After completing my bachelor’s degree in Estonian and Finno-Ugric linguistics, I continued my studies at the University of Tartu in the master’s program for teaching Estonian as a foreign language. Soon after, I began teaching Estonian to adult learners with different mother tongues at a language school.. It quickly became clear that I had chosen the right field — one that allows me to engage deeply with my beloved language and culture, introduce it to others, contribute to its sustainability, and at the same time explore the world.
Things only got more exciting from there — at the HeadEst Estonian language and culture camp, I met young Estonians from the Estonian diasporawho once again opened up an entirely new world to me: Estonianness beyond Estonia. I gained an invaluable experience at an Estonian children’s and youth camp in the United States. Inspired by the young people I met, I explored in my master’s thesis the role of Estonianness in the identity of Estonian youth living abroad. I was curious to understand how it’s possible to grow into such a strong bearer of the Estonian language and culture while living outside Estonia.
In the spring semester of 2018, I had the opportunity to teach Estonian in the very first Estonian language course at Roma Tre University in Rome. From 2019 to 2022, I worked as a lecturer of Estonian language and culture at the University of Latvia in Riga. Alongside my main work, I have always continued to give private lessons.
Alongside teaching, since 2016 I have taken part in various projects developing Estonian-as-a-foreign-language learning materials and courses, in cooperation with both Innove and the University of Tartu. I also support companies and organizations in Estonia and abroad on issues related to the Estonian language and language learning — for example, since 2025 I have been advising the creators of the Erasmus+ Online Language Support (OLS) platform
Since 2024, I have been a member of the Association of Teachers of Estonian as a Second Language.
My roots are in Kihnu and Pärnumaa. In addition to Italy and Latvia, I have also lived in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. My children are growing up in a multilingual and multicultural home.