Connections beyond campus

When Sasha Gorchanyuk ’23 crossed the commencement stage at the Yum! Center, she had plans to attend graduate school, work as a graduate assistant and help other students have access to opportunities like the ones she experienced as a Cardinal. 

Now, she can check all of those accomplishments off her checklist. 

After graduating from UofL, Gorchanyuk flew from her Cardinal nest to West Virginia University, where she earned her MBA while working as a graduate assistant in their athletics department. Since then, she has landed in Pittsburgh, where she works as a special events coordinator in the University of Pittsburgh’s career center. 

As an undergraduate, Gorchanyuk attended career fairs, mock interviews and resume building workshops within UofL’s Career Center, all events she now helps put on in her role at the University of Pittsburgh. The connections she made as a student attending UofL’s events continue to flourish and helped give her a leg up in the job market. 

“The first person I contacted when I applied for the job at Pittsburgh was Susan Hildebrand,” Gorchanyuk said. Hildebrand was Gorchanyuk’s mentor and a recruitment and career strategist at UofL. “She helped me practice my interviewing skills and helped me land the job here at University of Pittsburgh.” 

Hildebrand encouraged Gorchanyuk to dive into learning opportunities outside the classroom to build her resume and professional skills. While at UofL, Gorchanyuk interned with the Louisville Bats, the Cardinal Athletic Fund and Louisville Athletics. Those experiences helped propel her career forward and made her the supporter of experiential learning she is today. 

“I’ve always been a huge advocate for finding ways to show up and gain experience,” she said. “Being at UofL and being immersed in all of the internships and hands-on experiences there helped me find my identity. Those internships all helped me figure out what I like and I do a little bit of everything that I learned in my internships in my job now.” 

The Ukraine native and first-generation student feels like she has come full circle to be able to give back to students like herself just a few years ago. 

“Now, being behind the scenes helping students and getting to see students land those jobs and building their networks through events I’m putting on has been really fulfilling in my work,” she said. “I love the impact I get to make with students and getting to see the amazing things they do from welcome week to graduation. I love working with and seeing students succeed and making an impact.”

Gorchanyuk still finds time to return to her Cardinal home from time to time. While she loves Pittsburgh, she misses the campus, community and restaurants Louisville has to offer. She brings her fiancé, who she met at WVU, to Louisville to share her love of the city.

“I love coming back and visiting and showing my fiancé the city and campus because the city is so fun,” she said. “I'm a very proud Louisville alum. I just feel really grateful for my experience at UofL.”