Ida Behm

Heyyyy!!
I’m Ida, a second-year student in Chem Eng, and I’m applying to the board as Fuksi Captain!
Before Aalto I lived in California, and in my free time I like hanging out with my friends.
What I love about PT is how warmly everyone is welcomed, and as an active member I’ve experienced how much fun it is here, whether at a sitsit, running a checkpoint or performing in CanCan! I also enjoy volunteering and organizing English events at PT. Balancing work, school and guild activities has taught me to manage my time and to take on tasks with enthusiasm! I’ve also organized scout camps and taken part in debate competitions, so I can act practically in different situations.

I want to warmly and thoroughly introduce fuksis to teekkari culture and Aalto student life. Being a VastuuISO has been rewarding: I’ve gotten to know fuksis, for example on IKEA and Suomenlinna trips, and to give them tips about studies, the guild and other clubs. The best part has been seeing fuksis get excited about teekkari traditions, and that’s exactly what sparked my interest in fuksi education. As Fuksi Captain, I would get to maintain and develop all of this, which would be a dream come true!

It’s important that fuksis feel PT is their home. I would make sure there’s something for everyone at events, encourage fuksis to participate and help integrate Chem Eng fuksis. As Fuksi Captain I would be a relaxed and positive big-sister-type who’s easy to come talk to. I value teamwork, and because I’m flexible and communicative, I believe I would be a great partner for the other Fuksi Captain and a great member of FTMK. On the board, I want to be active and helpful, advance the board’s work and bring all PT year groups together.

During my own fuksi year I wasn’t sure where I belonged, until I found PT. More than anything, I want every new fuksi to experience the same sense of community with an unforgettable and rewarding fuksi year!

I’m happy to answer any questions here or on TG, @idabehm!
Ida Behm

If you were Fuksi Captain, what would be your goal for the next 1.5 years?
As a Fuksi Captain, I want to help create a unique and unforgettable year for fuksis, where they are introduced to many new experiences, inside and outside of the guild. I want PT to feel like a home by building a sense of community, and I think these things combined will help fuksis find their unique place in Aalto!

One of my goals is to ensure the UO team functions well together, so events and projects we complete are well-planned, thought-out, and creative; this directly impacts how fuksis see the guild and thus their involvement! Working with the BIGBoss can also help to integrate different year groups like BIGs and guild godparents. Lastly, the CEO and KV-Captain can help integrate Chem Eng fuksis. I would also invest time into building a good relationship with my co-captain!

I want to be an active and helpful board member, because it’s important to me to contribute to the functioning of PT. Additionally, I want to be an engaged and collaborative FTMK member, learn from other Fuksi Captains, and plan events with other guilds where fuksis can be introduced to new people.

To be successful in these goals, I want to learn as much as possible from the previous Fuksi Captains about the role and what can be worked on in the following year. I also want to be there to help them as their role continues into the spring. Overall, I want to be a warm person the fuksis can turn to, and create a good-spirited and fun fuksi year with lots of participation!

Students who do not feel that they belong to a community or have friendships with their fellow students at the beginning of their studies often lag behind in their studies. How do you manage to integrate all fuksis into a community or help them to find their own group of friends?
I want to introduce fuksis to the variety of things Otaniemi has to offer from orientation week onwards, because they all have such different interests and finding their place can take time. This includes different things to do in PT, fuksi-led projects like the yearbook and CanCan, other guilds, and student organisations.

Fuksis can be shy and stressed about larger-scale events, especially if they do not know anybody. It would be nice to plan smaller, low-threshold ones such as a study evening, an organised sports day, crafts night, or chill hang-out. At IntCo we have planned similar events, which have worked really well to introduce people naturally. Consequently, fuksis can meet board members or officials, other BIGs, and guild godparents. Bridging the gap between age groups can build a feeling of community that encourages fuksis to try new things!

As a headBIG, I worked with other Chem Eng BIGs to organise a “fuksi friendsmaking” event. We mixed the fuksis up and played silly games, and I think that mixing groups would be great to do early in the autumn at a larger event like the orientation week picnic. Encouraging BIGs is incredibly important for making sure that all fuksis are taken care of, since they have the best knowledge of how fuksis are doing, and can help them find friends or activities they like. I think developing the role of guild godparent can help support BIGs and fuksis alike.

PT has over 200 fuksis starting each year. What challenges and opportunities do you see this bringing to PT’s fuksi education?
The opportunities having 200 fuksis brings are that there are a lot of different perspectives and types of people in one guild! This means we can increase involvement in a variety of areas in PT, such as sports, the craft club, official positions, and the sister guilds. This could carry over into future years to keep PT a strong community. Fuksis can also meet the right group of friends, and make a lot of them, because of high event attendance and new faces.

However, keeping track of how every fuksi is doing and making sure to keep all of them engaged throughout the year can be difficult. Strong teamwork with BIGs is incredibly important, since they are the most direct link to fuksis. Therefore, I think it could be a good idea to expand the fuksi committee to include some headBIGs, so our event planning can have a good workflow, and we can adjust events based on what fuksis need. I also think informing methods should be engaging and frequent, so we can keep the fuksis interested. The variety of events and opportunities should also cater to different types of people, so we can make sure to catch everyone there!

Although the large group size can be fruitful, for some it can be stressful. Also, having a chance to thoroughly get to know each fuksi would be really difficult. I can work towards improving these things by creating a quiz with fuksi names and faces for me and my partner, hosting smaller-scale events where fuksis can come talk to us, and being an approachable and warm person in general!

How would you promote equality between Finnish- and English-speaking bachelor fuksis?
This goal is very close to my heart, since I myself am a Chem Eng. Even though I am Finnish and speak the language, I lived my whole life in California. I think that internationality in the guild is a beautiful thing, because new perspectives help make an already diverse and amazing environment even richer.

Overall, integration comes from considering the English side in decisions about events, informing, etc. Some specific examples are increasing English songleading, having läsy song translations, advertising IntCo events to everyone, and mixing English and Finnish fuksi groups during orientation week activities and future events. Teekkari and PT traditions are something I’ve noticed might fall through the cracks in Chem Eng, so having a quiz night (at an appropriate time in the year) could help all the fuksis feel the teekkari spirit strongly. The KV-Captain knows how to introduce these things to exchange students, so I would also learn from them!

The CEO knows a lot about what that year’s Chem Eng fuksis need, so including them and getting their opinion on how event plans can become more inclusive is incredibly important. Hearing from Chem Eng BIGs about how English fuksis are doing can also help.
Lastly, I think this is achieved through how I act as a Fuksi Captain and event organiser. Switching to English immediately if an English speaker joins the conversation and situational awareness are all important factors to make everyone feel welcome!

Being Fuksi Captain is teamwork. What kind of partner would you like for yourself and what kind of partner would you be? How would you maintain a good atmosphere and working habits with your partner?
As a partner I’d be communicative, organised, and uplifting. Anyone who shares these qualities, is ready to jump into getting things done, and is equally enthusiastic about the role would be a great partner!

I want to build a good friendship and mutual trust with my partner from the get-go, since these factors are necessary for a strong working relationship. I believe it’s important to establish shared goals early on, as well as how we plan to work together throughout the 1.5 years. I would like to meet in person regularly, even during summer when we can, and keep a shared to-do list so that we can easily stay on the same page. These things would help us to divide tasks and organise well as a team. I also think it’s important to learn from the previous Fuksi Captains about what worked for them.

Life may not always allow work to be divided evenly between partners, so being prepared to take on some extra responsibility for a short while is important. Additionally, I am very understanding of different perspectives, and with my partner, I would work to find compromise. We would both bring different ideas and thoughts to the table, which is also something I see as very exciting!

I want to be able to lock in together but also have fun and laugh! That kind of friendship can foster creative and silly ideas, and encourage fuksis to participate and become involved! A strong and trusting friendship also leaves a welcoming and warm impression, which I value and would work towards