Finland-native Sisu Siitonen ’30 explores new paths at Furman

When Sisu Siitonen ’30 arrived at Furman University this fall, he knew he was coming a long way from home.

He just didn’t expect the president of his home country to be waiting for him.

Siitonen, a first-year student from Finland who plans to major in politics and eventually attend law school, arrived at Furman after spending his final years of high school at a boarding school in Costa Rica. He had never visited campus before enrolling. In fact, he initially applied to Furman almost as an afterthought.

A few weeks later, he found himself standing alongside Alexander Stubb ’93 H’17, president of the Republic of Finland and one of Furman’s most prominent graduates.

Stubb returned to campus Sept. 18 with Gen. Joshua Rudd ’93, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, for a full day of conversations with students, faculty, alumni and the public. The visit culminated in “America and the World,” a public conversation moderated by Jane Fishburne Hipp Professor of Politics and International Affairs Brent Nelsen.

For Siitonen, the day offered a remarkable connection between his new home and the country he left behind.

A new home, a familiar interest

President Stubb (right) speaks with Furman student from Finland, Sisu (left), and Dr. Alex Akulli (middle) at the Politics and International Affairs/Military Science Faculty Reception in Trone Student Center’s Watkins Room on Friday, September 18th, 2026.

Siitonen’s path to Furman began in Finland but took him far beyond it.

He attended high school in Finland before moving to Costa Rica, where he spent his final years at a boarding school. Through the school’s network of U.S. colleges offering scholarships, he discovered Furman.

The small classes and campus appealed to him. So did the possibility of studying politics in an environment where he could work closely with professors.

He arrived knowing only a handful of people and quickly built a new circle of friends, splitting his time between American and international students.

His first semester has included two politics courses, Spanish and health science. He has also begun exploring opportunities that could shape the years ahead, including undergraduate research, study away programs and the Tocqueville Center for the Study of Democracy and Society, directed by Nelsen.

Even the adjustment to American college life has been an education. Finnish universities generally do not have the same residential campus experience, with students more commonly living in apartments and commuting to class. At first, Siitonen was skeptical of the idea of living in a residence hall.

“We don’t have dorms in Finland, so I wondered what that experience would be like,” he said. “But I’ve met so many people living on campus and it’s been an easy transition.”

A familiar path, 33 years apart

Siitonen meets President Stubb at the Watkins Room in the Trone Student Center on Sept. 18, 2026.

In some ways, Siitonen’s arrival at Furman echoes Stubb’s own journey.

Stubb came to Furman from Finland in the early 1990s and initially considered studying business before finding his way to political science. His Furman experience eventually became the foundation for a career that took him from the European Parliament and Finnish government to the presidency of Finland.

Siitonen is only beginning his own Furman journey. He has no expectation that his path will mirror Stubb’s, but he recognizes the unusual connection between their experiences. Both came to Furman from Finland. Both developed an interest in politics. And both found themselves in a small university community far from home. When Siitonen learned that Stubb would return to campus, he was surprised to discover that the president of Finland was a Furman graduate.

“He hasn’t seen me,” Siitonen joked before the visit. “He will be able to meet me now.”

That moment became one of several memorable intersections during Stubb’s return. About 500 students attended a student conversation with Stubb and Rudd during the afternoon, giving Siitonen an opportunity to meet two Furman alumni whose careers have taken them to the highest levels of government and national security.

For a student still finding his way around campus, it was an unusual introduction to the possibilities that can emerge from a Furman education.

Looking ahead

Siitonen has already begun thinking about what comes next, even if he is not yet ready to map it all out.

He is interested in law school and wants to explore internships and undergraduate research. He is swimming and training for triathlons, an interest he shares with Stubb. He is making friends, learning his way around Greenville and figuring out what it means to spend four years at a university thousands of miles from home.

He also understands that adjusting to a new country takes time.

After a month at Furman, Siitonen joked that he had reached the stage where he was ready to go home — while fully expecting that feeling to change again soon.

That willingness to embrace the unpredictability of the experience may be one of his most defining traits.