I moved from Saudi Arabia to pursue computer science at the University of Leicester, deciding on this career path only during my final year of high school. Prior to that, I was inclined towards something business-related. When selecting my A-Levels, I had to choose three subjects and was initially uncertain. Opting for Maths, Accounting, and Economics, I took a leap of faith and added a fourth subject, computer science, out of curiosity, despite being unfamiliar with it. Previously, I had only studied ICT, which focused more on hardware and less on coding. Achieving good grades helped me secure admission to the University of Leicester and move abroad, though I felt somewhat anxious about starting my course.   Nevertheless, my journey commenced with the basics. The first year involved grasping the fundamentals of computing and understanding the industry dynamics through group projects to gain practical experience. Within my course, we had projects like designing a business and software model for a cinema booking system, utilizing Raspberry Pis, which was exciting as I got to see the interaction between hardware and software. We developed various games such as Scrabble and a SlopeStyle Scoreboard, which significantly enhanced my understanding of software engineering, a field I aspired to pursue. Additionally, I engaged in extracurricular activities, joining societies like Women in STEM as an events officer and contributing to the student learning community and the Leicester student magazine's social media team. These experiences honed my skills in audience engagement and required me to step out of my comfort zone. Moreover, I participated in initiatives such as the Athena SWAN Gender Equality Project and the EDI taskforce, advocating for representation and equality within our department.   In my second year, I had the opportunity to choose my own modules, enabling me to explore my interests and experiment with various computing topics. Projects such as an exercise tracker and the RefugEAP system, a support system for refugee students, allowed me to apply my skills to real-world problems. Additionally, I sought external projects for further experience, presenting at national conferences like the BCSWomen Lovelace Colloquium "Is Technological Inequality a Thing? - The Digital Divide and its Effects in the 21st Century" earning a finalist position in the competition. Additionally, I was invited by Cyferd to join an app competition. I created a mental well-being app structured for students for Cyferd’s Competition of Innovation hosted at the University of Leicester. I won the First Place Award and was awarded an internship and an opportunity for a TV interview.Concurrently, I worked part-time at the Students Union as a lead mentor, coordinating events and supporting peer mentoring schemes in the Maths and Computer Science department.   During the year, I spent an unbelievable amount of time applying to hundreds of summer internships in software engineering. So many applications, so many rejections. I have a blog post about the entire struggle, but eventually, I secured an amazing internship as a software engineer, which I'm really proud of. I gained incredible skills and built some wonderful relationships. I had to work on a project in a team in a scrum format with my manager. This involved consistent meetings, interacting with seniors in the office, and learning how the industry works. I worked with some very interesting new technologies and had the opportunity to visit the headquarters a few times, gaining insights into how people work and how they reached their positions. It was a dream come true.   Now, in my final year, my main takeaway is the importance of seeking opportunities beyond coursework, actively participating in projects, and persevering through challenges. Currently, I am working on a job recommender system for my final year project, collaborating with my supervisor and I'm still learning. You can never learn enough in this degree: you're constantly learning something new, especially because the tech field is so ever evolving.