A talented mathematician, James chose to study Mathematics and Physics because he wanted to focus on his passion for logic, problem solving and thinking. 'Physics helps us to understand how the world works, and mathematics helps us to understand physics', he says. 'There are so many research possibilities in this field. Physics literally covers everything: from the smallest constituents of nature, right up to the entire universe.'

He finds the subjects inspiring. 'I love those moments when several ideas from different areas come together to form something elegant and unified.'

While still at secondary school, James took part in UC's STAR (Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource) programme which offers secondary students the chance to attend UC courses alongside university students. The courses can later be credited towards a degree upon enrolment at UC. The programme gave James an opportunity to experience what UC's College of Science had to offer.

'The STAR course was really good. It got me interested in the area that my degree is in – I had been thinking of doing medicine but switched over to mathematics after seeing how interesting it could be. I met a lot of like-minded students, lots of whom I still keep in touch with. I didn't expect to gain such an interest in the subject. It's extremely well-organised and surprisingly easy-going, and it's a really good introduction to university life.'

When he isn't studying, James is a keen sportsman, enjoying cycling, soccer and Taekwondo. 'It's good to get stuck into some tricky material in class, but I love it when I get the occasional early finish to the day and a chance to enjoy the Canterbury sunshine.'

It's still early for James to be considering his longer term career goals, but he is sure that whatever he does should involve travel.

'At the moment I just want to study what I'm interested in and then see what opportunities present themselves once I've got the degree,' he says. 'That could mean doing a PhD and ending up in research, or maybe just backpacking around the world.'