Saima Kuu: Looking back on my choices, I do not have any regrets

Saima Kuu, Doctor of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Lecturer of Health Sciences, Tallinn University School of Natural Sciences and Health

Looking back on my studies and career, the entire journey can be characterised by a natural advancement from one position to the next. I had the opportunity to try out everything I wanted. You might consider me lucky, but I had to put in a lot of effort to make it happen, as some periods were extremely difficult.

After secondary school, I had two objectives. I wanted to either become a biology teacher or an exercise therapy instructor. However, I learned that I could only specialise in exercise therapy in the third year of the physical culture Bachelor’s programme. So I began to study biology. After three years of study, I realised that biology was not for me. I had no intention to spend my time alone in a forest when I could be working with other people.

Thankfully, a programme for physiotherapy was created around the same time, which was exactly what I wanted to study. As such, I went back to zero on my studies. To earn money during my Bachelor’s, I finished a massage course at the Tartu Applied Health Sciences University and worked as a massage therapist. Back then, aerobics was extremely popular, and I found the sport interesting too. I finished a basic course for group trainers and began teaching fitness classes with background music to enhance strength and endurance. The classes took place in the downstairs room of a dormitory on Narva Road in Tartu. I had no sense of rhythm, but the women who attended my classes were happy with the training’s intensity. I taught these classes until the end of my Bachelor’s.

After this, my life entered a hectic period. However, everything that happened made sense in the end. After I finished my studies, I started working as a physiotherapist for patients with degenerative diseases at a hospital. I was extremely happy to get the job. While working, I also started my Master’s in exercise and sport sciences, got married and immediately became pregnant with my first child. I went to work five times a week and attended school twice a week. From Saturday to Wednesday, I was curing patients at the hospital, and on Thursdays and Fridays, I was at school. This went on every week until my child was born.

Working at the hospital started to take a serious mental toll on me. My patients and superiors were happy with my performance, but I felt like I could not continue on the job forever. So I made my first radical change. After defending my Master’s degree and while writing my thesis, I also wrote a curriculum for the Estonian Massage and Therapy School. Following this, I finished a school manager training course and became the school’s headteacher.

It took me a long while to grow into the new profession, as I felt like I had big shoes to fill. After I started giving courses at the school, I felt great responsibility for every word I said. At first, I was surprised that I could even manage as a teacher.

A lot happened during the ten years I worked at the massage school. In addition to my everyday work, I led the Massage Therapists’ Union of Estonia and helped develop the primary occupational qualification standards for massage therapists. Meanwhile, I also birthed my second and third children and defended my PhD in exercise and sports sciences. Connecting family, career and my studies was a great challenge.

While I was writing my PhD thesis, I had two small children, one of whom was too small to even go to kindergarten. I took them to a playroom where they could play while I was analysing data for my science work. I still vividly remember the moment in that playroom when I discovered in my data that women who do not exercise start ageing at 30 – my research was on women’s muscle recovery times. This discovery was extremely fascinating to me, so I immediately shared it with the other mothers in the playroom. None of them shared my excitement.

After attaining a PhD, it felt natural to continue my academic path at a university. Parental leave made it easy to leave the massage school, as all my tasks had already been distributed to others. I applied to become a lecturer for health sciences at Tallinn University and they happened to need my experience. The beginning was smooth. I started on a part-time load and taught the same subjects as I did at the massage school: anatomy and physiology. As a teacher, these have been my specialisations for 22 years. This means I have taught these subjects over a hundred times and never get tired of them. To this day, they bring a glimmer to my eyes, and I could talk about them at any time.

To my surprise, I quickly became a study administrator for the university. I felt honoured to be trusted like that. I also started my research work in my first year at the university. Health and exercise are fields with endless possibilities for research.

My health-related knowledge and research results have not made me exercise more, but they have helped me reintroduce exercising into my life. Throughout my time at secondary school and university, I exercised six days a week. When my children were small, I inevitably had to take a break. I could not leave them home while I was out exercising. Nowadays, I go outside every evening for some physical exercise, regardless of the weather. You have to keep yourself in shape, and moving your body also feels good. Some life changes inevitably change our workout routines, but the most important thing is to pick up exercising again after a break.

Looking back on my choices, I do not have any regrets. It was right for me to give up hospital work. The problem with working with patients with degenerative diseases is that, as a physiotherapist, you have to put in your best effort within those few weeks they spend at the hospital. Then, they might go home feeling a lot better. However, when they return in a year or two, their condition will have worsened. This is a sad reality. The depression of that job started to weigh on me. Compared to the hospital, working at a university is much more energetic and positive. It makes me happy to work with young people and that carries me forward. I was not unhappy at the hospital, but I feel much happier at the university.

The joys of being a scientist:

• The possibilities for research are endless in health sciences.
• I like creating connections in areas where people can learn something important about their health. My last year’s research vividly highlighted how less movement results in poor health. When a person moves less, they get less sleep but more screen time and more frequent health issues, which can spiral out of control.
• My job is varied and interesting. I like teaching, conducting science and organising my study programme. I have great colleagues and students.
• Research work is extremely good for self-improvement, as I get to read articles and combine new knowledge. I enjoy crunching numbers. I find it fun and fascinating when I find something new from data.

Career:

• Massage therapist – 1 year
• Aerobics trainer – 1 year
• Physiotherapist – 3 years
• Academic affairs manager at a massage school – 10 years
• Scientist – 12 years

Education:
2006 University of Tartu, Doctorate of Exercise and Sport Sciences
2002 University of Tartu, Master’s in Exercise and Sport Sciences
2000 University of Tartu, Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy