When Garth Finch came to Western to pursue a bachelor of medical sciences, he never imagined he’d end up in the world of communications. He thought he’d spend his career in the lab.
During his undergraduate degree, when he earned an honours specialization in biochemistry and cancer biology, he worked in a lab researching melanoma. But Finch, BMSc’20, found explaining and translating that critical science was even more fulfilling for him than research.
“I just loved telling the story. It was fun to see how our discoveries, or the things we worked toward discovering at the lab bench, fit into the broader scientific story of what we know,” Finch said. “I loved any opportunity to communicate our findings and talk with diverse audiences, especially the public.”
Suddenly Finch, who “was always a science guy” was considering a different future. He knew it would be difficult to leave such a strong and supportive team in the lab.
“It wasn’t an easy decision. But I wanted to take a step back and explore something different,” he said.
After some time off working and travelling, he returned to Western.
“I did look at other universities, but the master of media in journalism and communication (MMJC) at Western just ticked every box for me.”
Master’s ‘bootcamp’ drives learning
It turned out to be the right path.
“My experience in MMJC was just phenomenal. It was everything I wanted and more.”
Garth Finch, MMJC’25, crosses the stage at convocation, greeting Western Chancellor Kelly Meighen, BA’71, LLD’13. (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
Finch described it as a training ground, a bootcamp that brought all his skills together – science, storytelling, even stage presence from his childhood days as a theatre kid back in Paisley, Scotland. Some days, it took the effort of a bootcamp, like “scenario day” when Finch played the role of a CEO under fire for a faulty product during a mock press conference. His peers with a journalism focus in the MMJC program acted as reporters, grilling Finch and his team.
“I got to apply all those strategic communication skills I’d been learning in the program in real time,” he said.
Despite the intensity of the one-year master’s, Finch enjoyed his courses, loved his professors and praised the state-of-the-art equipment he had access to as an MMJC student. He found assignments could easily be personalized to align with his interests. He worked with Wellspring London, a cancer support organization, where he developed a video series for their 25th anniversary.
“Those projects couldn’t be done without the structure of the program, without that built-in encouragement to reach out to community and do meaningful work here,” Finch said. “I think that’s so important in a university town, to give back in different ways.”
Graduating with a strong portfolio and an internship at the Métis National Council, Finch has continued in his role there after the placement required for his MMJC ended.
“It’s been an opportunity to practice working at the intersection of communications and policy, so it’s really values driven – work with a purpose. I really, really wanted that,” Finch said.
He hopes to find more of it in his career. He may find a role that marries science and storytelling one day, or he may go a different direction.
“My path has never been linear, and I think that’s my strength,” Finch said.
Connection and impact
Finch has never fit into a mold. He was a shy kid, but pursued theatre, finding a love for singing, dancing and acting. He followed that love in university, even starring in a Theatre Western production of Chicago during his undergraduate degree.
Garth Finch played Billy Flynn in a Western production of the musical ‘Chicago’. (Submitted)
He uses his performance and stage skills to this day to size up an audience and analyze the environment, Finch added.
A dual British and Canadian citizen, with one parent born in each country, Finch spent summers in Canada before he moved for his undergraduate degree. It lessened the culture shock when he started at Western, but he was still an international student adjusting to a new life without the comforts of family and home.
The residence experience, with a supportive floor and amazing Sophs, was so compelling that Finch stepped into the role the following year in Elgin Hall.
“Western does a terrific job with the Soph program. It was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding. The floor was incredibly close and we’re still friends to this day. When you have Sophs that understand the value of community, great things happen.”
Finch is looking for a career and a life that is focused on that kind of connection and impact.
He hasn’t left his passion for science behind, either. He still does freelance work training AI models to be more useful to clinicians, a job he started before his graduate studies and continued throughout his master’s program.
No matter where he ends up, the move to communications “just feels right,” Finch said.
“I’ve never felt that sense of being where I’m meant to be before. I’m absolutely there now.”
