Rachel Dickson grew up surrounded by one of the top herds in Australia, but it wasn’t until she took a gap year and worked on the family farm that she really come to appreciate cows.
Now Rachel is pursuing a career in veterinary science that will see her help to keep cows – along with other animals – safe and well.
Her studies are being supported by a DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship.
Rachel’s parents Bryan and Jo Dickson’s Holstein and Jersey herds have been at or near the top of the Australian Breeding Values for many years. She had always appreciated the need to maintain a healthy herd, but that fact was reinforced during her 2020 gap year.
“I finished Year 12 not knowing what to do with myself,” she said. “I didn’t necessarily think I was going to become a vet, but I’m a real nerd and like science.”
Rachel had planned to work on a farm in England across 2020 but that only lasted two months before the pandemic intervened and she had to return home.
“Everything works out for a reason,” she said. “I came back and worked full-time on the home dairy farm because I couldn’t work anywhere else. It didn’t feel like a job. I was happy working with the cows and realised I wanted to work with animals in some capacity.”
Rachel could have done pharmacy or chemical engineering but ended up going to the University of Melbourne to do a Bachelor of Science.
“In that course I could pick and choose subjects in different areas without locking into one track. I loved learning about the cows and their biomechanics. I understood it and enjoying learning about it.
In 2023 Rachel graduated with a Bachelor of Science majoring in animal health and disease at the University of Melbourne and is about to start studying veterinary medicine at the University of Sydney after managing a farm at Terang over summer.
“When I started my undergrad in 2021, I started dipping into foundational animal health subjects and it really interested me,” she said.
“It’s something that was always there. I started showing cows when I was about 12 and I’ve been comfortable around animals all my life, but I didn’t even have vet as any of my options when I finished VCE. Taking the gap year helped me to figure out what I like and didn’t like.”
Rachel wants to be a mixed practice vet to include farm animals.
The DemoDAIRY Foundation scholarship will provide $6000 a year for the next four years of Rachel’s course, which will primarily cover rent and some supplies for her course.
After graduating, Rachel plans to work overseas but has long-term plans to return to Western Victoria.
“I’ve travelled quite a bit but that makes you realise how Warrnambool, Terang and the Western District are such great places to live,” she said.
DemoDAIRY Foundation is keen to sponsor more people in the farming industry. More information can be found at https://www.demodairy.com.au/scholarships/ or from DDF secretary Ian Teese on 0427 358987 or itag@bigpond.com.