Hey there! I’m Ina Lehtola, and I currently serve as the Event Coordinator on TREY’s Board. In this role, I had the chance to organize Finland’s biggest Wappu and lead the team together with Milla Tyyskä, the Culture Minister of the Tampereen Teekkarit.
Wappu is a long – two-and-a-half-week – celebration filled with all kinds of events. This year, there were 125 events in total.
I used to think Wappu started with the first official event or the Wappurevelation, where the theme and event calendar are revealed. But now that I’ve been involved in organizing it, I know the process actually begins way earlier – in January, or even as early as December.
Organizing Wappu had been a dream of mine ever since my own freshman Wappu. Getting selected as TREY’s Event Coordinator was truly a dream come true. I received the good news in mid-December, and from there the Wappu onboarding process began. While learning the ropes, Milla and I also got to know each other and started planning how we wanted to lead our team and what our goals were for the spring.
At the beginning of January, I started the general onboarding for my board role and began recruiting project workers – also known as Wapputirehtöörit – to help organize Wappu. By the last week of January, the team was complete, and we could start training them and choosing the theme.
Picking the theme wasn’t easy. We had to think about how it would come to life visually, in the events we were planning, in the Wappu reveal video, and even in our outfits. We had plenty of ideas ourselves and also looked at what past teams had thought for the theme. After long discussions, we landed on the theme “Diva.” The idea actually came to Milla in a dream – and looking back now, it really feels like a prophetic one!
February was all about team bonding and planning the Wappu events. In early March, we finalized the Wappu calendar and started filming the reveal video. The filming process took an intense three weeks, during which we went to dance rehearsals, filmed in the middle of renovations in the basement of the Electrical Engineering building, and even shot scenes at the Tammela stadium.
The weeks leading up to Wappu were full of excitement and secrecy. We had to keep the theme and our outfits hidden from everyone for months. That’s why we filmed the video at six in the morning – to avoid being seen by anyone accidentally. The actual filming was super fun, and all the hard work paid off when we finally got to show the video to a big audience at the Wappurevelation. Standing on stage made everything feel real – the secret was finally out!
Between the reveal and the start of Wappu, we had one week to finalize our own events, schedule stamping shifts for Teemu’s tour passes, and reach out to past Wappu teams for help covering shifts we couldn’t attend ourselves. We didn’t manage to finish everything that week, but the remaining tasks were handled during Wappu.
Traditionally, the Wappu team kicks off the entire celebration with the first event – the Wappu Kick-Off. Monday morning, April 14, was filled with nervous energy as we carried our supplies to the Etunurtsi and watched cheerful students in their overalls pass by on their way to classes.
The entire Wappu flew by in a flash. I don’t think any Wappu has ever felt so short. Even though we still had responsibilities during the events, I was still able to enjoy so many amazing events that student associations had poured their hearts into.
For the first time, I also volunteered at the fuksikulkue and helped at the teekkari dipping. I had never been involved in these events before, so it felt amazing to help make these milestone moments happen for so many former freshmen – now teekkaris.
Sure, I may be biased, but I have to say that the instructions and coordination from Tampere’s Wappu Secretaries were so clear and thorough that even as a first-timer, I felt confident taking on a shift – even if I was a bit nervous at first.
When I saw the fuksikulkue arriving at Ratinanniemi, tears just started streaming down my face. After months of hard work, I was overwhelmed with happiness about everything I had experienced, all the amazing people I had met, and how proud I was of our team. But there was also a bittersweet feeling – Wappu was really coming to an end.
What’s left now is documenting everything for future years. Next year, I’ll get to experience Wappu again – though from a slightly different perspective! And hopefully, I’ll be there stamping Teemu’s tour passes for excited students as a proud Wapputeam alum.