Culture journalist Pauliina Grym is Haaga-Helia's Alumni of the Year 2022

Journalist and media professional Pauliina Grym has been selected as the Alumna of the Year. According to Anne Leppäjärvi , Degree Director of Journalism at Haaga-Helia, Grym stands out clearly.

The reasons were, among other things, Grym's alumni cooperation with Haaga-Helia and continuous self-development during and after her studies.

"Pauliina is a versatile expert in her own field and a maker of new openings. As an alumna, she is always ready to collaborate on, for example, visiting lessons and sparring with students and teaching staff. She is constantly developing herself, most recently as a fellow at the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation in the World Press Institute's journalism programme in the United States," Leppäjärvi says.

Pauliina Grym, who works as a journalist for Yle's Kulttuuriykkönen, is one of Haaga-Helia's so-called double alumni, as she completed her first degree already in 2016 from the Bachelor programme (medianomi). Later, Grym returned to study at Haaga-Helia in the master's programme of Journalism, from which she graduated in 2021.

Pauliina Grym is obviously delighted and impressed with her choice of Haaga-Helia Alumna of the Year.

"In these times of fake information and war propaganda, I am very proud and happy that a journalist-graduate like me was chosen as an Alumna of the Year, although of course, Haaga-Helia's graduates work also on other vital fields that our country and society need to function, Grym comments.

The experienced cultural journalist has been creating a career in Finnish radio frequencies for more than a decade, publishing music-themed books, writing in numerous magazines and working as a producer of online content and radio programmes. She praises the high quality of Haaga-Helia's studies.

"Haaga-Helia's studies led me to look at my own profession and professional identity in a new way, also critically. When I graduated with my master's degree, I felt that I was a better journalist in many ways, even though when I started my studies, I already had practical experience over many years. Since graduation, I have encouraged my friends and colleagues who dream of postgraduate studies to apply to Haaga-Helia, as I have experienced studying there alongside work not only possible but also very inspiring and rewarding.

Alumnus/a of the year is selected among the graduates on the basis of proposals from the Haaga-Helia's different degree programmes. Recognition can be obtained by a person who has distinguished him/herself in working with students, who has participated in the development of the university after graduation, or has succeeded in his/her own career.

Read Pauliina Grym's alumni story published on Haaga-Helia's website (in Finnish):

Cultural journalist Pauliina Grym: Ending up in Haaga-Helia was the sum of many factors