What is it like to be responsible for Student Culture? 

As we are now looking for a new Board for 2026, this year’s Board will write short blog posts about their areas of responsibility and tell you a little more about what working in the Board entails. 

Hello, it’s Melina here! 

This year I have been the Member of the Board responsible for Student Culture in Åbo. The description of Student Culture for this year has been: events & ÅAS’ associations, development and securing of student life, inclusion.  

But what does this mean and what tasks do I do during the day as the Member of the Board responsible for Student Culture? The Member of the Board responsible for Student Culture’s main task is to care of the student life. This includes developing student traditions, creating opportunities for engagement and belonging, as well as maintaining contact with various associations. This is done by being responsible for our student traditions, developing student life, and by actively maintaining contact with the student associations. 

Traditions create continuity 

Student traditions that the Member of the Board responsible for Student Culture keeps track of and organise are Fastlaskiainen, May Day at Vårdberget, May Day Eve’s dinner party, Lilla Wappen, Freshers’ Fair, Associations’ Fair, as well as all the flag processions. The traditional, annually recurring student traditions have a solid foundation and there are clear procedures for how to get started with organising them. 

The traditions are constantly evolving and you get to think of and come up with ways to develop them, by, for example, making traditions more inclusive and accessible. Sometimes it may feel like there are too many rules you have to follow and that you can’t influence your job in the way you would like, so it pays to be creative where you can! 

We’re working with inclusion through practical measures 

This year, a big focus regarding inclusion in student culture has been to include more English in song and program sheets during ÅAS’ events. I have written descriptions for some of the snaps songs and looked up English verses for the snaps songs we sang during the May Day Eve’s dinner party and Lilla Wappen. By gradually introducing other languages into student life, we are making it more inclusive and accessible for international students to take part in the traditions. 

The longest project of the year – but also the most fun 

The student tradition May Day at Vårdberget is the tradition that takes the longest to complete. The work for May Day starts as early as February, so that everything can be finished on time. There is a lot that needs to be fixed and applied for, including making a rescue plan, noticing the police, making a waste plan, making sure there are enough garbage cans, and much more. 

There have also been a lot of practical and fun tasks. I like to be creative, so anything that has to do with crafts and fixing photo walls has suited me well. May Day at Vårdberget turned 100 this year, which I wanted to make more visible by showing how May Day has been celebrated over the years. It was fun to read and look back on how May Day has been celebrated over the years, and to come up with ways of how to best share it with others.  

Independent work doesn’t mean working alone 

Everyday life consists largely of writing emails, attending meetings, planning and thinking about events or other current affairs. In student culture, you work very independently, so it is important to remember to ask for help when needed, and at events, make sure you know where you need help. Being able to stay organised is a big advantage as there is a lot to keep track of at the same time.  

A sentence that has stuck with me, and helped me, during the year is “everything will work out one way or another”. The work is stressful at times, especially before events, but at the same time it is so incredibly fun and rewarding. You get to be creative, come up with new solutions and learn a lot of new things! 

Melina Lindholm 
Responsible for Student Culture 
The Student Union of ÅAU