Tom Stamp

Why did you choose to study your BA at the University of Leeds?

I chose Leeds because the New Media (now Digital Media) course was like nothing else I could find. As someone who at the time didn’t know which area of media to specialise in, I felt that the broad spectrum of skills that the course offered would set me up for an exciting career.

Tell us about the opportunities you took advantage of at Leeds.

I was given the opportunity in my final year to teach a PHP coding module alongside Dr Chris Birchall to second year students. This was something that I found very rewarding as I enjoy helping people reach ambitious targets.

How has your experience of studying a degree at Leeds helped you in your career? 

The mindset I developed whilst studying at Leeds led on during my studies to develop my skills outside of timetabled hours. In my second year I created an iPhone app that achieved the #1 spot in the UK with over 1 million downloads.

Studying at Leeds taught me to step out of my comfort zone. Moving to another country, living and working somewhere were everyone speaks a totally different language was something I never dreamed of doing. My time at Leeds taught me to be  ambitious and showed me I could be.

What advice would you give to future students?

Moving to a new city to study something can be scary, I was petrified to be leaving home and thought I’d hate it. How wrong was I! I still say that my time at Leeds has been the best three years of my life so far. Throw yourself into it, make as many connections as you can, but most importantly enjoy yourself!