From ENGin Student to International Career: How English Practice Opened New Doors for Olha Vasheniuk
- ENGin Program
- Jul 14
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
On August 25, 2021, Olha Vasheniuk received an email with the subject line: "ENGin: Meet Your Match!" She didn't know it then, but that message would mark the beginning of a journey that would take her far beyond conversational English — all the way to a career connecting Ukrainian professionals with American startups.
This is her story.
A Small City, a Big Goal, and One Recommendation That Changed Everything
Growing up in Rivne, a mid-sized city in western Ukraine, Olha was always looking for ways to improve her spoken English. She understood the stakes.
"Without English, you can't go anywhere today," she says. "It's the original voice of your favorite actors in films, a portal to the international world, and simply the way people communicate."
When a friend at a speaking club mentioned ENGin — a nonprofit program that matches Ukrainian students with English-speaking volunteers for weekly online conversation practice — Olha didn't hesitate. "There was no doubt — I just needed to sign up," she recalls. "It's really simple." Within days, she received her welcome email, a week later, her volunteer reached out and invited her to their first call.
That volunteer was Katherine (or Kathy) from Miami, Florida.
The Match That Became a Friendship
ENGin's matching process takes into account the interests of both the student and the volunteer, and in Olha and Kathy's case, the fit was immediate. Visual art, graphic design, and sports gave them a natural common ground, and what was supposed to be a five-minute warm-up would often stretch into half the session.
"Kathy was always so warm," Olha says. "We became friends very quickly."
Before their first call, Olha's biggest worry was a familiar one for many students: what if she couldn't understand an accent? It turned out to be one of the most valuable things ENGin helped her work through.
"That's actually the whole point of ENGin — to teach you not just to speak English, but to understand the full range of English accents," she reflects. "Even America will surprise you with how many different ways people speak — let alone Scotland, Australia, and beyond."
Their sessions continued regularly until early 2022, when russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kathy was one of the first people from abroad to contact Olha and ask how she could help.
"I remember all her reposts in support of Ukraine for her community," Olha says. "It was incredibly valuable to feel that kind of support from a long-distance friend living on the other side of the world, especially in those moments when you're completely lost and don't know what the next day will bring."
The two eventually paused their regular sessions as university demands picked up, but the connection remained. They still follow each other on Instagram and reach out for birthdays and milestones.
"I always knew we could turn to each other when needed," Olha says.
How ENGin Became the First Step Toward an International Career
For Olha, the impact of ENGin went well beyond language confidence — though that came too.
"ENGin definitely made me 80% less afraid of accents," she says with a laugh. "Okay, maybe I'm still 20% afraid."
But the deeper shift was professional. Through her sessions with Kathy, Olha began to understand not just American English, but American culture and mindset — a subtle yet significant advantage when she later applied to A-Players Business Associates (A-Players BA), a company with Ukrainian roots that connects young Ukrainian professionals with early-stage American startups.
"ENGin was definitely the first step toward my international career at A-Players BA," she says.
The two programs share a similar philosophy: both are built on the idea of finding the right match between people and opportunities. While ENGin connects students with volunteer conversation partners, A-Players BA connects ambitious young specialists with socially important startups, placing them in roles spanning partnerships, business operations, and analytics.
Olha initially applied to A-Players BA as a Business Associate candidate. During the preparatory startup training, the team recognized her potential and brought her on board in a different capacity altogether. Today, she prepares other candidates for placement with American teams — drawing directly on the cross-cultural fluency she first started building through her ENGin sessions.
"Working with an American volunteer, you gradually begin to understand a new mentality," she explains. "In my case, the American one. That experience with ENGin turned out to be very useful."
What Olha Didn't Expect ENGin to Give Her
When Olha signed up, she was looking for a way to improve her spoken English. What she found was something broader: confidence, a transatlantic friendship, cultural understanding, and, unexpectedly, a clearer sense of direction for her career.
"I only have warm memories of my experience with ENGin," she says. "It's something I want to recommend to the people closest to me, because participation in this program is enriching, captivating, and addictive."
And to any ENGin graduate thinking about what comes next? Olha's path is a reminder that the skills built in those weekly sessions — the ability to communicate clearly, connect across cultures, and show up confidently in an international setting — are exactly what the professional world is looking for.
Ready to Start Your Own Journey?
Olha's story began with a single email and one hour of conversation practice per week. If you're a Ukrainian looking to build your English skills and the career opportunities that come with them, ENGin is the place to start.
Join ENGin as a student and find your match today.
Join A-Players as a Business Associate and join the startup team.
ENGin is a nonprofit program connecting Ukrainian students with English-speaking volunteers for weekly conversation practice online. Learn more at enginprogram.org.
