Interview – Bozhena Boriak, former CAWEB
During the graduation ceremony of Caweb Master’s students, Caweb Student Association had the chance to meet Bozhena Boriak, a Ukrainian Caweb student of the class of 2020-2021 full of kindness who gave her time to answer our questions. Discover with us her atypical career, anecdotes, and projects! It’s worth having a look.
Hello! What is your first name and age?
My name is Bozhena Boriak and I’m 29 years old!
Your favorite Alsatian dish and drink?
Tarte flambée! And also, the wine… I can’t remember the name!
No worries! What is your favorite place in Strasbourg?
Here at Strasbourg, I love the Orangery and its park!
I was there a few days ago! Regarding your studies, why did you choose the Caweb Master’s degree? What characteristics hooked you?
Before I was a translator and interpreter and I told myself that I needed skills that combine communication and technicality. Indeed, when I was working at the Council of Europe in communication I noticed that I was missing skills like development for example. So I realized that Master Caweb met these criteria very well!
I totally understand! What did you do as an apprenticeship?
I had gone to Kyiv where I was Head of Web Projects for an American company that has offices in Kyiv.
Excellent experience! What position are you currently in?
Well, because of the war in Ukraine, I am unemployed, unfortunately, but I used to hold the position of Key Account Manager in this same company.
I’m so sorry about that. Let’s move on to more joyful topics! What is your best CAWEB student night?
I don’t have many answers to that. For me, studies were in the first place. Look, I had chosen 3 languages for the Master Caweb (English, German and French) so for me, it was a little harder than for others who had two languages. But it was a specific request to the University who agreed to add this third language for me! I used to work a lot in the evenings, but I have only good memories of our project from Master 1 and the evenings we spent with my group! These are the most beautiful student nights of my Master’s.
I totally understand! What is your unforgettable moment during the master’s?
The graduation ceremony! I really enjoyed presenting our project, the dialogues with the professors were informative and it was a moment that I particularly enjoyed.
Who was your sidekick or best friend during your master’s degree?
Fatima and Damla! We did our project together and I consider them my best friends. We’ve always kept in touch!
What are your best anecdotes with professors?
We had a lot of fun with the professors! Especially with an American professor whose name I won’t mention because it was easier to make dark jokes between us.
I promise this information will remain hidden! Have you traveled with other students? If so, where and tell us more.
No, unfortunately not, because of covid… We had planned to go to Paris but we had to cancel everything.
That’s a pity! What were the difficulties you had to face during your master’s degree?
For me, it was more the coding. In my speech, I said that my friends thought I was a geek who spent my nights in my hoodie learning JavaScript!
I know exactly what you mean! Your suggestions for us so that we can better help the next caweb students to orient themselves and succeed in their journey?
You really have to be open and do everything as a team: this is not a competition! If you do everything by yourself, you will be less effective. I would say that we really need to learn to work together.
Last question and I’ll set you free! What are your future plans?
It’s hard to say as my life is on hold at the moment. I would like to do something international, like start an international school for children, or maybe a non-profit organization! This is my life project.
It’s a worthy project! Thank you for giving me your time!
With pleasure!