Professor Rhoda Leask was recently appointed as the Deputy Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Veterinary Science. Currently an associate professor she joined the University of Pretoria in February 2005 as a clinical assistant in the Department of Production Animal Studies. She was promoted to senior lecturer and specialist (production animal studies) in 2012 and to associate professor and senior specialist (small ruminant health) in January 2020. Prior to joining the University of Pretoria, Professor Leask worked in the private sector and at the University of Natal. As a senior specialist in small ruminant health, she is interested in researching what is relevant in the small stock industry and focus her research on each problem area that presents itself at a given time.

Not only is Prof Leask the first female veterinarian to be appointed as a Deputy Dean in the Faculty, her academic and personal journey serves as an inspiration to others and brings home the notion to never give up despite any challenges one may face and to stay true to yourself in reaching your goals.

- THIS IS HER STORY -

My family moved from town to a plot when I was nine years old. At that time there were five milking cows that were milked by hand and the herd grew to approximately 50 milking cows and a semi-automated milking parlour. As children, my sister and I assisted in feeding and caring for calves and other farm animals including chickens, geese, turkeys, sheep and horses. This is where my love of production animals began.

My parents did not have much disposable income so my sister and I used to find ways of earning our own income and when we were old enough we worked at many of the local businesses during the school holidays. It was disappointing knowing that while my friends were having holidays, I would be working, but it did foster a very strong work ethic. I decided that I wanted to become a veterinarian, but to make sure this was the career for me I shadowed the local vets. Dr Lente van der Merwe was a wonderful role model for me as she showed me that it was possible (albeit difficult) for women to work with production animals. Many farmers did not feel that this was a suitable vocation for women, but she showed me that using the correct techniques to handle animals and administer medication could earn farmers’ respect. More so when you can restrain the bull that they could not!

My Uncle, Robert Rodney Clyde Anderson was still not convinced that I could make a successful career out of Veterinary Science and encouraged and sponsored me to spend time in Zambia working with the local veterinarians (Ian and Noleen Parsons) during my December/January holidays. This experience cemented my decision as I was exposed to really interesting and challenging cases and saw first-hand how veterinarians could do effective work with minimal resources while maintaining good practice. By the end of that time I had learned how to effectively restrain a variety of animals, done rectal examinations on over 300 cows, seen how to close a wound on a horse that had been bitten by a crocodile, assisted with a rumenotomy and enucleation, observed teeth and hoof care in horses, cat castrations, attended to necrotic wounds and many more. Needless to say, the experience had failed in dissuading me from pursuing this career.

When I completed my matric year, it was not possible for me to enter the Veterinary Science degree programme and I applied for a BSc degree instead. I did not qualify for assisted funding when I was accepted to the University of Natal, but my dedication to my school work and obtaining subject awards (including English, Afrikaans, Mathematics and Home Economics) and Academic Honours ensured that I could get a student loan. During my second year in Animal Science, I applied for Veterinary Science but was unsuccessful (despite being a top achiever in my degree) and I elected to complete my degree before reapplying to Veterinary Science - a decision that assisted in my Veterinary Science studies in later years. During my BScAgric degree I worked as a tutor for Biology practical sessions as well as other odd jobs to earn an income. 

I applied for Veterinary Science at the end of my degree and was again unsuccessful. I worked for a year doing three jobs: part-time assistant to a Professor at the University of Natal capturing research data and managing the postgraduate students in the mornings, sales representative for animal health products in the afternoons, and waitressing in the evenings and on weekends. Living in meagre accommodation and saving almost every cent allowed me to pay off some of my student loan. I reapplied for Veterinary Science and was finally accepted into the degree, but now had the added stress of how I would fund my additional studies. I was able to take out a second student loan and started working at Outpatients reception in the Faculty’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital in my second year of study.

I also found weekend work that allowed me to pay some of the loans off, but it was extremely challenging and, thankfully, by then my Uncle Rodney agreed that I had shown I was determined to complete the degree and he provided financial assistance for my studies and some of my living expenses. However, I still had to supplement my finances and continued to work part-time. Having to work and study was extremely difficult and I struggled to adapt to the Veterinary Science programme needing to complete some supplementary exams. Many students viewed supplementary exams as an opportunity to just pass, but I viewed them as an opportunity to really grasp the content so that I would be able to apply the knowledge in later modules and I excelled in the exams.

During the final years of my degree I admired Dr Inge-Marie Petzer as the only female Production Animal lecturer, and considered going back into dairy work because of her, but I became more interested in small stock as a career option and Prof Ken Pettey assisted me in pursuing that interest. I completed my degree in 2004 and I spent a couple of months doing locum work, but it was mainly in companion animals and that was not where my heart lay. I realised that I would suffer greatly from job dissatisfaction if I continued down that path so I decided to apply for a clinical assistant post. I joined the Faculty as a Clinical Assistant in 2005 and applied for a lecturing post later that year and from there I set my sights on furthering my career. In 2010 I became the second veterinarian to obtain an MMedVet in Small Stock (the first being Dr Ariena Shepherd for whom I have the utmost respect) and was registered as a specialist with the South African Veterinary Council.

I gave birth to my daughter later that year. In 2014 my son was born, and I was registered as a de facto diplomat with the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management and as a small ruminant specialist with the European Board of Veterinary Specialists. Profs Ken Pettey and Gareth Bath mentored me during my postgraduate studies and gave tremendous support. I was also introduced to Dr Faffa Malan who was a welcome addition to my career support system. As I attended more congresses and got to know more of the amazing rural vets we have in South Africa, they too became an inspiration to me and there are far too many of them to name them all. Many of them assisted me with my later PhD studies. Attending these international congresses also provided a network of colleagues from countries all over the world who supported my career.

I started my PhD studies in Production Animal Studies with the focus on Education in 2016. Prof Linda van Ryneveld had inspired me to take an educational direction to my PhD and she and Prof Dietmar Holm supervised my studies. Prof Holm gave insight into areas in which I lacked some knowledge, particularly statistics which is still one of my weaknesses. However, I have come to terms with the fact that I cannot be an expert in everything and need to rather ask for assistance from those who have a better understanding in certain areas and so built my network of experts.

While I was gaining an amazing support system in my career, I had not yet managed to create a support system in my family life, and in 2021 I faced the new challenge of being a single mom. Managing three calendars is tricky, as is all the work and schoolwork responsibilities. Thankfully I taught my two children from an early age to take responsibility for their own work. I would assist them when asked but it always remained their responsibility to do their own work while I provided guidance. I read somewhere that the best gift we as parents can give our children is independence, and I strongly agree. My children are growing to be well adjusted, and are excelling in both their academic and sporting activities. We have found our rhythm and yes, there are sacrifices and compromises that need to be made, but we all feel that we are part of the “family team” and that we need to support each other so that we can achieve our goals. The key to our success has been learning to prioritise events and tasks and determine which can be left for a later stage or excluded altogether. It is equally important to ensure both mental and physical wellbeing. I have now managed to find a good support system in my family life, and other mothers (and fathers) have helped out a great deal with my responsibilities (as do I with theirs). As the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”, yet having the right “villagers” has made the world of difference to our lives.

My children have come to understand that success is not synonymous with wealth, but rather in achieving the goals that we set out for ourselves, and once those goals have been achieved, we work on setting new goals, or improving the way we continue to navigate our lives.

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