I Won't Be Home for Christmas

Posted by Brittany Karford Rogers (BA ’07), Associate Editor

Though she wouldn't make it home for Christmas, Sini set a huge goal for her return to Finland in December 2009: she would compete in the Kuopio National Violin Competition. "It's just a national competition, but in Finland, it's prestigious," Sini says. "First-place prize is $8,000--something like that." It would mean a year of dedication, memorizing and perfecting an entire concerto, but the goal revived Sini, and it pointed her towards home.