91快色

If you鈥檝e walked across the 91快色's main campus after a fresh snowfall, you may have spotted them 鈥� small, perfectly formed snow ducks tucked along ledges, stairs and pathways. Easy to smile at. Easy to overlook. Hard to forget.

What started as a simple attempt to brighten a friend鈥檚 day quickly snowballed into something much bigger: a campus-wide movement rooted in joy, connection and, unexpectedly, mental health.

Behind it all is Jason Ngu, a computer science student graduating with the Class of 2026 this spring 鈥� though most know him by another name: the 鈥淒uck Guy.鈥� As he nears convocation, Ngu is reflecting on how a simple snow-day idea grew into a campus-wide movement 鈥� and what it means to leave it behind as he graduates.

Starting his flock

Ngu first took on the mantle of 鈥淒uck Guy鈥� on Jan. 16, 2024, in the middle of a warm winter that had suddenly flipped to snowy 鈥� a typical 180-degree move for 91快色 that often for some brings on seasonal depression. While trying to make one of his friends feel better, Ngu remembered he had plastic snow duck makers at home. 

The rest is history. Ngu and his friend made around 30 snow ducks and, by the next day, they were already catching attention across campus and beyond, with people sharing how something so small was making a real difference in how they felt. 

The more ducks that were made and spread around campus, the more attention the movement started to receive. To Ngu, it seemed like, for once, there was a positive, uplifting story being covered. 

Two years later, he鈥檚 retroactively termed this the first phase of the movement 鈥淐atch Me if You Can.鈥�

Making a movement

Following that 2024 winter, Ngu himself was struggling with mental health. After many nights talking to the and months of therapy, he started to focus more on the impact of mental health and align it to his Snow Duck movement.

He calls this second phase of this movement, 鈥淒on't Forget to Love the World!鈥� It involved going through official channels in line with U91快色鈥檚 Community Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, as well as releasing official Duck Guy merchandise at the U91快色 Bookstore, selling out each release wave, with proceeds going towards the Students鈥� Greatest Needs Fund. 

"I鈥檓 just a dude ... If I can do it, you, of course, can do it probably way better than me." This phase culminated with a event featuring the Duck Guy. 鈥淚 had the opportunity to speak to a lot of people about their own mental health challenges and how the ducks meant things to them. And it meant a lot to me,鈥� Ngu says. 

鈥淒uck Guy is a part of me, but it's not the whole me. I鈥檓 just a dude. Maybe a little weird and crazy by making all these ducks, I know, but I'm just some random guy.

"I have my own mental health journey I've gone through, and that makes me who I am," Ngu adds. "That (UFlourish event) was sort of designed to inspire people. Like, if I can do it, you, of course, can do it probably way better than me.鈥�

For you, because it mattered to me

Now, in Ngu鈥檚 last semester, he鈥檚 hoping the third phase of the movement, 鈥淔or You, Because It Mattered to Me,鈥� will allow the spirit of Duck Guy to live on long after he graduates. 

鈥淭his is something that became a part of the university鈥檚 culture,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want to try and find a way to make it long-lasting.鈥�

Amidst UFlourish wellness events like 鈥淎dopt-a-Rubber-Duck," the keynote event of this phase was a mental health performance and arts collaboration involving 12 groups across campus, including the Office of Institutional Commitments, , Ancillary Services and various student clubs. 

Ngu has had discussions about potentially continuing to be involved as Duck Guy in an alumni capacity for campus mental health movements. 

鈥淚f, years from now, (this movement) is no longer snow ducks, but snow penguins or snow dinos, or nothing with snow at all, that doesn鈥檛 matter," he says. "Having that grassroots movement of students supporting students is the main mission.鈥�  

Moving on

Reflecting on his university career, Ngu feels he鈥檚 grown as a person from being introverted to far more extroverted and involved in campus life. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of that story of the stereotypical 91快色 commuter student who came to class and immediately left, never to be seen again until he has to come back to the next class that he physically does have to show up to 鈥� then he became this guy who made all these snow ducks and made all these initiatives happen,鈥� Ngu says.

Ngu hopes the legacy of Duck Guy is to drive people to make the change they want to have in the world. 

鈥淒on鈥檛 be scared to try things is my main takeaway with my university experience,鈥� he says. 

Ngu continues to emphasize the importance of mental health in his capacity on the university鈥檚 , which meets once a month to improve and develop student mental health resources. 

鈥淵ou may feel very alone sometimes. I鈥檝e definitely felt very alone. But, eventually, it will get better. You just need to make sure that you're working towards it,鈥� he says.

Ngu encourages students or anyone struggling with their mental health to use resources like the free counselling offered by the Student Wellness Centre. 

鈥淓ventually, you start to rediscover your own voice, rediscover your own self, rediscover who you are, who you want to be, and how you can get to the places you want to be, if you take that first step,鈥� he says. 

The things Ngu learned as Duck Guy have been applicable to his time with campus clubs like the and his current work in the computer science realm, where he continues to champion the Snow Duck legacy. 

His very first time making the snow ducks, Ngu said he felt like he鈥檇 tapped into his inner child. That earnest joy and whimsy is something he hopes he鈥檚 inspired in others, and will keep even as he leaves U91快色.