Meet Lapinlahti people: Iryna Naumova
Iryna Naumova spent a month at Pro Lapinlahti Mental Health Association as a language trainee in April 2024 and will be back in August for another graphic design internship in Lapinlahti. Iryna is originally from Donetsk, Ukraine and has been living in Finland since October 2022. Iryna had visited Lapinlahti for some events and became interested in the activities of Lapinlahden Lähde.
She decided to ask for an internship here. Iryna waited a long time for an answer, but was delighted to learn that her skills would be useful to the Pro Lapinlahti communications team.
Iryna graduated with a Master of Laws in 2022, but since then her career aspirations have changed.
– Before Lapinlahti, I did an internship at a Finnish start-up company, where I was involved in the design of a new mobile application. The experience was useful and instructive, but the project did not receive enough external funding for the company to hire me.
In Lapinlahti, Iryna has designed posters, photographed the Open Doors event, edited videos and contributed to the design of the acclaimed visual identity of the Pro Lapinlahti annual report. Iryna has also spread the word about Lapinlahti to her friends and fellow students.
– I would like to help to make more people aware of this place and come and visit. Lapinlahti is a great place, and it offers a lot of free activities for people of all ages and interests.
“I would like to get to know the Finns better”
When Iryna first became interested in Lapinlahti, she wanted to learn about the history and present of the area. She also wanted to sign the Helsinki residents’ initiative to support public ownership of Lapinlahti, but she couldn’t because she lives in Vantaa. After the renovation, Iryna thinks Lapinlahti could offer even more art, design and, for example, film screenings. Language clubs could also meet in the old hospital.
Iryna is currently studying Finnish at Laajasalo opisto. She would like to get to know Finnish people better. The 3T project at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, in which Iryna is also involved, aims to promote the employment of Ukrainians in Finland. Iryna believes that “finding a job brings a lot of new opportunities and a sense of security in life.
– In the future I hope to work on the development of various web services and mobile applications, which I already have experience in.
Iryna has a lot of hopes and dreams for the future. She wants to travel, play music, and generally enjoy life. Above all, she wants to have a stable life. Iryna is in touch with her family every day, but she has not seen them for about two years. Iryna has family and friends “all over the world”, in Ukraine, Russia and Europe, and she would like to meet them more often.
In the future, Iryna would like to do some voluntary work.
– Since so many people have helped me, I would like to give something back,” she concludes.
Text: Juhana Heikkilä
Photos: Iryna Naumova & Siru Valleala