A SCOTTISH mum-of-two has received her postgraduate diploma from the University of Edinburgh, despite being told that she wouldn’t be “clever enough” to go to university.
Nikki McLeod, a Dunfermline local, proved her teachers wrong when she graduated with a diploma in Clinical Animal Behaviour, having spent over 20 years in the veterinary field.
At school, the 52-year-old was told that she “wasn’t clever enough” to go to university but is now the proud holder of two degrees from Edinburgh universities.
A specialist in feline nursing, Nikki has a passion for understanding the behaviour of dogs and cats and has opened a behavioural referral service since receiving her degree.
Graduating in a snow-topped McEwan Hall, Nikki proudly accepted her diploma alongside her husband and two sons, aged 10 and 20.
She undertook the course through the university’s online learning programme, and studied alongside her part-time job as a practice-based consulting nurse.
Nikki became a registered veterinary nurse at the start of the millennium, when degrees for the qualification didn’t exist.
After being recognised by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), she is now an honorary treasurer with The British Veterinary Nursing Association and is on the Member Board of Trustees at The Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).
The ABTC is currently campaigning for a ban on shock collars in the UK, with Nikki visiting Westminster last week to speak to MPs about the issues they raise.
The registered veterinary nurse previously studied at Edinburgh Napier University, where she achieved her BSc (Hons) Veterinary Nursing just before turning 50.
Nikki has now launched Fife’s first vet-practice-based pet behavioural referral service in order to help owners with separation anxiety, aggression, phobias, and many other issues.
A neurodiversity advocate, she has opened up about her autism diagnosis at age 45, and her struggles with dyscalculia which affects an individual’s ability to deal with numbers and arithmetic.
When asked what she would say to her younger self, who was told she wasn’t good enough for university, Nikki said: “That if you want it to happen, it can do and will do…eventually”.
Always an advocate for reducing stress in cats and dogs, Nikki is also “continuing to lecture online and in person to veterinary nurses and staff on behaviour”.
