Welcome To The Committee: Anette Biese
Name: Anette Biese
Degree: Law LLB (Hons)
Year: 4th
Hometown: Helsinki, Finland
Committee Position: Vice President
This week our treasurer Katie had the opportunity to ask some questions from one of our senior committee members, our brand new VP Anette! Here’s what they had to say.
HC: Hey Anette! A massive well done from all of us at HC for being elected as Vice President! What are you most looking forward to about your position?
AB: Hey and thank you! It is definitely an exciting thing, and a great step up for me from being secretary last year. I’m actually really looking forward to being able to schedule the publishing of articles and making sure they all come up as planned. But in the end, it’s honestly just about the members in the society you get to meet!
HC: You were on the committee last year as secretary. Do you have any advice for any new committee members?
AB: Just keep on top of what you should do from the start; it’s all about juggling committee work with university and everything else. If you plan ahead, it’s no problem at all. Also make sure to voice your ideas – being part of the committee means being in the heart of events and everything we do, so if you have any ideas say them because most likely they will be amazing.
HC: You’re about to start 4th year of law, what are your plans after finishing your degree?
AB: Oh no, the dreaded question. Honestly, I’m not sure. It depends on the day you ask me, haha! I know I want to do a Master’s degree but I’m still unsure what country in. At the moment, the thought of going home to Finland is really tempting, but if you ask me in a week or two I might be looking at universities in Scotland. I wish I could be in both countries at the same time!
HC: University is such a fast four years, what has your favourite thing about being in Aberdeen been?
AB: As cliché as it may sound: my friends. I’ve met the most amazing people at university and they have made my time here just worth all the hours spent in the library. I think Scotland is also really beautiful! I still need to see the Highlands though so that’s on my bucket list for my last year!
HC: You are originally from Finland, what are 3 main differences between the UK and Finland?
AB: The first thing you notice is the weather. Finland has a proper cold winter with lots of snow, so it’s weird being in a place where there is no snow at all (also apparently winter tyres aren’t mandatory on cars here?! Haha).
Secondly, people in the UK are a lot more open. Finns tend to be quite slow to warm up so it’s been nice to be surrounded by people who are really friendly and social from the get go.
My third point would however have to be that the UK still makes certain things a lot harder than it needs to be. For example opening a bank account requires so many different letters and ID’s and proofs, whereas in Finland one ID pretty much cuts it for you, so I do miss the way official matters are dealt with in Finland.
HC: Her Campus is an amazing society but we know you are also part of another amazing society! Tell us a bit about the Nordic Society and how you got involved?
AB: The Nordic Society is actually one of the biggest societies at the university, having over 200 members! We mainly organise events that are big in the Nordic countries so that the everyone in a way has a piece of home with them. I actually didn’t get actively involved until 3rd year, but I went to a couple of events my first two years at university. One of my best friends was on the committee and she got me excited about it, and here I am – going into my second committee role within the Nordic Society! It’s great as well because we have loads of non-Nordic members, so it really is open for everyone who wants to see how we Nordics do things.
HC: Finally, if you had a piece of advice for your younger self, what would it be?
AB: I would definitely say don’t stress so much. I’m a big stressor, and I tend to stress about things even before anything has happened, just in case. But things have always worked out. More often than not, all the stress has been for nothing.
HC: Thank you so much for speaking to us Anette, just to finish off here are some quick fire questions for you!
HC:Crisps or popcorn?
AB: Crisps! I don’t like popcorn at all.
HC: Heels or flats?
AB: Flats, I save heels for special occasions only, haha!
HC: Late nights or early mornings?
AB: I’m not a morning person at all but I would still say early mornings. I rather get up in the morning and make something of my day.
HC: Nights in or nights out?
AB: Nights in! I’m just turned twenty-five, so I’ve had more than plenty nights out already! However, I still love the occasional night out!
HC: Tidy or neat?
I’m going to go with tidy!
HC: Thanks for answering all out questions Anette! We are really looking forward to seeing you at all our meetings and events throughout the year!
All images Anette’s own