Supporting youth and staying young

DOCTOR Shantini Deutscher is a selfproclaimed “cultural hybrid.”

Raised by her Christian Tamil Sri Lankan parents in multicultural Singapore, she moved to Australia at 15 to board at Melbourne’s Presbyterian Ladies College.

Befriending girls from country Victoria, she would holiday at farms and homes across the state.

Then, heading to Monash University to study medicine, Dr Deutscher met her surgeon husband David.

Originally working at the Alfred and Royal Children’s hospitals, she completed her fellowship in General Practice, started a family and moved briefly to Gloucester in the UK, before settling in her husband’s home town of Ballarat in 1989.

It’s Dr Deutscher’s diverse start in life that helped her to develop a perspective uniquely hers.

“I have been shuttling between various cultures for more than 45 years, giving me multiple perspectives on how our thinking and behaviours develop and how we connect,” she said.

“I want to bring an informed multicultural view to the table wherever I’m involved.”

This is something she has done, using her personal experiences and applying them appropriately to her work as a GP over the last 30 years, her role as a university lecturer and her volunteer work on boards across Ballarat.

It’s for these endeavours that she is “honoured” to be one of Zonta Ballarat’s Great Women of 2019, having been nominated by Adam Heath, the headmaster of Ballarat Grammar where Dr Deutscher is the board’s chair.

Education and service have always been of great value to Dr Deutscher.

Her parents lived through the Japanese occupation of Singapore, making them resourceful, proactive people.

“My father was an exceptional man. I’m writing a book about him,” she said. “He was really involved in rebuilding Singapore.

“He was a GP… he got involved in Rotary, Red Cross, establishing a university, YMCA… So service was right through his blood.

“My mum, too, became one of the first woman Justices of Peace after the war in Singapore, in fact, we just celebrated her 100th birthday last year.”

So in 2007 when she was asked to join Ballarat Grammar’s board of directors, Dr Deutscher was happy to get involved, bringing together the education and service in her genes.

She loved the school’s broad, Anglican values-based education which had nurtured her three very different children, Charles, Peter and Eva.

“In addition to academic rigour… the many opportunities offered and the soft skills and values they learned at Grammar including imagination, curiosity, diligence, creativity and integrity, continue to help them navigate their futures,” Dr Deutscher said.

Now, having come into the role of chair last year and celebrating almost 30 years since she became a Grammar parent, Dr Deutscher is enjoying the rewarding yet challenging role.

She connects with young people, leading with a mother’s experience, aiming to support them to skill up for their individual paths, while looking after their mental health, anxieties and stresses.

“I encourage other women to step up.” she said, and like Nancy Pelosi, believes motherhood prepares people for leadership, and is a “gold star” on a CV.

Dr Deutscher empathises with Ms Pelosi and her leadership style, forged inside the home while organising, delegating, compromising, loving and using “Jedi mum tricks.”

“I’m honoured to be chair, to help the next generation… and help other people give their kids good opportunities,” she said.

“I enjoy the journey and growth of others.”

She aims to live by Ballarat Grammar’s ethos, words inspired by Luke 12:48, ‘from those to whom much is given, much will be required.’

“The value of a good education lies, not just with what we receive, but with what we do with it,” she said.

“This is why I’m passionate about Ballarat Grammar and wish to continue to make a contribution by ensuring sound governance and promoting a learning culture that brings out the best in our students and staff.”

Her contribution to boards, however, doesn’t stop with the school.

She praises the “world class” quality of medical care in Ballarat and has enjoyed “sharing the job of leadership” in the past at Ballarat Hospice Care and The Ballarat Foundation.

“If you live in Ballarat, you earn a living in Ballarat, I think all of us should put something back to the community that has given us life and a home for our families.”

In 2019, Dr Deutscher is looking forward to keeping up her gardening and botanic art, continuing work at Federation University in student health, and lecturing general practice for Deakin and Melbourne University.

The Deutschers are set to move from their family home of 30 years. Still also working part-time as a GP and constantly upskilling, Dr Deutscher will focus on downsizing, decluttering “like Marie Kondo” and renovating in the next 12 months.

But there’s one thing she anticipates will outlast her list of endeavours. “I’m looking forward to growing older with my husband but staying young,” she said.

“The trick is hanging around young people… Seriously, you learn so much from them. It’s the best thing.”