Hancock-native Jared Korpela named student representative

Hancock Award recipient loves the small-school atmosphere at FinnU

Jared Korpela has been named student representative for the Finlandia University Class of 2015. Korpela, a Hancock native, was chosen for this role by the Finlandia Academic Achievement Committee based on the success he has had inside and outside of the classroom.

“This is an incredible honor for me,” Korpela said. “I know that any member of our class could have earned this recognition, as all of us have worked hard to get to this point.”Korpela is an accounting major who will be receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He has a grade point average of 3.97, and will graduate Summa Cum Laude. As student representative, Korpela will deliver a speech at theuniversity’s commencement exercises. Aside from the excellent GPA, Korpela worked nearly 40 hours a week, participated in the FUEL Studio and was the president of the university’s accounting club.

Korpela chose Finlandia University partially due to a tuition remission program called The Hancock Award. Jared said he quickly found that the atmosphere at Finlandia was perfect for him.

“The fact that you know all of your professors, and they all know you, is something you wouldn’t find at bigger institutions,” the senior said. “I was able to learn so much more from my professors because of how closely I got to know them. It truly prepared me for real-world opportunities.”

Those real-world opportunities included a summer-long internship with Fidelity National Title in Portland, Oregon in 2014, and his current gig with GS Infrastructure, a Houghton-based business that has committed to hiring him full time after graduation.

“I accepted the job in February, and am anxiously awaiting the opportunity to open their new west-coast office in Portland after graduation,” Korpela said. “I will get to do a wide variety of business tasks including sales, client education and HR-oriented activities.”

This success comes as no surprise to Angela Price, his accounting professor. “Jared is a model student,” said Price. “He’s been an inspiration to others, and an absolute joy to have in class for the last few years.”

While it is difficult for Korpela to reminisce about his time at Finlandia right now, he said the Finlandia experience has been everything he could have asked for.

“I love being close to home, I love being in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, I love the relationships I’ve been able to make with my classmates and professors, and I love the extra attention the staff here provided me throughout the years,” said Korpela. “The experience here has been so much more than I thought it would be when I walked on campus as a freshman.”

Graduation Day at Finlandia University is Sunday, May 3, and includes baccalaureate service at 10 a.m. at the Finnish American Heritage Center, and commencement exercises at 1:30 p.m. at the Paavo Nurmi Center. Full details of the day’s events are available at finlandia.edu/graduation.