This is an interesting question to answer, as Wolverhampton was not an initial consideration for me to study at back then. At the time, when I was considering a degree, and my initial pursuit was in the field of biochemistry. However, I had a sudden change of heart with respect to pursuing biochemistry, after I realized that a life in pursuit of research was not something that really appealed to me. The idea of being able to tie this degree to a year of experience, through the sandwich year, was also a compelling case for studying at the then-polytechnic. The early 80s were a particularly tough time for the UK in terms of the economy, and work was not easy to come by for anyone. Therefore, being able to study in an upcoming field and get at least a year's experience would help with job prospects after graduation. I was fortunate enough to see this play out, as I was hired by British Coal's IT department for my industry-experience during my sandwich year. My success during this placement meant that I was offered a job with them a year later, after I graduated. This set me on a path of being at the forefront of many changes for the software and technology industry that ultimately led me to Silicon Valley. Here, I was at the heart of the dotcom boom and growth of the internet's transformation of our society. Finally, I do want to recognize the passion and enthusiasm that made up the faculty of the computer science department. The faculty were super helpful to me.

My degree has helped me get a foothold in the software industry at a time when this was still considered more of an administrative role. The then-polytechnic was ahead of its time, when it came to the skills we were taught around micro-computing, software, and database management systems. It also taught me that you cannot rest on your laurels and that education is an ongoing commitment for the rest of your life. This understanding allowed me to remain nimble to the changes that I have seen over the span for my career, from being an initial mainframe developer all the way to working with the cloud/mobile ecosystems we currently encounter now.

Simply put, my role is to support the team’s focus on building amazing products by making sure that we are delivering value faster, more efficiently and with less waste. I do this by making sure we keep the lights on, and those lights remain on by taking care of the company’s strategy, finance, legal, corporate, HR/recruiting, and product development needs. This I accomplish by working with smart, adaptive, and execution-focused people who can collaborate on delivering software that people love to use. Therefore, a typical day can involve reviewing our delivery against the strategic road map, meeting with candidates that we want to hire to the team, spending time with our employees and leadership to reduce organizational friction that impacts delivery, or discussing financing and legal matters with our investors. The variety is part of the attraction of the role and it is a far cry from what brought me into this profession, when I started as a software engineer close to thirty years ago.

Remain curious. Optimize your experiences toward learning and keep an open mind. You should continuously seek improvements in what you and your business is looking to do, while remaining alert to change. Set aside your preconceptions and seek alternative perspectives. Ultimately, remain adaptable and embrace ambiguity for this is the world you will enter after you graduate.