UFV alumni: where are they now?

Grad season at UFV just wrapped up and new graduates are now faced with their futures. Some have everything mapped out, but others may be left wondering what comes next — a question that many undergrads might also be asking themselves as they inch closer and closer to their degrees. That’s why, for this issue of The Cascade, we reached out to a handful of UFV alumni to hear about their experiences both during their time at UFV and after graduation. How did their experiences differ? What were their biggest challenges as students? What advice do they have for current students? Is there really any one “right” path? (Hint: the answer is no).

 

Andrea Sadowski

Bachelor of Arts in Global Development (2018-2022)

Freelance Communications & Community Engagement Specialist 

 

How would you describe the first three months after you graduated?

I had a bit of an existential crisis … My first job out of university paid $20 an hour, and it was a project coordinator job for a small environmental organization, and it wasn’t good at the time. I was there for a full year, and I’m still glad I did that job, because that job has opened doors to get other jobs … but $20 an hour wasn’t even living. I had to do side hustles on top of my full-time job to get by.

What does life look like for you now?

I did my masters, I got a job as a research assistant, and I’m teaching yoga, and things are good.

What would you say was your biggest struggle when you were a student?

The cost of living … I lived in my van too when I was in school, and I worked multiple jobs while in school. It would have been nice to not have to think about that so much … It was touch and go at some points.

Did you ever study abroad while at UFV?

I went on a study abroad trip to Ethiopia … Only three people applied, and so I was one of the three people that got it … There’s so many opportunities that I find that people don’t know about or don’t apply to.

If you could go back to when you were a student at UFV and do anything differently, what would it be?

I would make it more of a priority to connect with my professors. A lot of students I know got a job through a professor … I was friendly with a few teachers, but I definitely didn’t make it a priority to reach out to teachers and try to network with them and try to make them remember me. You’re gonna need teachers to write you reference letters for a master’s degree, for a job, for a lot of different things.

If you could change one thing about UFV, what would it be?

I hate paying for parking … We’re already paying so much for gas and groceries and tuition, and we’re paying this much for student fees, and all these administrators are earning six figure salaries … I [shouldn’t] have to pay for parking.

 

Nikiel Lal

Bachelor of Kinesiology (2021-2023)

Former president of the UFV Student Union Society (SUS)

Strategy Manager for Giesbrecht and Company

 

How has your time as a previous president of SUS impacted your life in the long term?

What’s interesting about my story is that I did my degree in kinesiology, but I ended up in government relations, and a lot of that was because of my experience as president of the Student Union, and my passion and joy that I got around making a change and making an impact.

What were those first few months like post-graduation?

It’s not so different [from] when you start university. When you come into university, there might be that aspect of fear or uncertainty with what you want to do with your life … but I think once I really embraced it and changed my attitude around it, that’s when things really started to turn around … You start to see how all your experiences from post-secondary and everything that you worked towards, how they translate into the real world and how they built you into essentially the person you want to become and the person you’re continuing to grow into.

What was your biggest struggle as a student?

Honestly, finding the balance of prioritizing studying versus going out was something that I think I struggled with.

Do you have any advice for current UFV students?

You’re in university for two degrees: the one you get inside the classroom and the one you get outside the classroom — and both of those are really important to building you into the person you want to become. 

 

Carly Fleming

Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing (2021-2024)

Bookkeeping for Small Businesses Certificate

Cashier at Art’s Nursery Garden and Home

 

What has life looked like for you since graduating?

I’m definitely taking a necessary brain break from studying, but I am planning to go back to UFV this August for their teachers program.

How did it feel immediately after you graduated to suddenly not be a student anymore?

It was a pretty intense finish [in] my last semester … so it was a really nice break initially, but as the months went on, I started to really miss it, especially the creative writing aspect of it and my peers, and being able to go over work together and seeing my friends every day. 

What was your biggest struggle when you were a student?

I feel like I was working crazy hours [and] I was studying crazy hours, so I think burnout was a reality for me.

Do you have any advice for current students?

Try and enjoy every moment, because it goes by really quickly, and you may surprise yourself by actually missing being in school.

If you could change one thing about UFV, what would it be?

I wish the creative writing degree could have incorporated an editors component as well. Like a certificate or diploma that could have certified us in addition to our degrees. Something that could open more doors to grads as they enter the workforce.

 

Tarndeep Chattu

Bachelors of Business Administration (2016-2021)

Professional Communication Essentials associate certificate

Associate at Zacharias McCann LLP

 

What have you been up to since graduating from UFV?

Right after I finished, I wrote the LSAT [Law School Admission Test], and then I got into law school … I finished law school in April of 2025 and then May 2025 I started bardicling, and I just got called to the bar a few weeks ago.

How would you describe your overall time at UFV?

I was able to build a lot of connections … All the classes that I took in my undergrad directly helped with the kind of work I was doing in my co-ops … I [also] got to meet some cool people in my classes. I got to build good networks with my profs, and they even wrote me reference letters to get into law school.

Do you have any advice for students struggling to find balance in their lives?

I think being a planner and organizing your schedule and your exams and your tests and what needs to be done and when it needs to be done and just being super organized about that is probably the best way to go about it.

Any advice for current UFV undergraduates?

I would highly recommend doing a co-op or two and getting that experience, because there’s some really good job opportunities out there, and if you do those, that’s such a great thing to have on your resume. It gets your foot in the door, and even if you end up doing something completely different in your career, it’s transferable skills that you’re learning, and those are really easy to highlight.

 

Chandy Dancey

Bachelor of Science (2016-2022)

Medical Laboratory Science student at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT)

 

How has the network you built at UFV helped you post-graduation?

That’s how I got my position out of UFV. I was doing an independent research project, one of the assistants for my biology labs was in contact with somebody who was looking for someone for this position, so because she knew me, she knew my work ethic, [and] she’d seen me doing research, I was the first thing that popped up in her head.

Any tips for building those connections?

I don’t think you have to make it so formal. If you even just go in regularly to ask questions or ask maybe for more detail about something you’re interested in [from] class during office hours, at least they know your face and you stand out from the 30 plus other students.

What would you say is the biggest difference between student life and life after graduating?

It’s the light at the end of the tunnel when you’re actually making money … compared to school, any time that you’re not working, you don’t have tests to study for, assignments, quizzes, homework, group projects … you can, guilt-free, enjoy the time that you have off work.

What have you been up to these days?

I decided to go back to school for medical lab science at BCIT … so I’ll be learning to run all the diagnostic tests that a doctor will base their diagnosis and their treatment on.

How would you describe the community at UFV when you were a student?

I think it is what you make of it … They call it a commuter campus for a good reason, but I think that if you are searching for something, a deeper connection with students or with profs, there is a lot available, but it’s not going to necessarily fall into your lap. 

If you could change anything about UFV, what would it be?

Give us more summer courses … I could have taken like three classes over the summer.  I would have happily done that and finished a little earlier, but they really had slim pickings for biology and chemistry, and from what I hear, that’s not uncommon to different programs.

 

Tristan Taylor

Liberal Arts Diploma (2018-2023)

Founder of Canadian & International AI Advancement Institutes

 

When you were a student, did you ever need to unexpectedly pivot from what you thought you would be doing?

It was maybe a few weeks out of high school, I was rear-ended and sideswiped by a three-ton transport truck … So [I] couldn’t walk properly, couldn’t talk properly. I could barely hold a conversation for more than 10 seconds within those first few months, just very dazed, disoriented, [with] significant concussive symptoms. I’d even forgotten some of my friends’ names in high school. It completely derailed the plans I had for my life at the time, which was to go to UFV, get a kin degree, and then become a physiotherapist.

Can you tell our readers how UFV supported you through that time?

They would switch the lights off in the classroom when I was attending, so we had natural light coming through the window that was more than enough to illuminate the space because of the light sensitivity that I was experiencing … It took me some time to initially come around to accessing everything that they had to offer, but as soon as I did, I was able to take my exams in a quieter place [and] I didn’t have to have the issues with the light sensitivity, because I was given a lamp, and other things that [made] it far easier.

If you could go back to when you were a UFV student and do anything differently, what would it be?

I would engage more with the community … Some of the professors here are pillars in the community and advancing new innovation all over the place, so I think there are many ways to get engaged and work on some really unique projects in that capacity … Getting more involved at UFV and in the community around it would have been something that would have definitely been worthwhile.

 

Dr. Kelly Chahal

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice (1994)

Master of Arts (Criminal Justice) (2011)

Abbotsford City Councilor & Senior Independent Chairperson for Federal Corrections

 

What drew you to Criminal Justice?

I had dreams of being a lawyer, but that didn’t come to fruition … I was raising my two children, and I was working at, it’s called Archway but it used to be [Abbotsford] Community Services, so I was getting a lot of life experiences, but … I thought, I probably need to get some kind of surety or consistency, and nothing is better than the greatest equalizer of government work, for women especially, and so I started getting involved in the probation area and I ended up being a probation officer. But I also thought to myself, this is great, and I’m going to gain a lot of experiences, but I want more.

What was your biggest struggle when you were a student?

What I really struggled with [was], what is a student? … I bought a big bag to put five binders in for five classes, because I didn’t know the etiquette … I’m also a mom, and I [was] thinking I want to be prepared. [Another struggle was] having that balance where [if] you don’t have child care that day, are you going to tell your professor, [and] are they going to understand?

Do you have any advice for current UFV students who are also parents?

Be open, be honest. I even took my child to one of my classes and the professor said, just bring them in. Unless you ask, you don’t know, and it’s not shameful or anything. Don’t be afraid … Communicate openly with those people that can make decisions so they know what’s going on too. Then they can help you.

If you could go back to when you were a UFV student and do anything differently, what would it be?

I think I would not be so afraid of the end goal. Like, when people [ask] “What are you going to do then once you finish? … When are you going to do it?” I think I would try to quiet that noise a little bit, and just say to myself, hey, one step at a time, you’re heading in the right direction. Don’t worry about what others are saying.