Lachlan Arthur had the pick of any university but he chose ANU and the PhB program.

“Coming from country South Australia, my mind was set on studying in Adelaide and working as a GP in my hometown,” he says. 

“However, in January 2013 I was lucky enough to attend the National Youth Science Forum and meet some academic advisors from ANU.

“They suggested that the Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) program in science, affectionately known as the ‘PhB’, might be a possible pathway for me.”

No longer does Lachlan plan to return to country South Australia and work as a GP, but he instead hopes to make a global impact as a physician-researcher.

And the PhB is going to help get him there.

“Through the unique and challenging experiences that undertaking the PhB and postgraduate medicine at the ANU will provide me with, I am certain that I will leave university with the skills and understanding to make an impact in the world that I never could have dreamed of,” says Lachlan.

“So now, with my first year at ANU done and dusted, I couldn’t be happier...I live on campus at John XXIII College with 300 other students who are like my brothers and sisters; I am undertaking research at the John Curtin School of Medical Research looking at producing a transgenic malaria parasite; I can play sport and go to the gym on campus to my heart’s content; and I have the freedom to spend my summer teaching science and maths at a school in a remote part of Vanuatu.”

“I am satisfied that I have made the right decision in coming to ANU but the students and opportunities that ANU has provided me with still drive me to strive for bigger and better things.”