Here you can read interviews with course participants who share what it’s like to study with us.
Hashim Mohamed, 20 years old, General course Saga
Tell us something about yourself!
I just started skateboarding. It’s so much fun! I’ve watched tons of YouTube tutorials to learn, but now it’s getting too cold to skate outside. I also listen to and create my own music. Playing video games is a big hobby of mine.
Why are you studying at Åsa Folk High School?
I want to become the best version of myself. I think of my high school years as a bit messed up. I showed up, but I didn’t care about anything and didn’t even know what my grades were. When I got to Åsa, I found out I only had a couple of subjects to catch up on. It was actually my parents who suggested Åsa, saying it was a good school.
Describe Åsa in three words!
Åsa’s the best!
What has the course given you?
Curiosity and knowledge that will hopefully stay with me for life. Popular education should be part of every Swedish school. It helps people develop both intellectually and mentally, especially with students of different ages and experiences – everyone from parents to recent high school graduates.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to go to university. I have a couple of friends doing that already. I’m really interested in computer science and innovative programming. I think game and app developers are jobs that will be in demand in the future.
Mimmi Hellstén, 50 years old, the Massage Therapist course
Tell us something about yourself!
I’m in the prime of my life and have many irons in the fire. Many call themselves masseurs, but I call myself a ”lövjerska” (a traditional healer), and I use both nature’s energies and magic. My magical treatments can be offered to clients in both my mobile magical treatment room and in my magical treatment room at my magical space in Sörmland…
Why are you studying at Åsa Folk High School?
It’s easy to combine with my work.
Describe Åsa in three words!
Community (in the) Åsa family.
What has the course given you?
A very good understanding and knowledge of the body’s muscles and skeleton. Great tips and tricks on how to see and feel when muscles or bones may be injured.
What are your future plans?
To give my clients massages in a magical environment.
Klara Sahlin, 20 years old, the Music course
Tell us something about yourself!
Apart from my great interest in music, I really love animals. I have a dog at home named Hobbe. I’ve also been riding horses for most of my life and have worked a lot with horses, which I really enjoy.
Why are you studying at Åsa Folk High School?
Because it’s a fantastic place where you get to spend all your time doing exactly what you love, which for me is playing music, and it’s really a place where everyone is welcome. Here, everyone takes care of each other, which creates great conditions to succeed with your goals and develop as a person.
The environment here is creative, which is very inspiring and motivates me to actually pursue my dreams. My grandmother also studied here in the 1950s, in a cooking program, which is a fun connection I have to the school.
Describe Åsa in three words!
Welcoming, challenging, idyllic.
What has the course given you?
The course has given me much more confidence in myself, and I’ve grown as a person. I’ve made friends for life and have gotten to know people I would never have met if I hadn’t come here, as the school brings together people from different backgrounds.
The course has challenged me a lot because the music course is at a high level where many are really good at what they do. I am incredibly grateful for everything I’ve learned from my teachers as well as my classmates.
What are your future plans?
Right now, it’s very uncertain, but I’d love to continue with music in some way and keep developing as I am here.
Otherwise, I’d really love to move abroad, learn different languages, and eventually study something in the social sciences at university.
Nisse Fält, 70 years old, the Write a book course
Tell us something about yourself!
Born and raised in the deep forests of eastern Jämtland, with everything that entails. I had a happy childhood with kind parents and a couple of teasing older sisters.
I trained as a construction engineer in Östersund and worked at an architectural firm for a few years before moving into project management and eventually real estate economics, where I stayed until I got fed up with it all and retired at 63.
My first wife passed away in 1991, and after some searching (personal ads at the time), I found another half-family that drew me and my two kids to Ärla, where we lived until a few years ago when we moved to Flen. Today, I live there with my wife. Thankfully, all four of our children have their own lives, so we have time to take care of ourselves.
Why are you studying at Åsa Folk High School?
It was a coincidence, plus (course leader) Axel …
I’ve always enjoyed crafts, but a few years ago, I developed essential tremor, so that was the end of my crafting.
Reading is another favorite pastime, so I’m a frequent visitor at Flen’s library. One day in late summer 2022, I visited the library and saw an intriguing book cover. It was Axel Hellby’s first book about Hundberget – ”Sönderfall” – that caught my interest. While reading the book, I discovered that Axel is a local from Flen and lives just a few hundred meters from me.
I enjoyed the book and got in touch with Axel, telling him I was waiting for the second part. It came, and he delivered it to my home, where we struck up a conversation.
We’ve talked from time to time since, and I subscribed to his cultural magazine. In the fall of 2023, he announced it was time to apply for the writing course at Åsa Folk High School.
The idea of replacing crafting with writing started to take root. But can old men still study at a folk high school? Absolutely, was Axel’s answer, and that’s how it all started.
Describe Åsa in three words!
Åsa, two, three.
What has the course given you?
It was a bit nerve-wracking and shaky with digital teaching at first, but now I’m getting the hang of the technology.
The course has given me a wonderful group of classmates who all feel this course is the best thing that’s happened to us. Even though we’ve only met a few times in person during the on-site sessions, we feel like close friends and dare to open up and talk about difficult topics.
The course has made me realize that writing is a challenging and demanding art, but it gives so much back. I can even enjoy the feeling of having a completely empty mind when I sit in front of my computer. I know that soon, inspiration will come for yet another line, and another line, and another line. Pure joy!
The course gives me knowledge and tools for the entire writing process – from start to finish!
The course has shown me that I have a meaningful future in my writing.
What are your future plans?
I’m a pensioner, so I have oceans of time and no financial incentive in my writing. I’ll continue to enjoy my writing. Maybe it will turn out well enough that someone else wants to read and share in my twisted thoughts.
If longer or shorter writing courses come up, it’s likely I’ll try to participate because this course has been the most fun I’ve ever had!