News

School of Business donor stories: Kirsti Tamminen

Published: 18.3.2022

After using the seats of the School of Business for two degrees, I thought it appropriate to give some “seat money” to the next generations.

My Story

For me, the School of Business was a clear choice for my studies. The study counselor at our school suggested me to study dentistry, but I was not the least interested in that.

I started studying for a degree in correspondence in the 1960s. At the time, there was no known tuition fee, so working alongside studies was common.

The language teaching at the School of Business was really high quality, and I included French and Spanish as additional languages for my correspondence degree. My weekly number of lecture hours rose to over forty, so there was little time to student leisure time activities in addition to working. However, the restaurant Polin Pokkamonttu became familiar to me.

The degree in correspondence taught a formal and tightly regulated style of written expression. Today’s careless style, which is also used in emails, still feels foreign to me and has been hard to get used to.

The 60s were a time of scarcity. The Student Union offered an opportunity to reduce consumer spending. KY had a sewing machine, which was borrowed free of charge for girls with sewing skills. The loan period was 5 days, according to my memory. Ready-made clothes were expensive at the time, so if my wardrobe needed an update, I traveled by bus from KY to my student flat with a sewing machine under my arms.

In the 70s, I started my bachelor studies - again in addition to work. The headline ‘Mark has the beginning of a million’ hit my eye. The idea teased. I remembered Jaakko Honko's words from business lectures ‘not all eggs in one basket’. At that time, there was very little investment information and literature available. For private investors, hardly any. With the non-existent information, I made my first investment plan, which in its simplicity was: I invest in different industries and choose the best company from each industry. It turned out that more should have been taken into account.

Kirsti Tamminen hippamekossaan vuonna 1964. — Kirsti Tamminen itse tekemässään hippamekossa vuonna 1964.

I opened a book-entry account to which I transferred a modest amount. I started trading. I acquired investment literature on my travels in New York and began to increase my knowledge on my own. I joined Helsingin Osakesäästäjät and was involved in the activities of the association. I got to know like-minded people. For my work in the association, I was awarded the Silver Medal of Merit.

I switched broker to Nordnet, which offered small-scale training. I became familiar with Inderes’ analyzes, which I relied on when making investment decisions. Inderes has grown and developed over the years and is now a First North listed company.

Investing thus came as a surprising side feature to the journey. It was not part of my curriculum. The sidetrack, with all its surprises, has been giving and interesting - also with its downsides. I would be willing to take that the path again.

Now on my retirement days, I follow the market and trade every now and then with my shrunk portfolio.

I am currently working as my husband’s caregiver, so there is little time for other hobbies. I used to travel a lot with my husband, but Covid19 has prevented this hobby.

I have tried to attend the events of the School of Business and Suomen Ekonomit on a regular basis, though. For example, the Better Business - Better Society Seminars held last year have been really interesting. I am interested in current phenomena, and I want to learn new things. It’s also fun to meet other alumni.

After using the seats of the School of Business for two degrees, I thought it appropriate to give some “seat money” to the next generations.

Kirsti Tamminen

alumna and a named seat donor