"When choosing a university I visited many coastal cities due to my interest in sailing and yacht racing and fell in love with Plymouth as soon as I arrived. I chose to study for a degree in mathematics as I have always enjoyed the subject and studied both maths and further maths at A level.
I find that the more I learn, the more I become aware of how powerful the subject is and how it is applied to so many aspects of our lives. When starting my degree I originally wanted to become a teacher; however, the University gave me an insight into so many more career opportunities which were of greater interest.
The University of Plymouth was a great place to study. The Students' Union provided most of my entertainment with a variety of sports clubs and societies available as well as evening activities. I was a member of the sailing and powerboat and yacht clubs plus the pool society.
I attended many national events with each of the groups and was also part of the winning European university sailing cup team. The University is situated within walking distance of almost everything you need: the city centre, train and coach stations, a large shopping centre, the sea and the watersports centre.
The School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics has a dedicated and enthusiastic group of staff willing to help any student achieve the highest possible grade. With a small campus, the lecture theatres, 24-hour library and lecturers were all close together and easy to get between during revision and when completing coursework.
After my exams, I was fortunate to join Ocado, the internet grocery store, in their business planning department as an Analyst. I was required to complete a test in Excel using both the knowledge gained from my A level ICT as well as many modules of my degree.
Since joining Ocado I have used SQL and VBA scripting to analyse sections of data and design tools to aid other departments within the company, as well as writing specifications to aid IT when building a new system for a specific area of the business.
I am now looking forward to returning to Plymouth for my graduation, where I will be celebrating the success of my first class honours degree."