I'm Stephen Mitchell, a 21 year old student in the final year of a Computer Science degree at the University of Northumbria. I was born and raised in Sunderland, North East England.
I've always been interested in computers. Some of my earliest memories are of playing simple games on my Dad's BBC Micro and in Windows 3.1 on his first IBM compatible PC, a Gateway bought around 1994. In recent years, I've built my own computer from scratch, installed a wireless network and re-built several computers from spares. My current project is learning more about Linux using a spare computer, you can read about my experiences on my blog, Mission Linux.
My interest in computers, and my excellent results at GCSE and 'A'-level (A* and A respectively) led me to study Computer Science at Northumbria University. I chose Computer Science because it allows me to study a wide range of areas related to computing, including embedded systems, programming, systems analysis and design including UML and relational databases (if you are interested in seeing a full list of the modules I'm studying please download a copy of my CV). At the end of the first year I earned an 87% overall average which works out as a 1st and recieved the "BCS Newcastle branch award for the Best First Year Student on the BSc(Hons) Computer Science course at Northumbria University".
The third year of my course consisted of a year long work placement, which I spent with EchoStar Europe, a subsiduary of EchoStar Technologies Corporation which designs digital television solutions for worldwide markets.