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Consul General of Finland to New York Manu Virtamo is providing the keynote address at Finlandia University’s commencement ceremony on Sunday, April 30 at the Paavo Nurmi Center.
“It is only fitting that as we celebrate Finland’s centennial anniversary of independence, Finlandia welcomes the most recently appointed Consul General of Finland to New York,” FinnU President Philip Johnson said. “Manu and his wife, Liisa, have expressed enthusiasm for their upcoming trip to Finlandia and the Upper Peninsula, with plans to extend their stay by a couple of days.”
Consul General Manu Virtamo has been with the foreign service of Finland for the last 36 years, including spending time in Washington D.C., Japan and Los Angeles. Before joining the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Virtamo worked as International Secretary for the Student Union of the Helsinki University and the Center Party of Finland.
“I very much look forward to visiting Finlandia University and meeting with the students who have now accomplished one of the most important goals of their life,” Virtamo said. “My three boys have studied at universities in Finland, the United Kingdom and in the United States. Following their endeavors and aspirations reminds me of my own time at the University of Helsinki in the late 1970s. They were good times that opened my path to diplomacy and an opportunity to work and live in France, Sweden, Japan and the United States.”
The trip to Hancock will be Virtamo’s first time in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
“Finally, after living in the U.S. for more than 12 years altogether, I will have the opportunity to visit the area with such strong ties to Finland,” Virtamo said.
Graduation Day at Finlandia University is Sunday, April 30. The day will begin with the baccalaureate ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Chapel of St. Matthew, followed by a graduation lunch for students and their families at Finlandia Hall. The day will conclude with the commencement ceremony, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Paavo Nurmi Center.
Story, including a photo of the Consul General, originally posted at finlandia.edu/news.
