Photo provided by Finlandia University Calumet graduate Lia Tervo was recently named winner of the 2020 Brule Scholarship by Finlandia University’s International School of Art & Design.

Calumet graduate Lia Tervo has been selected as the 2020 Brule Scholarship recipient by Finlandia University’s International School of Art & Design. The Brule Scholarship is a $20,000 competitive art scholarship for new students. Tervo plans to major in Graphic Design, which she hopes will lead to a flexible work-from-home career that will allow her to travel.

“My biggest goal in life is to travel the world someday so if I have a job that I can do from home and that I can just take with me anywhere I go, that would be ideal,” Tervo said. “There are so many options like that with graphic design.”

In a typical year, scholarship applicants are invited to campus for a Portfolio Review Day and interview with ISAD faculty. Due to Covid-19, the entire process moved online and Tervo was interviewed via Zoom. Despite putting her best foot forward, Tervo felt less than confident after the interview, and was ‘definitely surprised’ to find out she won.

“I thought that I completely blew the zoom interview so I was not expecting to win,” said Tervo. “But along with the surprise, I was also really happy because I am paying for college on my own so $20,000 is a lot of money to save.”

“Lia had an exceptional body of work that spanned many different mediums,” said ISAD Dean Denise Vandeville. “She also, in her interview, expressed the qualities that will make her an excellent student at FinnU, a commitment to hard work, the ability to overcome hardship-SISU, and the desire to achieve.”

Tervo chose to attend Finlandia because she wanted to stay close to home and learn how to transform her passion for design into a career. Tervo admitted that without the Brule Scholarship, she may not have attended college at all.

“I’m thankful that Finlandia offers such scholarships like this one because I like going to school and, to be honest, I probably would have decided not to go anymore if it weren’t for the Brule Scholarship,” Tervo said. “So, I would say that my greatest reaction to winning was mostly happiness that I can still go to school and get a degree in something that I love doing.”