Hello, I'm Yaroslav
A littleabout me.
I study Computer Science at the University of Luxembourg, but the things I care about don't stay inside one category. AI is rewriting what every discipline looks like, and I'd rather stay flexible and figure out where I'm actually useful than go deep into one lane and stop looking around. I'm drawn to software that has a point :)
0101How I think
Solve the right thing first
My first instinct when I hit a problem isn't to start coding, it's to check whether I'm even solving the right thing.
During my bachelor's we had to complete a semester project alongside our coursework. I was also working at the university as a student assistant, assigned to a real technical project. Instead of running both tracks in parallel and doing twice the work, I proposed using the work project as my semester project. My manager agreed. My supervisor agreed.
I shipped one thing that counted twice, not because I was cutting corners, but because it was genuinely the cleaner solution :)
A small confession
I like poking at systems until I understand them
A parking app near the university let drivers skip the fee if they continued their journey by public transport. I couldn't work out how it verified that, so I used Xcode's location simulator to see whether it would accept a faked GPS signal. It did. No fee applied.
I'm not especially proud of the ethics there ) but it changed how I think about building things. Any system that fully trusts input from the user's own device has a gap in it somewhere. That one experiment quietly pulled my interest toward security, edge cases, and the distance between what software assumes is happening and what can actually happen.
0202Where I'm from
Kharkiv taught me to keep moving
I grew up in Kharkiv. The schedule was school, English class, IT, extra maths, then breakdancing practice, and some days didn't finish until nine at night. I didn't find it overwhelming. I found it normal, and that probably explains a few things about how I work now.
By now I'm so used to being busy that I can't really do without that kind of motion. I always need a goal in front of me, something to move toward, otherwise it doesn't feel right.
I've also spent time in customer-facing roles like waiter and barista, the kind of work that teaches you to stay calm and attentive under pressure. I find it easy to talk to people of any age or background, and I care about honest, respectful communication.
0303Beyond the code
I care how things feel, not just how they work
After moving to Luxembourg I had a long stretch of unstructured time. Out of pure restlessness I started learning video editing, and it turned into almost five years of work, freelance income, and a real feel for timing, pacing, and why some cuts land while others just don't.
Editing also became a genuine hobby, the thing I actually relax with. Photography came next, partly to pair with it and partly to keep expanding what I can do across both filming and post.
Both feed straight into what I want to build: software that works properly, but also looks like someone cared about how it feels.
0404Eleven years in
Breakdancing keeps me honest
Breakdancing has been part of my life for over eleven years. I've performed at events here in Luxembourg, danced in photoshoots, taught classes to kids, and pushed through the long stretches where progress isn't visible and you show up anyway.
It's cost me a couple of broken arms and torn ligaments along the way, but it gave back more than it took. Breaking is a language of its own, and dancing with people opened me up and made me far more comfortable connecting with others.
That part, showing up when it isn't paying off yet, is probably the most transferable thing it's given me.
11+
years breakdancing
~5
years editing video
3
university contracts
Trust
Trusted three years running
At the university I've now worked on three consecutive student contracts. Each time, I was offered the next one.
I don't mention it as a credential, being trusted with the same place three years in a row just tends to mean something about how a person shows up.
What's next
Next summer I'm looking for an internship
Somewhere in software development or AI, where the work is real and the feedback is honest. I learn best when people tell me what's actually wrong, not what's diplomatically comfortable to say.
I'm also learning Luxembourgish. Slowly, but I'm learning :)