Our alum Marian Ismail: Public and Global Health studies provided versatile expertise for demanding positions

Full life despite age or health condition

Marian decided to set up her own nursing company in early 2024 to provide home care services on her own terms. To her, nursing and home care are much more than mere treatment measures – she wants to help customers live their lives to the fullest, no matter the age or health issues. If a customer wants to go to the theatre and is physically able to do so, Marian and her team are happy to help.

“I noticed that there are few services available to elderly multilingual people in Finland, and yet everyone has the same need to live a good life in their own homes. We do not want to be too serious when working, so besides the actual care we give, we chat with our customers and often also add some humour in the mix. I feel that this makes everyday coping easier for our customers and we have also been commended for this,” Marian says.

Marian’s company, Armas Hoiva Oy, currently employs two full-time nurses and four temps. Key customers buying their home care services are cities in the metropolitan area. For now, all their home care customers are elderly people, but Marian is thinking about expanding the services to disabled people sometime later.

For now, I’m only getting started as an entrepreneur, so I’m trying to focus on one thing at a time. There have been ups and down along the way already, but this has been an enriching experience. I have learned a lot.”

Marian Ismail

“For now, I’m only getting started as an entrepreneur, so I’m trying to focus on one thing at a time. There have been ups and down along the way already, but this has been an enriching experience. I have learned a lot.”

Public and Global Health studies prepared for demanding positions

By education, Marian is a registered nurse and she also holds a master’s degree in Public Health Education and Health Promotion from Laurea University of Applied Sciences and a master’s degree in Public and Global Health from Tampere University.

“When I graduated from the university of applied sciences, I left for Somalia to work in a health project. During that time I realised how important it is to learn even more. Tampere University’s Public and Global Health programme was recommended to me and I found it to be a good match. It gave a broader view of health and the spreading of diseases, for example,” Marian says.

What Marian did not foresee was how quickly and pressingly her newly gained expertise would be needed. A global pandemic emerged right at the time of her graduation in 2020. She started working for the City of Helsinki, leading a team that identified relationships between exposure and social pathways among minority communities in Helsinki. They conducted case investigation, reported findings and produced informative materials in several languages – among their many other duties.

My university studies gave me the competence, understanding and confidence to take up demanding positions. Thanks to my studies, information search, reading and expressing my thoughts feels natural and I’m able to fill my role.”

Marian Ismail

“My university studies gave me the competence, understanding and confidence to take up demanding positions. Thanks to my studies, information search, reading and expressing my thoughts feels natural and I’m able to fill my role.”

Marian’s other work experience includes health promotion and project coordination for organisations such as the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the Finnish Red Cross, Physicians for Social Responsibility Finland, the Finnish Somali League and IOM – UN Migration.

A true citizen of the world

Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Marian moved to Finland in the early 1990s together with her mother, literally just moments before the Somali Civil War broke out. She has never seen the terrors of a war first-hand, but her siblings have. Marian highly appreciates her life in such a safe country as Finland and being able to receive a good education.

During her studies and career, Marian has lived and worked in several countries, such as the UK, Kenia and Somalia. Global exchange was also closely present in the Public and Global Health master’s programme, with students participating from around the world – the Philippines, Nigeria, China, New Zealand, Syria and Finland.

“Everyone brought their own backgrounds and experiences to the programme, which was great. I also liked the fact that the programme had no ready-made recipe – everyone was allowed to pick the studies and focus they wanted. The teachers were also highly supportive and helpful,” Marian says.

Despite her diverse background and travelling history, Marian says that her national identity is distinctly Somali-Finnish.

“I’ve left Finland many times, but I’ve always come back.” 

Text: Tiina Leivo

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