Student stories

My name is Andrii. During my service in the assault brigade of the 15th Mobile Border Guard Detachment «Steel Border», I carried out combat missions in different directions and took part in assault operations. After being discharged from service, it was important for me to find new goals, adapt to civilian life and choose a professional path in which I could continue to develop. I would like to express my immense gratitude to Academy for Heroes for the opportunity to receive quality IT education, complete an internship and take a real step into a new professional future after service. I studied in the Full Stack Development program. The program is built at a high level: a lot of practice, modern technologies, mentor support and continuous skill development. After the internship, I found employment and now work at the IT company Stepico Games. I sincerely thank the entire Academy for Heroes team for your work and contribution to the future of Ukraine’s veterans. You are doing extremely important work! Andrii-Sviatoslav Stefunka, graduate of Academy for Heroes

My name is Vladyslav. I am a second-year student at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and work at EveryMatrix as a QA & Configuration Manager. I entered the IT field thanks to Academy for Heroes, where I studied in the Project Management & Quality Assurance course and gained the basic and practical knowledge needed to work in the industry. During my studies at the Academy, I actively developed software testing skills — from manual testing to working with documentation and bug tracking. The Academy also helped me improve my English to a level sufficient for working with foreign colleagues and technical documentation. I started my journey at the company in a TechOps position and later grew into my current role, which includes both quality assurance and various configuration tasks. I am glad that Academy for Heroes once opened the door to this field for me. I continue to actively develop further and move forward in my profession. Vladyslav Kravets, graduate of Academy for Heroes

I had not planned to connect my future with IT, but thanks to my brother, I became interested in this field and started studying in a three-month Python course. During the training, I remembered my school-time interest in programming, as I had once even won prizes in competitions. That was when I realized that I wanted to develop in this direction. I currently work as a design engineer and design metal parts and structures, so I have a strong technical background and experience working with engineering tasks. Together with my brother, we are studying in the Data Engineering course at Academy for Heroes, where we are gaining modern technical knowledge and practical skills. An important part of the training for us is also the development of soft skills, which help us work effectively in a team and better understand people. We are sincerely grateful to Academy for Heroes for its support, new opportunities, and help for veterans in professional development and adaptation to civilian life. Viktor and Yevhenii Stefanovych, participants of the Data Engineering course

This experience was unforgettable. In every lesson, we learned something new and very interesting. It is easy to find friends and people with shared interests here, because the Academy brings together many different personalities. Thanks to Academy for Heroes, I was able to overcome my fear of speaking in public. That is why I highly recommend it! Zlata Kaniuka, participant of the «AI for a Future Career» course

Volodymyr — an experienced Full Stack Middle-Senior Developer with many years of experience working at IT Soft and Insaiders. Today, he is simultaneously leading three active IT projects:A file converter built with Python, Next.js, and AWS; A commercial Full Stack project with an admin panel based on Next.js, Node.js, and Express; An AI project with a frontend developed in React.Despite his busy professional schedule, Volodymyr finds time to teach at the Academy for Heroes. Today, we spoke with him about how education helps veterans start a new chapter in life, the challenges they face during training, and what inspires him most in this work:

Vasyl — a veteran who decided to start a new chapter of his life together with the Academy for Heroes. For him, studying has become not only an opportunity to acquire a new profession, but also a real path to recovery, self-fulfillment, and reintegration into social life. We learned what exactly he enjoys about studying and what his plans are after graduation:

If it weren’t for my wife, I probably would never have found out about this opportunity. I signed up somewhat randomly, but now I know for sure — it was the right decision. I even came up with my own project idea that I really want to implement.

The story of “Academy for Heroes” student Viktor Krupin is about resilience, self-belief, and new opportunities that arise even after the toughest trials. Viktor was born in Ukraine and earned his degree from the National University “Lviv Polytechnic,” graduating in 2019. After completing his studies, he began working for a construction company. However, his peaceful life was disrupted by the outbreak of the full-scale war. When enemy forces invaded Ukraine, Viktor did not stand aside—he joined volunteer formations and later enlisted in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. His service was filled with dangers and challenges. During combat near Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, he sustained an injury that changed the course of his life. After his injury, Viktor underwent a long period of treatment and rehabilitation. During this time, he had the opportunity to reflect on his future, as returning to his previous profession was no longer an option. That was when he turned his attention to the IT field—a sector that offers remote work opportunities, professional growth, and fair compensation.

My name is Natalia, and I am the wife of a veteran. I am a lawyer by education and a former civil servant in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, after two long maternity leaves, it was not easy to return to my previous job. Moreover, the war has made significant changes in my life.  

My name is Artur, and I served in the military for over 20 years — going all the way from cadet to officer! During this time, I held various positions and took part in combat operations, including in Zaporizhzhia Region.Given the consequences of the war, I decided to change my military career to project management, where I will be able to apply my leadership skills, teamwork experience and strategic planning to achieve new goals.Thanks to Academy for Heroes, I am gaining the knowledge and practical tools needed for successful project implementation, as well as mastering modern management approaches that will help me work effectively in the civilian sector.Artur Stanishovskyi, participant of the Project Management & Quality Assurance course