Prior to my time at Apple, I would consider myself a brain with no direction. A good, tangible mind that could absorb maths, decode programming languages and spontaneously combust at the slight glimpse of Medicine. I'm at Imperial, so I knew I was smart, I just didn't have confidence to back that up.

At Apple, I faced deadlines, presentations and spontaneous meetings with various places in the world. I experienced real life pressure which would have made the old Chris wilt and hide. But the constant internal desire to impress and succeed pushed me to be more creative, energetic and malleable than I've ever been before. I now approach everything with a slight level of professionalism and a new-found burst of confidence, which is really making itself useful at a time when I'm juggling: coursework, ISE events, societies after iPods, EESoc events and all the other stuff posted on iCal.

First year will change your social life so quickly and so definitively, you will emerge a better, more independent person. A proper internship will change your professional perspective and show you the light that you've spent your entire educational history racing towards. No matter how big and how insurmountable anything I do from this point on seems to be: I know, it will never be as petrifying as a presentation to Steve.

From student blogsite October 2010.