Meeting the President of Finland | Opinion
By Lauren Becatti | Opinion
Seven Gardner-Webb University students, including myself, had the honor of meeting the 13th President of Finland, Alexander Stubb, in September. I will forever remember this day. I began attending Gardner-Webb University this fall and am majoring in political science. In one of my political science classes, we are going over President Stubb's book "The Triangle of Power". My professor, Dr. Rennie, was informed that the President was going to be speaking at Furman University's McAlister Auditorium on Sept. 18. He was speaking at an event called “America and the World” hosted by the Tocqueville Center and in partnership with the Riley Institute and Furman's ROTC.
You may ask why the President of Finland would speak at a college in South Carolina. The answer is that he went to Furman on a golf scholarship and graduated from there in ‘93. He and General Rudd of the NSA (the other speaker at the event) both majored in political science and were classmates at Furman. Their professor, Brent Nelson, still teaches there and was even the moderator of the discussion. This made for an amazing full circle moment. Brent Nelson spoke briefly before the president and general took the stage. He joked that he looked back at their grades and made the realization that you don't have to get an A to go far in life. The auditorium found that statement quite amusing.
When President Stubb and General Rudd took the stage, the audience gave them a standing ovation. The discussion that followed was very scholarly, but they also took time to reminisce about the good old days at Furman. Before taking audience questions, each of the speakers gave an opening speech. President Stubb had a lot of good things to say about Furman. He credits the college as being a key part of his development and identity.
"Finnish by birth, and Furman by the grace of God," he said.
He also talked about how the global frame of power is shifting from how it was after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This is the topic of his book that we are studying. He believes that by 2030 we will be living in a new world order. However, we have a choice in deciding what the world order is going to be.
Next, it was General Rudd’s turn to speak. He had fond memories of Furman. For one, he met his wife there, and ROTC at Furman was the beginning of his military career. After 9/11, Rudd decided to extend his military contract. He attributes that event to changing his perspective and the course of his life. He wanted to play a part in keeping the U.S. safe. He lost a lot of friends in the war following 9/11. These losses further hardened his resolve. “Make it worth it” was what he told himself.
Both speakers then continued on to questions from the moderator and the audience where they voiced their opinions on current issues like AI and alliances. I also learned a lot of cool things about Finland. They have bunkers that can house 4 million people, and they take education very seriously. They take it so seriously that teachers are required to have master's degrees.
I also learned that sauna is a Finnish word and is a Finnish invention. He also taught us the Finnish word for thank you, kiitos, which he said, “you can remember it because it sounds like mosquitoes.”
Stubb had a lot of good advice for the students who were watching the event. He told them that gaining information doesn’t necessarily make you wise. It will make you stupid if you don’t use it in the right way. He also said to not be scared of failure because it is part of the process of growing.
Stubb warned of the danger Russia poses to the world, especially for Europe. The Finnish President stated he strongly believes that if Russia had been successful in taking over Ukraine, he would not be sitting on that stage. Part of the reason for that statement was he was actually planning on exiting politics, but he was asked to run for president when Ukraine was invaded.
At the end of the speech, the event coordinator led our group backstage to a room where we would have the privilege to meet them. The President and General shook hands with each of us as we introduced ourselves and allowed our group to take a photo with them. President Stubb was even kind enough to sign my book!
This was such an amazing experience. I want to say a huge thanks to Dr. Rennie for planning this trip. I am truly grateful to everyone else who made it possible; especially to President Stubb and General Rudd for making time in their busy schedule to meet my class and I. Thank you -- or should I say kiitos!
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Lauren Becatti is a Cleveland County resident and a student at Gardner-Webb University where she is majoring in political science.
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