Tuulia Koponen is a senior studying public relations at the University of Texas at Austin, set to graduate in May 2019. She is currently the social media and communications intern at Latinitas. Born in Finland, Tuulia has lived in Texas for most of her life, growing up in the city of Coppell.
Why did you choose your major?
I chose to study public relations because of my high school newspaper, The Sidekick. I was the business/public relations manager of The Sidekick my senior year, and I loved getting to run all of our social media accounts. Getting to be the “public face” of an organization really appealed to me, so I decided to pursue public relations.
What made you want to join Latinitas?
I wanted to join Latinitas because of the incredible work that the organization does to help girls feel empowered to innovate with technology. Women, especially women of color, are lacking representation in the STEM and technology fields. As such, helping raise awareness of this organization and the opportunities it provides for girls to be comfortable using technology and entering those fields seemed like a wonderful opportunity.
What extracurricular activities do you participate in?
I am a resident assistant at Kinsolving Residence Hall, one of the on-campus residence halls at the University of Texas at Austin. My job is to ensure that residents have a positive and meaningful experience living on-campus. I met my best friend through this job and have loved getting to know my residents and the other incredible women who have made up the Kinsolving staff.
Who is one of your role models and why?
One of my role models is Malala Yousafazi. I admire what she has done to help girls all around the world get access to education. She shows how access to education can truly change women’s lives for the better.
What is your idea of a dream job and how will your involvement with Latinitas get you there?
My dream job is to work in research or strategy at a public relations/advertising agency. By interning at Latinitas, I am getting experience in social media analytics and how to create effective social media strategies. Likewise, I am learning how to communicate with a variety of stakeholders. I hope to take the knowledge that I gain here to help other organizations effectively communicate with their stakeholders.
What is one of your favorite hobbies and how’d you get started with it?
One of my hobbies is learning languages. I started learning my second language, English, at four years old and have been learning Spanish since eighth grade. Learning new languages has been fun and empowering for me, and I hope to learn more as I grow older.
What is one of your guilty pleasures?
One of my guilty pleasures is chocolate! I love anything chocolate-flavored, whether that is ice cream, pastries, or candy!
You can follow Tuulia on Instagram.
