Fighting for every individual in Dunedin

Hey New Zealand! I'm Johanna Mathieson and 4 weeks ago I started training to be a part of the OUSA Charity Fight Night to raise money for Volunteer Otago, who coordinate with over 150 organisations around Dunedin to provide and support heaps of volunteer roles and opportunities to help give back to people in our community.

A little bit about me: I'm a 2nd year post-grad Med student with a Bachelor of Neuroscience under my belt at Otago University. I take hip hop classes at RASA and vertical dance classes at VDS, I work in a little bar called Pequeno cocktail lounge and babysit a grand total of 9 awesome kids.

I used to be the shyest kid but I'm always excited to try out new things which has pushed me into knowing all the people I can call my friends today. Applying to do this fight and pushing myself through the first 4 weeks training has been crazy scary, but the most frightening thing is probably going up against Ivanna "Thing 2" Matheson! Who when we first sparred could have probably knocked my lights out if she wasn't going easy on me.

My hobbies and career choices have really opened up my eyes to how much people's happiness and wellbeing can be achieved through coming together and helping each other out, whether it be helping someone do their groceries or offering work experience and training. I think volunteering seems so underrated when it helps tackle the small hard yards that can be the biggest impact on someone else's day, so give a little! In the end, it will be a lot to someone else!