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When I received an email from the University of St Andrews maths department, with details on how to enter the TARGETjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards, my immediate thought was how incredible it would be to win.

The application process for the mathematics, economics and finance award, sponsored by Gazprom Marketing and Trading, was a fairly straightforward online process. It included the completion of a numerical test, situational judgement and OPQ tests, as well as a submission of three essays. The online tests are not something you can really prepare for, and I simply tried to complete them as fast and as honestly as I could. The essays took a little longer, but I felt that I had experiences to draw on.

I sent in the application and was delighted to be contacted and told that I had been selected as one of 14 candidates who had been successful in this first selection process.

The second stage took part in London and involved an assessment day at GM&T’s headquarters in London. The assessment centre included group and individual tests, and an interview with HR managers. Walking into the Gazprom offices was slightly daunting but, once I had met some other candidates and members of the Gazprom team, I relaxed and settled into what proved to be quite a challenging day. Overall, I very much enjoyed the experience and it was a pleasure to meet so many talented people.

It was not long after that I received an email congratulating me on being selected as one of the ten grand finalists and inviting me to the awards ceremony at Canary Wharf. My feelings were a mixture of nerves and excitement as I arrived at the event and, while we sat down and socialised at a very enjoyable three-course lunch, I am sure that all the candidates were very aware that the winners were soon to be awarded. My category was the last of the 12 to be announced and I was thrilled when Chris Jones, head of global HR at GM&T announced my name as the winner. It was a moment I will never forget as I walked up to the stage to be presented with a beautiful glass trophy by Fiona Bruce.

I am now looking forward to a very exciting summer internship with Gazprom at their offices in London and in Singapore. It’s a fantastic opportunity to work with a finance team at one of the world’s largest energy companies.

Looking back, I am so pleased that I took the time to enter this competition and make the dream of winning come true. It has been a truly memorable experience and I am very proud to be the TARGETjobs Mathematics, Economics and Finance Undergraduate of the Year 2015.