I'm Jamie Halucha, and I am currently in my
second year of Master of Science degree
in the department of Microbiology and
Immunology. I actually started out my
undergraduate degree at Western, so I did
my first three years here, and then I
transferred schools to complete my
undergraduate degree, and while I was at
my other school, completing my degree, I
realized that I really missed Western,
and I really missed the campus, and the
environment, so I decided that I wanted
to pursue graduate work, and so I decided
to come back to London, and come to
Western for that. So I research
staphylococcus aureus, and in particular
I look at understanding how staph aureus
colonizes and evades the host innate
defense mechanisms, and in particular the
fatty acids on the skin. I really like
this department in particular, because
it's big enough that I can learn a lot
of different aspects in the research
field of Microbiology and Immunology, but
it's a small enough department that you
really get to know everyone and all the
students really well, and you can be
comfortable in your environment, and you
also get to know the faculty really well.
So the best thing about being a Western
graduate student, I would say, is the
community kind of feel here and the
environment, I really enjoy the pride
here, and I mean Western is one of the
schools that has it has it one of the
best student experiences, and you can
really feel that when you're here, and I
really enjoy that part of it. If you're
fascinated about the field, and you're
excited to learn more about Microbiology
and Immunology, then apply, or look into
it, look at the faculty, look at what the
professors in the department are
researching, see if anything interests
you, and meet with them, take time to meet
their students, and get a feel of the lab,
don't worry about about timing of the
program, or how much work it will be,
because I believe if you're really fascinated 
about it then I think you'll really
enjoy doing it, and I say go for it.
