Elite athlete student's Metropolia blog

Tomi-Pekka is a 27-year-old mixed cheerleading athlete who moved to Helsinki from Vaasa in 2018. An athlete who trains at the gym and plays football, he wanted to combine team training with weightlifting. In Vaasa, there were only women's cheerleading teams, so Tomi-Pekka decided to try mixed cheerleading and was hooked after the first training sessions. Now he is in his sixth year in the sport. Another major hobby is motorsports and car building: Tomi-Pekka has several motorcycle and car projects underway for friends and for sale. He doesn't need rest days: cheer and gym workouts also serve as recovery in his daily life, especially as a counterbalance to long study days. Sport: Cheerleading Tomi-Pekka is the base in formations, and the cheerleaders he supports are the flyers. It's easy to keep going in cheerleading: practically only your imagination limits the stunts you can perform, and the limitless nature of the sport is fascinating. It is a competitive sport, with 30 people on the team, and everyone encourages each other to succeed. Training together and working together is certainly a strong motivator within the team. Memorable experiences include the World Championships in Orlando in 2020 and the first World Championship bronze medal, and of course, a successful routine remains a warm memory. Studying to Become a Paramedic at Metropolia Tomi-Pekka has wanted to become a paramedic for a long time: he discussed his career path with a study counselor in high school and applied three times before getting into the desired program. Metropolia was chosen for several reasons: his current partner studies there, making the place familiar, and the modern, spacious campus facilities and clean overall appearance were appealing. Tomi-Pekka praises the quality and professionalism of the paramedic lecturers at Metropolia. He also feels that the lecturers' own career paths have been successful: there are field leaders, those who have worked in helicopters, and teachers with strong social and health care field experience. The only criticism Tomi-Pekka mentions about Metropolia's studies is the short duration of the internship, five weeks, whereas, for example, at SAMK and LAB, the first internship period is twice as long. Combining Studies and Training Tomi-Pekka's mornings are spent at school, followed by a nap and a one-and-a-half-hour study session, and then training in the evening. National team camps run from Friday to Sunday, and any lectures and other studies must be arranged so that they can be compensated. Tomi-Pekka has not experienced any challenges in combining the two, as the lecturers have been positive about competitive sports when he has discussed flexibility with them on a case-by-case basis. Tomi-Pekka has only talked to the career counselor once about combining sports and studies. He hasn't heard of any difficulties from other student-athletes in combining sports and studies. Greetings to Metropolia "Thanks for the encouragement and flexibility, which has made it possible not to be late for sports. I can't think of anything that needs improvement." Becoming an Elite Athlete Student "I encourage you not to postpone it. Go to school and combine these things. Contact counselors and lecturers with a low threshold. I personally do not recommend gap years: talk to the teaching staff and plan your studies, and you will succeed." Advertisement: Mixed Cheerleading! "A little advertisement for cheer: mixed cheer needs men to at least try it! You can join the club team! The club is Funky Team FTC Gorillaz. It's worth checking out!"