly to emails if there are problems and encourages creative working.”
Salla Niittymäki
“In her work, Salla has shown extreme resilience and endurance, especially in the middle of the Corona year, where many students have had exceptional difficulties with planning and completing their studies as well as mental endurance. Salla has created trust in students despite the difficulties of exceptional circumstances.”
Congratulations to each recipient of the HAMK Person of the Year award!