‘Hey you! You’ve Got this and You ARE Smart’: Motivated Women Drawing on ‘Sisu’ to Persist and Succeed at University

This chapter complements previous chapters by applying the concept of ‘sisu’ to the enactment of persistence and success of mature FiF women in higher education. Sisu is a Finnish term which describes the inner fortitude activated in moments of hardship especially when nothing more is ‘left in the tank’, likened to the ‘second wind’ that keeps us moving forward in spite of the odds (Lahti, Embodied fortitude: An introduction to the Finnish construct of sisu. International Journal of Wellbeing, 9(1), 61–82. 2019). Sisu captures the inner strengths and capabilities these women drew upon when challenges arose which enabled them to continue to move forward. The chapter draws on the data collected from Study C and discusses how sisu provides a lens through which to understand the determined persistence of these women, as a deeply personal, collective and complex experience.