Alumni Memories

... Why did you choose Pärnu College?

At first I really didn’t know what was going to happen or what was in store for me.  Before the age of 20 it’s really hard to make decisions.  Luckily the other students in my program were very knowledgeable and supportive.  We still get along well today and those who had a “dangerously active” social circle are still close friends today.  In my case, I made an arbitrary decision that turned out very well.

Tauri Sumberg finished the Business Management Program in 1999.  Presently he is the founder and member of the board of Legend Management AS and a board member of AS Kroger and Partners.

...Experiences related to the program

My first impression was of a modern school building and course requirements, as it was my first experience with video lectures.  During my first year the school offered such first-time courses as “public performance” and “public speaking” under the direction of a professional actor.  (This is where I found out that I will never become an actor, even though I wanted to.)  I gained lots of courage and self-confidence for the future and remember those lectures with fondness to this day.

Eve Põldemaa finished the Business Management Program in 2006.  Currently she is the sales director at OÜ Krooni Real Estate (founder.)

... How much did real life after school differ from the theoretical that you learned at the college?

I believe that the client service and marketing skills as well as the basics of management that I learned during my studies in tourism are important and useful and have been the basis of the innovation, flexibility and resourcefulness in my work.  The skills I learned with respect to business and finance have had to be supplemented, as there was only a basic introduction given during school.  The positive aspect of this program is that it has allowed the other people from my class to work in different fields, and not just tourism, and it’s exciting to see that many of the business management graduates are now working in tourism.

Ulrika Hurt finished the Tourism and Hotel Management program in 2002.  Currently she is working at the University of Tartu, Europe College as a project manager in the master’s program.

…What do you suggest current students pay particular attention to?

I think it is really important not to study for the purpose of getting good marks on a final exam, but to concentrate on yourself and widening your knowledge and perspective with respect to your program.  In social work, it is more important to have a wide range of knowledge than it is to know how to formulate a specific answer.  It isn’t important to have the right and wrong answers; what is important is to own the decision that is the most correct.

Marko Truu finished the Social Work Administration Program in 2001.  He currently works for the Pärnu Municipal Government as a child welfare specialist.

…To current and future students I suggest this:  study with care and master your knowledge with zeal in order to be able to give 100% of yourself during your practicum and to show your future employers that you are competent in your specialty.  My career in the public sector began during the nine-week practicum with a classmate at the Pärnumaa Community Service.  During the course of the practicum we met with our current co-workers and employer, who got to know and like us through our activeness and hard work.  It was in this way that many of our classmates in the Water Ecosystems Budgeting Specialty Program began their careers in both the public and private sectors.