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While I was doing my A' levels at College, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do later in life and what sort of career I wanted to follow. However, I knew that maths would open up a huge variety of opportunities for me, which is one of the reasons why I chose to study maths at University. I was a 6th form student at Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough, 8 miles South-East of Middlesborough, and had the great opportunity to take part in the `Supported Progression' scheme for talented students studying in the North East, Cumbria and West Yorkshire. I came to Durham University for the first time during the Easter break 2011, and was accommodated in St Aidan's College, which gave me a good idea of what College life could be. I returned in July 2011 for the one-week Supported Progression Summer School organised by the Maths Department. Although I found the Maths hard - I realised quickly that the reason for this was that, at the time of the School, we had not yet been taught any of the Further Maths syllabus in my College, while other participants had already had a stab at it - I did find the strength to persevere and handed in my homework within the 3 weeks following the School, as required. On the basis of my performance, I received a conditional AAB offer to study Maths at Durham (the standard offer is A*AA). If it had not been for the Supported Progression scheme, I would have not applied to Durham because I lacked confidence, and thought Durham was `out of my league'. The rest is history: I did very well in my A' levels and I joined Josephine Butler College in October 2012 to start my BSc in Mathematics degree at Durham. I slipped into the College system effortlessly. I particularly enjoyed freshers' week because it is fantastic opportunity to form groups of friends for life, which helps considerably academically and socially. I am now a final year student busy wrapping up my end of year project, and discover that I have picked up a lot of valuable skills alongside academic knowledge during my studies. These skills have had a chance to develop thanks to opportunities in the Maths Department, in my college and during an internship at Rolls Royce in Derby last summer. There, my background in mathematics helped me organise teams, apply my logical skills, manage the time of others, build my confidence to the point that I have decided to apply for an MSc in Design and Manufacturing Engineering. My secret hope is to eventually return to Rolls Royce and join their 2-year graduate programme with extended internship, having had the most enjoyable experience last year. |