Pathways

From Bucknell to Finland

by katie williard

Alec Baker ’23 spends his summers in Helsinki. The son of a Finnish immigrant, he heads to the Nordic region each year, visiting family, making friends and training with the Finnish Swimming Federation, the country’s national swim team. In summer 2022, Bucknell enabled Baker to add a new layer to his life in Finland.

Thanks to donor support of the Bucknell Public Interest Program (BPIP), Baker, an international relations and German double-major, participated in an internship program with the U.S. Embassy in Finland. “I’m beyond grateful for the generous stipend from BPIP,” he says. “It made it possible to have this experience — to live near the embassy, commute to my internship, buy food, get to swim practice and live independently for the first time in my life.”

In his role in the consular sector, Baker organized discourse between the embassy and people wishing to renounce their U.S. citizenship, which contributed to the revitalization of the renunciations department. In addition, he researched the Finnish judicial system to build a foreign officer briefing package, an informational document to help new employees gain a better understanding of their station.

“Bucknell definitely prepared me for the experience,” Baker says. “And now I know that I want to pursue a career abroad. It felt like very meaningful work.”

photograph by emily paine

Pathways

Alec Baker grabbing the Lapels of his suit
From Bucknell to Finland
by katie williard
Alec Baker ’23 spends his summers in Helsinki. The son of a Finnish immigrant, he heads to the Nordic region each year, visiting family, making friends and training with the Finnish Swimming Federation, the country’s national swim team. In summer 2022, Bucknell enabled Baker to add a new layer to his life in Finland.

Thanks to donor support of the Bucknell Public Interest Program (BPIP), Baker, an international relations and German double-major, participated in an internship program with the U.S. Embassy in Finland. “I’m beyond grateful for the generous stipend from BPIP,” he says. “It made it possible to have this experience — to live near the embassy, commute to my internship, buy food, get to swim practice and live independently for the first time in my life.”

In his role in the consular sector, Baker organized discourse between the embassy and people wishing to renounce their U.S. citizenship, which contributed to the revitalization of the renunciations department. In addition, he researched the Finnish judicial system to build a foreign officer briefing package, an informational document to help new employees gain a better understanding of their station.

“Bucknell definitely prepared me for the experience,” Baker says. “And now I know that I want to pursue a career abroad. It felt like very meaningful work.”

photograph by emily paine
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