During the last two years I have developed a very strong interest in business management. I have been fascinated by the corporate world since my period of work experience at the end of Year 11. I spent two weeks at Ernst and Young and knew immediately that this was the type of environment in which I would thrive. My understanding of the complex management and organisational issues has developed greatly throughout my A Level course, and I feel well equipped to align this with sound financial knowledge and acumen which has developed as a direct result of my Economics AS level. Whilst I would have wished to carry this on to full A level, this would have required me to discontinue my musical studies, in which I have a great personal investment. In order to continue my development in the financial sector, I have arranged to return to Ernst and Young to work in their financial services department over the coming summer vacation. I am sure that once again this will be a valuable experience.

　　I have always enjoyed applying my knowledge and skills within the workplace, and am therefore greatly excited by the prospect of undertaking a Sandwich degree. I feel a placement year is essential in order to leave university prepared for the business world. Without the knowledge of practical application, the theoretical issues surrounding business and management cannot be effectively assessed or criticised. This certainly proved to be the case during my experience in the Young Enterprise scheme, where the group who had the better practical application of their business plan succeeded far better than the remainder.

　　I am exceedingly computer literate and have undertaken extra studies to develop skills in HTML and web-authoring packages (such as Dreamweaver), and design software (Photoshop). I have used these skills to design a website that showcases another great interest of mine: collecting football stickers. Whilst this does not immediately strike you as the most intelligent of hobbies, collecting football stickers, and completing the albums has been a passion of mine since my father bought me my first album for the 1990 World Cup. As well as presenting archives of previous completed sets of stickers, I have added an innovative section that allows collectors from across the country to advertise ‘swaps’ so they can trade with other fans nationally. At present the site is building a strong community of users, and I envisage further growth, especially once I place advertisements in football magazines. I am also working up a business plan that presents an opportunities assessment detailing options for income generation from advertising on my site, which will allow me to market the site through match day programmes for professional football clubs, thus increasing visits to the site.

　　I am therefore especially interested in the e-business and online marketing elements of the course, and it is in this area that I would wish to forge a career upon completing my degree, as I see it as a vital and challenging area that will be at the centre for all businesses in the future. I feel that this presents the opportunity and challenge for me to realise my potential.