On 20 November, Suzanne Innes-Stubb will present our first Inspirer of the Year award.

Ask anybody what they remember about their high school. Sooner or later they will mention a person. A teacher who took their idea seriously, a counsellor who helped them see a way forward, a cook who greeted them with a warm smile every single day, or the doorman they still remember. Often, what stays with us is the feeling that somebody paid attention and remembered our name.

Unfortunately, we remember the opposite too. Being dismissed or made to feel small can stay with us for years. The way an adult treats a young person matters long after the school bell rings for the last time. Yet we rarely have a public occasion to thank those who get it right.

Finnish schools are admired far beyond the horizon! Nevertheless, the people whose daily work earns that recognition often go unnamed. The very thing that makes a school good happens quietly, in a small conversation after class, a warm meal and a clean corridor before the first bell, a safe place to try something new in a music lesson. These things shape how it feels to come to school every single day. They define whether a student feels they belong there.

At STUHI, we believe this work deserves recognition, and we put our trust in students to tell us who deserves it the most.

That is why we are launching Inspirer of the Year. Anyone working at an upper secondary school is eligible for the award. The only thing that counts is that they inspired one of you.

Every participant in High-Up! 2026 may nominate someone by writing a letter. We ask students to tell us what that person did and why it mattered to them. An ordinary moment may be enough, as long as it mattered. An adult may never know how much a few words of encouragement meant, or what became possible because they took the time to listen. We want to give students a chance to recognize it.

The letters will be read anonymously. Students may describe what their nominee does, but must leave the person’s name, school and region out of the letter. The nominee’s name and role are submitted separately and withheld from the jury.

We want to give every story the same starting point. The jury will read the submissions without knowing whether they happened at a large high school or a small one.

The jury will then select the three most inspiring letters, and the people they describe will be invited to join us at the award ceremony on 20 November 2026. The awards will be presented by Suzanne Innes-Stubb, Spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland. We are grateful for her support in the award’s first year.

We want to begin a tradition. We hope that over time Inspirer of the Year will become something school staff know about, and that students look forward to putting into words what someone has meant to them, and to having those words heard.

Years from now, many students will be asked what they remember about their school years. Some will name the people they write about today. We would like those people to hear it now.