I usually put my phone on silent when I go to bed to ensure I am not disturbed by messages that come through from family and colleagues abroad, given our time zone differences. As with most days, after waking up on Monday, September 15th, I checked my phone to see if there were any pressing conversations I needed to respond to, so I would not get consumed by other activities and miss out.
There I was, going through my WhatsApp messages, when I noticed a text from my former collegemate, friend, colleague, and sister, Toyin Ajao:
Hi sis, howdy? Have you heard, Prof. Schoeman passed away.
My shock was palpable, so I dismissed it at first. The news of Maxi’s passing was not something I ever imagined I would wake up to. Its suddenness quickly reminded me of the pain I felt when my mother passed away in January 2018—the same week I had received news of passing my PhD final examination. In that moment, I felt incredibly vulnerable, reflecting on what had been lost with Maxi’s transition and wondering how this void could ever be repaired.
Grief is not something I take lightly. Over the course of my life, I have lost family members, friends, and colleagues. With each loss, a part of me is fractured. Some wounds I can find ways to heal, while others remain works in progress. This news leaves me in a vulnerable place due to the many memories I share with Maxi, and I will need to find ways to manage the emotions they evoke in my heart.
Maxi Schoeman reminds me of my mother because of the humanness she extended to students at the University of Pretoria (UP) and beyond. I do not intend to compare the two directly, but rather to draw on the spiritual embodiment I experienced in Maxi—an embodiment that resonates with my African ethos and worldview of Hunhuism. To be human, in my worldview, is to recognize the interconnections we have with other beings, and to exercise care, empathy, humility, and generosity without favour. Losing someone who so fully embodied these elements is a great loss to humanity. I could not hold back my pain and tears as I thought about the parallel to the grief I felt when my mother passed away eight years ago.
I remember feeling helpless back then, because although I was overjoyed to have completed my PhD—a journey for which my mother had played a significant role—she was no longer there to see me walk on stage or enjoy the fruits of my doctoral degree. Here I am now, experiencing the same sadness, thinking of how much I gained from meeting Maxi during my youthful student days in South Africa.
I joined the UP community in 2008 as an undergraduate student majoring in Political Science. By default, the Department of Political Sciences, then headed by Maxi, became my home department. Coming in as an international student from Zimbabwe, I had many adjustments to make—to the university culture, as I lived in residence, and to the broader South African culture, which was much more diverse than I was accustomed to in my home country and high school experience.
The University of Pretoria was a melting pot of diverse cultures, and my post-secondary journey was enriched by interacting with people of multiple nationalities, representing different geographies and traditions. The Politics Department strategically tapped into this rich diversity, creating opportunities within the classroom and beyond for students to embrace their personhood and build lasting relationships. Many friends I have across the globe today are those I made during my time in the department.
I recall meeting Maxi during Orientation Week, along with other faculty members in the Department. She had such an inviting aura that calmed my fears of being in an unfamiliar environment. Much has been written about the challenges first-year students face when transitioning to university (see, for example, Mason, 2024; Pillay, Madzimure, and Chili, 2024), but I did not struggle as much due to the support offered by the Department. Now, as a faculty member in a different context from my alma mater, I fully appreciate the many elements that make the student experience meaningful, fulfilling, and memorable.
Maxi was a great teacher of both life and practice. I learned a great deal through our interactions as a student, mentee, colleague, and research collaborator. She had a skilful way of recognizing one’s potential and creating the space for you to discover and pursue it. A true champion, she paved the way for my professional journey by entrusting me with opportunities to teach. As an undergraduate, I was appointed a tutor for first-year politics courses. By the time I was completing my graduate studies, I had been assigned greater responsibilities in student leadership, university governance, research, and teaching—all of which enriched my CV upon the conclusion of my 10-year journey with the Department.
Through the Department’s support and affiliation with international institutions and organizations, such as the Social Science Research Council, I gained a broader perspective on the world. My move to South Africa in 2008 was my first international experience outside Zimbabwe. Still, during my decade at the university, I visited various institutions across the globe, including Johns Hopkins University’s SAIS Europe in Italy, Leiden University in the Netherlands, the University of Louisville in the USA, and the University of Ghana, among others. I travelled to many countries, including Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Budapest, the Netherlands, Germany, the USA, the UK, and Colombia. My university journey has made me a global citizen, as I have learned more about myself and humanity through engaging with diverse contexts.
Scholarship on teaching and learning is rich in discourse on holistic learning and acknowledges the benefits to the academy of having teachers who create space for impactful conversations and experiences (Dean and Geertsema, 2023). Maxi’s pedagogical practice was both intentional and enriching. I entered the Department as a naïve teenager but left as a mature woman, assured of my existence and intellectual grounding. These experiences hold deep meaning in my present and future journey, and I wish Maxi had more time to witness the seeds she planted in me blossom.
Though I am saddened by what humanity has lost in her death and by the gap she leaves in the academy, I feel honoured by the spaces she created for me and for many others to experience the power of love, generosity, and mutual upliftment. Maxi was never shy about celebrating the achievements of those she mentored. One message that lives in my memory is an email she wrote to me in 2017 after I facilitated a joint PhD writing retreat for students from King’s College, London, and the University of Pretoria. She expressed gratitude for my contributions and affirmed my pedagogical skills, writing:
Ruth, it was such a good, professional and inspiring presentation! Thank you, dear colleague. During our feedback session later on Sat. morning the students were very complimentary about your work and participation. I do hope we will be able to use you again! It is great to have you as a colleague in our Dept.
It has been an honor for me to be among those she considered colleagues. I hope we all find peace and courage to honor Maxi’s legacy in building the next generation of social scientists. For legends, never do they die; they transition to greater assignments. I am comforted in knowing that her spirit will continue to live with us, and that through our memories, learnings, and her illustrious publications, we will be reminded of our duty as humanity: to live in harmony and to extend life-giving experiences to one another.
References
Dean, B. A., & Geertsema, J. (2023). Navigating the complexities of higher education: towards a more holistic, relational understanding of academic development work. International Journal for Academic Development, 28(2), 119–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2023.2203960.
Mason, H. D. (2024). The duality of hope and challenges: a phenomenological study of first-year university students’ experiences in South Africa. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1470943. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1470943.
Pillay, A.M., Madzimure, J., & Chili, M. (2024). Investigating the major contemporary issues facing first-year students at a South African University of Technology. E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, 5 (3), 183–189.
