Letetrs from our Raindow reps

Benjamin Thomas Watt (Benji)

He/Him pronouns

Ngāpuhi

BA majoring in History, minoring in Sociology

Hello everyone, my name is Benji, and I am the Rainbow Representative for the Oteha campus. I identify my sexuality as takatāpui. An interesting thing about myself is I am the world’s first takatāpui professional boxing judge. In the past twelve years, I have worked a lot in the rainbow community, working with Rainbow Youth, Outline, Rainbow Boxing, and the New Zealand Aids Foundation (now known as Burnett Foundation Aotearoa). However, in the past seven years, I have been battling off and on with cancer. Now that I have beaten lymphoma, I am ready to study, and I am ready to work with the community again. Because I have been isolated due to cancer and covid, I have been disconnected from the community. This role helps me get reconnected to the community again and tūrangawaewae (sense of identity and belonging). What I love about my job is the engagement with all the students who are studying at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University. I love getting to know everyone, listening to everyone’s stories, and learning new things. Student interactions are one of the best ways to know the community’s needs before heading into committees and meetings as part of my role as the Rainbow student rep. If you ever see me walking around the Oteha campus, feel free to introduce yourself and say hello, as I would love to meet you all.

Age: 41

European-Māori lineage - Ngāpuhi (Te Kapotai)

BA Majoring in Classics. Distance student

Kia Ora I’m Carlee, a proud Westie, born in Waterview, living in Rānui with my husband and my dog Cooper. My working background is in the mental health field. I am obsessed with true crime documentaries, supernatural fiction, Ghostemane’s music, Greek mythology and anything related to magic. When I was in high school, we did not have any out gay couples or support groups. I was lucky enough to have a couple of bisexual friends at school; I can imagine what it must have been like for those who did not. There was no LGBQTI+ representation or consultation in school matters, so I am thrilled to represent our community now. I look forward to being involved in online events for distance students, and finding out from you what you really need, rather than working on assumptions. As distance students, we face the challenge of isolation, and marginalised groups, such as those in the LGBTQI+ whānau, are often over-represented in mental illness and disability statistics. I am part of the disabled community; I have bipolar disorder and deal with chronic pain due to long-covid.

Rainbow students deserve tailored practical support, empathy, and robust representation and I believe our team of Rainbow representatives are well equipped to stand up and amplify your voices. He waka eke noa. A canoe which we are all in with no exception. This whakatauki implies that ‘we are all in this together’.

Hey! My name’s Ryan (he/him) and I’m this year’s Rainbow Student Representative for the Pukeahu | Wellington campus. You might catch me by The Pyramid or in the Co-Lab space from time to time, and if you do, please feel free to come up to me anytime if you have any questions or concerns about rainbow matters at Massey, or if you just want to chat! While I’m quite flexible with terms, I identify as queer and am always willing to catch up with fellow Massey queer-identifying students! Currently, I’m a first-year Design student majoring in Concept Design, and although I study on the Pukeahu campus, I commute by train to uni every day from the Wairarapa. In addition to university, I’m also quite active with fitness and enjoy incorporating a workout into my daily routine. Regarding my role, I serve as a Rainbow Rep to provide a student voice to our awesome rainbow and takatāpui communities on our Wellington Massey campus. I engage with them on a ground level, and advocate for their needs. This role has been most rewarding for me due to the number of open discussions I’ve been having and the connections I have made both within campus and outside of it. The short time I’ve been a Rainbow Representative has taught me a lot, and I’m eager to continue learning and hearing more about the unique student experiences within our rainbow and takatāpui communities at Massey.

Kia ora, my name is Katrina (she/they), and I study Social Policy and Politics here at Massey in Palmerston North. I am the Rainbow student representative for the Manawatū campus and a member of the Rainbow & Takatāpui Alliance (RĀTĀ) Group, which are newly established positions designed to help work towards equity and inclusion for our diverse rainbow community at Massey. Within these roles, I am empowered to connect with our students to hear their concerns and help build belonging, and what I love about this is having the opportunity to push for visible and effective change so that all of our diverse student body feel that they do belong and are adequately supported. So far, events throughout Semester 1 have helped build a safer environment at Massey for LGBTQ+ students, such as the Queer-Affirming Glitz & Garb and Pink Shirt Day fundraisers across each campus. Progress is now being made towards a rainbow room on the Manawatū campus due to launch early in Semester 2 (watch out for more information soon!) and other creative events to connect and uplift our community. Feel free to reach out to me at rainbowrep.pn@tetiraahupae.ac.nz with any questions or ideas surrounding our rainbow community, or say hi if you see me around campus!