Kia ora, my name's Ethan and I'm your President for 2026. We had our biggest year so far last year and I'm excited to see what this year will bring us. Im in my 4th year studying Psychology and Sport Coaching as a double degree, and this will be my 3rd year on the exec team.

My last 2 years on the exec have been spent in the events team, doing first year outreach in my first year, then community events last year. This year I want to keep building our momentum from last year, continuing to level up our events and services to the students at UC, whilst raising further awareness of our kaupapa across the country. I originally joined Lads after I started seeking out external support for my own mental health. Seeing how much it helped me I wanted to be apart of a cause that can provide the same benefits and break the stigma around men being vulnerable and talking about their mental health. If our actions can create these safe spaces of discussion and give people the tools/resources to better themselves, that's how we know we're making an impact on the community. Some chats I've been able to have with mates (and even strangers) who recognise Lads and what we do makes this whole thing so much more special to me. I am super grateful to be leading this team and to be making big waves in the mental health area.

Although we target mens mental health due to the alarming statistics regarding suicide, we are inclusive to all UC students and this extends towards our support fund. All UC students have access to 4 free sessions, completely confidential - we don't see who you are, we just pay the bill. Instructions on how to access this can be found on our website, so please use our service if you need it :)

Cheers