Born and raised in Frankton in Hamilton, I am of Waikato, Maniapoto and Tūhoe descent. I am a husband, a dad of two, and for the past two years a student at Wintec. Before this, I spent 13 years working at the meatworks. I started my Wintec journey with the Te Ara Pūtake pathway course, which helped me get back into the swing of study. Now I’m studying towards a Bachelor of Physiotherapy. The delivery of the course and vision of having practitioners who are more culturally responsive towards Māori was a big drawcard for me. I believe Wintec is heading in the right direction in improving health disparities within Māori and rural communities in Aotearoa. My ambition is to give back to the community – perhaps with a clinic where I can reach out to Māori/rural communities to make health care more accessible for them.