Graduation Day - July 18th 2007
Well, Forgive me for writing this post a little late. I have finally been able to set aside some time to create some posts for the Blog. After 5 miserable years of “The Castle School” and then one major reality check of working for Millets you wander where life is taking you. But then the best decision i ever made, to go back to SCAT (Somerset College of Arts and Technology) and pursue a career in IT. During my time at SCAT i was given the confidence, knowledge and determination to excel in my studies and i enjoyed every dam second of it. I was taught by many great people during my time there especially Sam Batten and Mike Marshall who tragically passed away during the end of my final year at SCAT. These people put so much effort into everything they did and really encouraged me to “want” to do well and not to settle for just OK.Once i completed the BTEC 1st Diploma in IT i was really keen to climb as high as i could and by this time realised that i enjoyed learning about IT just as much as messing around on internet. I was encouraged by Mike to do the BTEC National Diploma in Computer Science which was the next progressive step and was a 2 year course. I personally found the BTEC National Diploma a great success. The modules taught were very interesting and ranged from database development to advanced networking. I managed to finish the course at the top of the class scoring a distinction in every module (such a competitive geek !). Towards the end of the course it was time for University Applications and Sam said that i really should apply. Up until then the thought of going to uni never once crossed my mind as was always told at school that only the kids in the top sets were going to be good enough for university and my final GCSE grades were not exactly amazing but Sam said i should still apply… so i did.
Choosing which course to study at Uni was difficult because i was very passionate about Web Development at that time but also really enjoyed Networking due to its sheer complexity. In the end i decided to apply for networking courses at various universities up and down the country. At this point i still wasn’t really getting my hopes up because deep down i still didn’t think i would get into any. Once all the replies came back i was astonished to find that i was excepted into all 6 of the institutions that i applied too. In the end it was Plymouth that took my fancy and enlisted on the BSc (Hons) Computer Systems and Networks course. This was a 4 year degree that had a mandatory year industry placement. I felt this was the right course for me as i was able to gain valuable work experience as well as a formal qualification.
Seeing as this post is turning into abit of an epic all i will say about my experience at Uni is “AMAZING”. It was by far the best years of my life. There were real highs and lows, some serious hard work and some serious good nights out. For my industrial placement year i worked for a global blue chip company which gave me a real valuable insight to working in the IT industry. The final year of the degree was a real epic i don’t really remember sleeping all that much due to the amount of work that was required. It was really intense but at the same time really good.
Well, Once the project was done (see Mydocr related posts) and the exams were out of the way it was time to say good bye to the Plymouth coastline and return back to Taunton and await my results. After about 4 weeks the results popped through the letterbox, i had never been so scared in my life lolol. I ripped open the envelope and looked at the top of the page.. “Awarded: First Class Honours“…after 1 dodgy year in retail, 3 years of college and 4 years of uni I DID IT !!!!!! a first class honours degree in Computer Systems and Networks. Nothing could have described that feeling i got when i realised that i had achieved exactly what i set out to do, it was fantastic. Unfortunately i couldn’t take all the credit, if it wasn’t for my good mates, amazing girlfriend and parents i wouldn’t have got even close.
On July 18th 2007 i once again visited Plymouth for my graduation ceremony to celebrate the end of Uni with my friends and family. As for what happens next…ill save that for another post.
I hope you don’t think i am a loser for writing this post but i really wanted to say it. To anyone out there going through the same sorts of doubt as i did just believe in yourself and go for it. If i was to give any advice i think i would say remember to try to surround yourself with good people and don’t listen to teachers when they say that GCSE’s are the most important things in the world and without them you wont amount to anything. There are a million ways of accomplishing the same goals, just find the right path for you and work your nuts off.
Add comment February 24th, 2008