What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
American Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

What made you apply for the Mountbatten program?
I was coming to the end of 18 months travelling Australia and looking for my next adventure. Having spent an incredible year in the US studying during University, the Mountbatten Program seemed like the perfect opportunity to continue travelling the world, but also picking up the professional experience to kick start my career.

Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
I worked for the British Consul General. My role was an Entry Clearance Assistant helping to process visa applicants looking to travel to the UK. It was a fantastic and interesting role exposing me to the workings of a British Diplomatic office.

What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
There was so many, from working at the Tartan Day Parade, Diplomatic visits to processing visa and passport applications from some very famous individuals.

What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
My life has certainly been shaped by the Mountbatten Program as I actually met my wife in New York. She was on the program as well, but on a different intake. We both joined friends as a plus one to a Thanksgiving night out and what can I say other than 19 years later we are still going strong!

Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship
Get out of your comfort zone. There were so many incredible opportunities that came my way while in New York and I was never disappointed. When an opportunity comes up, either personal or professional just say yes!

Upon reflection, what do you consider has been the biggest impact of your Mountbatten year?
The confidence that propelled me to start my career. I had almost no professional experience before going on Mountbatten, and being exposed to so many people in such a diverse and challenging environment certainly gave me the confidence to build my career after returning to the UK.

What happened after completing the year – what did you do next?
I moved to London. At that point in my career, I was set on becoming a member of the British Foreign Office, so upon moving to London I joined the Civil Service.

Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
Well it’s not the Civil Service! After a few years of working for the Government, I was looking for a new challenge and through a Mountbatten connection I took a job at a Tech start-up. Since then, I have worked for 15 years in various Software and Technology companies.

Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
I have been so fortunate to have such an interesting and exciting career to date. I’d love to get involved in an organisation that helps young people get the skills that they will need to be successful in the workplace of the future.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
Despite spending 15 years working for technology companies I have absolutely no idea how to code software!