I moved from Iran to London on my own to study Computer Science and AI at Queen Mary University of London. I started university with no coding background at all, so the first year was mostly about catching up quickly and deliberately, while also adjusting to a new culture, a new education system, and living independently for the first time. It went better than I had dared to hope: I have now held the Global Talent Scholarship for two consecutive years.

The project I’m proudest of from that first year is the Java Typing Race Simulator, a multi-stage Java application that models a competitive typing race. I designed the object-oriented backend myself, built a real-time Swing GUI with live progress visualisation and race statistics, and managed the whole codebase on GitHub. Alongside it, I picked up web development fundamentals in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and worked through a Computer Systems coursework project where I implemented low-level network packet construction in MIPS assembly.

Outside of coursework, I got involved in three QMUL-organised consultancy hackathons. For the Erb’s Palsy Group, I helped put together an itemised £50,000 charity budget plan. For Cognizant’s Transform Society Challenge, my team and I proposed Unity Bridge, a financial literacy platform aimed at tackling the cost-of-living crisis in Tower Hamlets. I was also selected as one of fifteen QMUL students for Accenture’s Insight Day, where I competed in a live consultancy case challenge.

What none of that shows is how shy I was. In my first lectures, I couldn’t bring myself to ask a single question, even when I was stuck. I learn fast, but I realised that learning fast wasn’t only about code. It also meant putting myself in uncomfortable situations on purpose, and I found I actually like taking that risk. So I applied to be an EECS Student Ambassador, and at the 2026 Open Day I stood in front of around 70 people, talked about studying here, and answered their questions on the spot. From September 2026, I’m also an EECS Lab Demonstrator. The student who couldn’t ask a question in labs is now the one answering them.

Volleyball followed the same path. I competed at national level in Iran before moving to London, but when I joined the Queen Mary Volleyball Club, I was too shy to even go to the social events. Now I’m the club’s Vice President and one of the main people organising those same events, alongside running seminars, handling kit orders and supporting the President with day-to-day committee work. Coaching, in particular, taught me something I didn’t expect to carry into technical work: how to adjust the way I explain something depending on who I’m talking to, more academic with older players, friendlier with younger ones. Explaining something clearly to someone outside your field turns out to matter just as much in technical work as the technical skill itself.

As a Student Ambassador, I also support recruitment and outreach for the department, giving prospective students information and guidance about studying here, both on campus and online, and contributing content for our social media, website testimonials and the university’s Unibuddy platform.

Looking back, none of this was really about talent. It was about starting from genuinely nothing, in a country I’d never lived in before, and building things one deliberate step at a time, including building the confidence to speak up. I’m increasingly drawn to computer networking and systems administration now, and I’m looking for an industrial placement where I can keep building in that direction.