Games and rowing suit straight-A Ben

By Clearing

Computer games and rowing are very different pursuits, but Ben Nealon has combined both of them at the University of Teesside.

Ben, 19, from Middlewich in Cheshire, is studying the BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming degree. He came to Teesside after achieving A grades in A Level Maths, Computing and Graphics at Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College in Northwich.

A keen rower, Ben is also a member of the University Rowing team, which recently raised over £1,000 for Cancer Research.

Ben said: “I’ve always been really interested in computer games and always wondered about how they were made.  When I started to look into possible careers, it wasn’t long before I began considering computer games, so I looked into how you get into the industry.  I found out that a degree can open a lot of doors; so I researched games courses throughout the UK and attended numerous open days. Teesside, for me was offering the best course.  The university offers all the modules that the games industry are looking for in a degree course and the equipment and labs are bang up to date . I love rowing as well, so the fact that there was a rowing club here also helped me to make up my mind.”

Based at the River Tees Water Sports Centre, the club recently held a charity challenge which saw the members of the club keep a rowing machine going for 24 hours.  The 17-strong team raised £1,200 for Cancer Research, plus another £300 for the club.

To find out more about the range of computer game and computer animation courses, call 01642 342636.

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