High-achieving, driven, and a perfectionist. These are words that could be used to describe many of UBC's student-athletes, and former Thunderbird Masaru (Mas) Yukawa was no exception. 
 
The Richmond High grad grew up playing team sports and he was gifted both athletically and academically. Mas managed to pursue both of these passions at UBC when he completed his medical degree while playing for the Thunderbirds Men's Soccer Team in the late 1990s. 
 
Mas would go on to become a successful cardiac anesthesiologist and he was named Chief of Anesthesia at the Mazankowski Heart Institute in Edmonton. He was well-known as an outstanding clinician, teacher, mentor and friend, but behind the scenes Mas was dealing with a longstanding and private battle with mental illness.
 
"My brother Mas, was hardworking and dedicated, he was a philanthropist and overall a good friend to a lot of people," said Tak Yukawa, Mas' brother and Director of the Mas Yukawa Foundation. "Despite all the successes he had in life, he struggled with mental health in the background. That was difficult for him and in 2017 he tragically took his own life. My family, my friends, his teammates - all of us were shocked."
 
After Mas' death, his brother and a dedicated group of family and friends were looking to carry on his legacy, and thus the Mas Yukawa Foundation was formed. The foundation was created on the belief that achievement shouldn't come at any cost. Its mission is to "support those chasing excellence, through every stage of their journey, but especially during times of need."
 
It's a need that UBC Athletics is acutely familiar with. The mental health of student-athletes can be impacted by factors that all university students are vulnerable to, such as depression, anxiety, financial stress and eating disorders. However, varsity athletes have the added stress that comes with athletic pressure, season-ending injuries and maintaining their grades despite a demanding competition and training schedule. 
 
In fact, 10 percent of UBC's athlete population access counseling services, compared to just 4 percent of the general student population. Today, UBC's student-athletes utilize the existing services the university has available for all students to support mental health. While comprehensive for UBC's nearly 60,000 students, these services can be over-subscribed and difficult for student-athletes to arrange around their intensive practice and competition schedules. 
 
"This isn't a problem for the unique few," said Leah Pezer, Director of Athletics, Student Services. "Mental health issues have really become a global concern and there's a scale and a spectrum of help that student-athletes need. But what we really need is more so that we can catch some of this early. We need dedicated time with psychologists who are experts in our athletic population." 
 
Enter the Mas Yukawa Foundation. 
 
UBC Athletics is thrilled to announce the Foundation has made a generous gift towards providing much-needed mental health support for the 600+ Thunderbird athletes and coaches. Starting in the Fall of the 2023 academic year, the Foundation will provide seed funding of $50,000 to sponsor the UBC Thunderbirds Mental Health Initiative, a program to provide dedicated, in-house professional mental health support. The foundation has pledged $10,000 per year for five years while UBC Athletics has secured bridge funding which will ensure expanded support is in place for student-athletes. 
 
"My foundation believes this is the right moment and the right initiative for this time in the lives of these young student-athletes," continued Tak Yukawa. "I believe that strengthening their mental health is just as important as strengthening their muscles and eating a healthy diet. We can arm these young athletes with important tools at this early part of their journey, and we really hope that this is a catalytic thing to encourage others to join."
 
This donation will have immediate impact on the lives of UBC's student-athletes. "We are so grateful to have the Mas Yukawa Foundation on board and in the game with us to help us kick-start this important initiative," added Pezer. 
 
UBC Athletics is actively looking for donations and support from the community to ensure long-term support and security for the Thunderbird Mental Health Initiative. To read more about this initiative and how to donate, visit the webpage here.