Though she grew up in Finland, Karjalainen said she felt immediately at home in Vermont. “I always dreamt of playing college hockey. After my official visit, UVM felt like a perfect fit -- both for athletics and for academics -- it was just the right size for someone like me coming from a small Finnish town. The people and the community felt warm and welcoming from day one.” 

Karjalainen earned her undergraduate degree in dietetics and nutrition from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science in 2022 and graduated with a 3.84 GPA. While completing her program in the summer of 2021, she completed a practicum for her major, during which she worked with a sports dietitian to develop educational materials on nutrition for high school athletes in her native Finland.  

Karjalainen explains why studying nutrition mattered to her, “I wanted to study something that’s important for athletes. As an athlete, nutrition plays a huge role in my everyday life, so I wanted to learn more about it and the latest science behind it. It is also a developing field, and I am hoping to share my knowledge about nutrition more with other athletes in my future career.”

Karjalainen led the Catamounts to new heights during her time in Burlington, with matching 22-11-3 records in each of her two seasons, which were the two winningest seasons in the program's history.  Her team – under her co-captain guidance -- reached the Hockey East Semifinals each year and finished ranking 11th in the nation, its highest year-end ranking ever.  In 2023, she co-captained the UVM Women’s Hockey Team to success, and she was named an J. Edward Donnelly Award winner, and the American East Conference Woman of the Year.  Karjalainen was only the second Catamount to ever earn the Woman of the Year award, and the first ice hockey student-athlete to be recognized.  In the 2022 Olympics, she helped her home country of Finland to a bronze medal, and in 2023 to a fifth-place finish at the World Championships for Women’s Hockey.  

Fun fact, Karjalainen will play against another UVM alum, Natálie Malikova, when the Finnish team plays against the Czech Republic on Feb. 9. If her team and the French both advance far enough, she also might play against current UVM student athlete, Julia Mesplède, who is majoring in exercise science, and who plays for the French Women's Olympic Hockey team.

Karjalainen says that the encouragement she received while in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences contributed to her success in earning her degree, even amid the pressures of being both a student and a professional athlete. 

“I would say the biggest thing was the support that I got from CALS and the Nutrition and Food Science Department.  Support like that goes a long way, and I think the fact that the entire department is full of caring faculty and students is huge. Kind of like having another whole team or family supporting you. You can trust that they have your back, and I have theirs.”

All of us in CALS are certainly feeling proud of Karjalainen’s accomplishments both on and off the ice.  Let’s show her some enthusiastic support over the next three weeks!

Follow Sini on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sinikarjalainen_/?hl=en

UVM will be sponsoring Olympic watch parties across campus to watch our 9 UVM alumni and current CATAMOUNTS go for the Gold.  See the schedule of UVM Athlete events below.

More info at: go.uvm.edu/olympics26

2026 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES MILANO CORTINA - FEBRUARY 6-22, 2026

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET, subject to change)

Feb. 5 - Hockey: Julia Mesplède - Italy vs. France - 8:40 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 5 - Hockey: Natálie Mlýnková - USA vs. Czechia - 10:40 a.m. - Peacock/USA Network
Feb. 5 - Hockey: Sini Karjalainen - Finland vs. Canada - 3:10 p.m. - Peacock
Feb. 6 - Hockey: Julia Mesplède - France vs. Japan - 6:10 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 6 - Hockey: Natálie Mlýnková - Czechia vs. Switzerland - 8:40 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 7 - Alpine: Ryan Cochran-Siegle - Downhill - 5:30 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 7 - Hockey: Sini Karjalainen - USA vs. Finland - 10:40 a.m. - Peacock/USA Network
Feb. 8 - Cross Country: Ben Ogden - Men's Skiathlon - 6:30 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 8 - Biathlon: Margie Freed - Mixed 4x6km Relay - 8:05 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 8 - Hockey: Julia Mesplède - France vs. Sweden - 10:40 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 8 - Hockey: Natálie Mlýnková/Sini Karjalainen - Czechia vs. Finland - 3:10 p.m. - Peacock
Feb. 9 - Hockey: Julia Mesplède - Germany vs. France - 10:40 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 9 - Hockey: Natálie Mlýnková - Canada vs. Czechia - 3:10 p.m. - Peacock
Feb. 10 - Hockey: Sini Karjalainen - Finland vs. Switzerland - 3:10 p.m. Peacock
Feb. 11 - Alpine: Ryan Cochran-Siegle - Super-G - 5:30 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 13 - Cross Country: Ben Ogden - 10km Free - 6 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 14 - Biathlon: Margie Freed - 7.5km Sprint - 8:45 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 15 - Cross Country: Ben Ogden - 4x7.5km Relay - 6 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 15 - Biathlon: Margie Freed - 10km Pursuit - 8:45 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 15 - Alpine: Laurence St. Germain/Paula Moltzan - Giant Slalom - 4/7:30 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 18 - Alpine: Laurence St. Germain/Paula Moltzan - Slalom - 4/7:20 a.m. - Peacock
Feb. 21 - Freestyle: Kevin Drury - Ski Cross - 4/6 a.m. – Peacock

Here is local news coverage of Sini Karjalainen and our other female hockey stars who are playing in this year’s Olympic Games: 

WCAX Catamount Corner (Jan. 21) Three women's hockey Cats head to Italy - go.uvm.edu/g465k