{"id":8029,"date":"2023-05-04T07:55:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T11:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=8029"},"modified":"2023-05-02T10:24:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T14:24:45","slug":"class-of-23-grad-works-to-make-a-difference-in-peoples-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2023\/05\/04\/class-of-23-grad-works-to-make-a-difference-in-peoples-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of ’23: Grad works to make a difference in people’s lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KirstinTo mark the graduation of the Class of 2023, Marketing & Communications is profiling several students who were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the University and their potential to make a difference after graduation.\u202fClick here<\/a>\u00a0for more information about 2023 commencement exercises.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Kirstin Finnila started breeding Aussiedoodle puppies as a high school student for family, friends and people in her Battle Creek community as a way to pay for college.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finnila\u00a0never thought it would grow\u00a0beyond a small operation. But over the past six years,\u00a0Old Mills\u00a0Aussiedoodles, has brought families from California to New York happiness through puppies. Many of those puppies \u2014 a cross between the Australian Shepherd and Poodle breeds \u2014 go on to become service, emotional support and therapy dogs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe intent was to stay small, and I\u2019d make some money for college. And then, I just fell in love with it,\u201d Finnila said. \u201cI\u2019m a huge animal person, and you just see the puppies every day. And then just seeing the reaction that the families get.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2020, Finnila has balanced puppies and studies as a Civil Engineering student at University of Detroit Mercy. She is known to do her homework while sitting with the puppies in their pen.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of multitasking, a lot of being organized,\u201d she said. \u201cThey definitely keep me on my toes, and I would say they kind of motivate me to be productive. They\u2019re on a schedule, and without you, they wouldn\u2019t survive.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next few months will bring a lot of change Finnila\u2019s way, starting with UDM\u2019s commencement ceremonies in May. She graduates with her bachelor\u2019s degree, the final litters of puppies come this summer, and she begins her engineering career with Livonia-based C&S Companies in June.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It hasn\u2019t yet hit Finnila that breeding puppies is coming to an end, but she knows it will be a sad moment. Finnila is grateful to be able to impact dozens of people through puppies.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy seeing how much a little puppy can impact someone\u2019s family,\u201d Finnila said. \u201cA lot of them go to therapy and service dog homes all over the country. It\u2019s cool to see them get trained and have an astronomical effect on someone\u2019s life. It\u2019s cool to have been a part of that.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When that chapter closes, Finnila will still have two dogs of her own in Luka and Rooney, named after soccer stars Luka Modric and Wayne Rooney.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re probably the most spoiled dogs you\u2019ll ever meet,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before coming to UDM, Finnila was studying to become a physical therapist while playing volleyball at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She needed only six more credits to get her degree when her mother suggested she try an engineering course.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"KirstenFinnila, whose parents are engineers, loved the experience and was ready to follow in their footsteps. The plan was to go to their alma mater, Michigan Tech University, and possibly continue her volleyball career. But she decided to blaze her own path after receiving UDM\u2019s Jesuit Founders Scholarship, which awards full tuition to eligible transfer students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finnila appreciated the personal approach inside the College of Engineering & Science\u2019s classroom. Two of her best friends were in the Civil Engineering program with her and she said Professors\u00a0Utpal Dutta<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Alexa Rihana-Abdallah<\/a>\u00a0and Associate Professor\u00a0Kirstie Plantenberg<\/a>\u00a0were influential.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The College of Engineering & Science\u2019s cooperative education program introduced Finnila to different experiences. She did co-ops with\u00a0<\/span>The Mannik & Smith Group and Hubbell, Roth & Clark before interning with C&S Companies, who decided to hire her full-time as a staff engineer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey specialize in airport construction and design for airports all over the country,\u201d Finnila said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be something fun, unique and new, that most people don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Volleyball is something that brings Finnila joy, and she continued her journey with the sport by helping lead UDM\u2019s club team. Playing outside hitter, she served as co-president and assisted in the team\u2019s growth during and after COVID.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of started it with two of my best friends,\u201d Finnila said. \u201cWe were able to make an actual program where we travel and play tournaments, where it wasn\u2019t as successful before.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Assistant Director of University Recreation Mike Wynn Jr. oversees the club volleyball team and Finnila credits him for their success.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe would not have been anywhere close to what we are without him,\u201d she said. \u201cWe got new uniforms, nets and balls.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of Finnila\u2019s favorite college memories happened off the McNichols Campus, but with close friends she made at UDM. They would go to Baskin-Robbins in nearby Oak Park for ice cream late every Tuesday. Despite no longer living together on campus, the group continues the tradition today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d just sit in the parking lot across the street, eat our ice cream, talk, listen to music, until like 1 a.m., and we\u2019d go home and wake up for class at 8 a.m.,\u201d Finnila said. \u201cIt was just some sort of fun activity and I looked forward to that day.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like with breeding dogs, civil engineering allows Finnila to impact people for the better, something she relishes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith civil engineering, you can see the work you\u2019ve done,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than driving down a road you created. I\u2019ll be back home and I\u2019ve built like three or four roads there, and I\u2019ll drive out of my way just to go and see them. You meet the people who live on the street, and they become kind of like friends and are really nice.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou build stuff and you\u2019re impacting the world, making it better for everyone else.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To mark the graduation of the Class of 2023, Marketing & Communications is profiling several students who were nominated by staff and faculty for their contributions to the University and their potential to make a difference after graduation.\u202fClick here\u00a0for more information about 2023 commencement exercises. Kirstin Finnila started breeding Aussiedoodle …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":8031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9,29],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2023\/05\/finnila_engineering_side.jpeg?fit=400%2C237&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-25v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8029"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8032,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8029\/revisions\/8032"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}