VLADISLAV KOVALENKO (he/him)

What brought you to KPU and your program of study?

I originally came to Canada on an agricultural program.
After my first year, I went home for the summer and
spent time working on my father's farm. That experience
made me realize it was time for a change.

One evening my sister and I were browsing the KPU
website and spotted a new program — Front-End Design
and Interactivity Technologies. Something clicked.
I applied, got in, and never looked back.

That spontaneous decision turned out to be one of
the best I've ever made.

Can you briefly describe your current position and your main day to day responsibilities?

Since graduating, I've been focused full-time on
Arrivalio — a free settlement guide I built for
newcomers arriving in British Columbia.

My day-to-day involves developing new features,
reaching out to settlement organizations and
universities, and working to get the app into
the hands of the people who need it most.

It's not a traditional job — but it feels like
the most meaningful work I've done.

Which skills, knowledge, or experiences from KPU have been most valuable in your career so far?

KPU gave me the technical skills — React, TypeScript,
UI/UX design — but also something I didn't expect
to be grateful for: Jira.

I spent most of the program convinced Jira was
invented specifically to make students suffer.
I genuinely could not understand why we needed
a whole system just to track tasks. Fast forward
to today, and I run my entire product roadmap
in Jira. I still don't know everything about it.
But I finally understand why it exists.

The other thing KPU prepared me for — without
knowing it — was working in the age of AI.
Having a strong foundation meant I knew when
to use AI tools and when to think for myself.
AI has simultaneously freed my hands and tied
them tighter. It's easier than ever to turn
ideas into products. But that also means the
responsibility for the outcome is entirely yours.
You have to know what you're building and why —
otherwise the tools just help you build the
wrong thing faster.

KPU taught me how to think like a developer.
The rest I'm figuring out as I go.

What advice would you give current KPU students who want to build a successful career after graduation?

Honestly? I'm probably the wrong person to ask.
I graduated a few weeks ago and I'm currently
unemployed, building a free app, and preparing
for an English proficiency test.

But here's what I can say with confidence:

Build something. Anything. It doesn't have to
be perfect — mine started as a capstone project
that was "good enough to pass." I stayed after
class to make it better anyway. I don't fully
know why. But that decision changed everything.

Use AI tools — but learn the fundamentals first.
If you don't understand what you're building,
AI will just help you build the wrong thing faster.

And embrace the tools you hate in school.
I spent two years complaining about Jira.
Now I run my entire product in it.

The honest truth is that no one really knows
what a "successful career" looks like until
they're in it. So just keep building, keep
shipping, and figure it out as you go.

That's my plan anyway. Ask me again in a year.