14 students put pen to paper and emailed us after Day of Hope. A sample of what landed in our inbox.
The room
A few days after the seminar, an email arrived from a Year 12 student at St Michael’s College. He’d had a difficult conversation with his state coach the night before, and he almost didn’t come.
By the end of the session, he’d reframed the whole thing. Not a setback, but ground to build from. He set himself a goal that day: cut social media to 45 minutes, be first at every training, stop playing it safe.
13 more students wrote in with stories of their own.
On 2 June 2026, Day of Hope ran with the Year 12 cohort at St Michael’s College, Adelaide. Pen and paper. No phones. Quiet enough to think.
The seminar covers the 4 sub-skills that build hope: grit, optimism, courage and resilience. Students name their character strengths, write a vision they can actually see, and leave with one moonshot in their own handwriting.
In the days that followed, 14 students wrote in. They’d taken action. Here are some of them.
In their own words
All 14 pieces of feedback, in the students’ own words. Grouped by the 4 themes they kept returning to.
Theme 1. The reframe
“I wanted to thank you for speaking to our year today. To be honest, I almost didn’t come. I was drained. Exhausted, even. Not physically, but mentally. After a particularly difficult conversation I had with my state coach last night. I wasn’t in the mindset to sit through another school presentation. Part of me just wanted to switch off for the day. But I am so glad that I did show up instead. One thing you spoke about today particularly resonated with me, this was the idea that everyone has gifts, but hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard. I’ve spent a-lot of time questioning whether I am talented enough, good enough and if I have what it takes. But listening to you today, I realised that my greatest gift isn’t necessarily my talent, but it’s my discipline, and my obsession with being the best. My willingness to continue to show up and to keep working. When you spoke about finding the thing that lights you up, and gives you purpose, I realised that for me, that is football. It truly does get me out of bed in the mornings, and keep me up at night thinking about how I can be better. It is what challenges me, excites me and pushes me to become both a better player, and a better person. Your message helped me reframe the conversation I had with my coach. Instead of seeing it as a setback, I now see it as an opportunity for growth, and to focus on the things that I can control. As a result I’ve set a few goals for myself. I’m reducing my social media use to 45 minutes a day, so I can spend more time focusing on the things that move me closer to my goals. I’m committing to being the first at every training, continuing to focus on the one percenters that I know will add up over time. Most importantly, i’m going to stop playing it safe. I will be brave enough to chase goals that don’t seem realistic and trust that my work ethic and discipline will give me every chance of getting there. I know the road to being drafted is not easy, and there will be plenty more setbacks along the way. But after hearing you speak today, I feel strong enough to get back up, brush myself off, and try again. I am excited to be challenged. Thank you for reminding me that setbacks aren’t permanent and do not define who we are as people, and reassuring us that sometimes the biggest opportunities are hidden inside the moments that initially hurt the most.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“Today really inspired me, and I felt I should email to both thank you and let you in on what I believe to be a new beginning of my story. I have always dreamed big, and had big ideas But recently, I feel that that vision I have was dimming, I began to lose hope and felt like I started to conform to being ‘normal’. After your talk, I realised that if I just put work I could succeed, and that there was hope. A win from today was I also actually sat down and studied, something that I haven’t done in ages. I have definitely been gifted with my mind, but I struggle with severe ADHD, and have never been able nor learnt how to sit down and actually study. I felt so frustrated that I was unable to concentrate, and lost hope in my ability to succeed at school. After your talk, I realised that maybe I could control this, and deal the hand I was dealt, so I bit the bullet and grinded through a long study session. I hated it, but felt great after. It was the first time in a long time I focused on something like that. So thank you.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“I wanted to reach out to thank you for the impact you had on me. Your presentation was incredibly inspiring and helped me better understand the importance of commitment and discipline in achieving meaningful goals. It highlighted the importance of the small, consistent actions that lead to larger achievements, which was something I had previously overlooked. My goal is to gain entry into Medicine, but I have often struggled to find the motivation to complete the everyday tasks required to get there. Since hearing your presentation, I frequently remind myself of your idea of working in “decimal points” toward a goal. Whenever my motivation starts to fade, that mindset helps me focus on the next small step rather than the entire journey, and it has made a real difference. Thank you again for taking the time to speak to us. Your message has genuinely encouraged me to embrace the small and often unglamorous tasks that contribute to long-term success, and it has given me a new perspective on the process of achieving my goals.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
— Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
Theme 2. Hope as a choice
“We really appreciated hearing about hope and how it’s an active choice and something that connects to purpose, meaning, and staying motivated through challenges. It was really inspiring and gave us a lot to think about. Thanks again for your time and for sharing your message with us.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“Thank you again for your speech and for sharing your experiences. It has given me a lot to think about and has strengthened my belief that I can continue moving forward and chasing my goals.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“You came to my school today and I really took in what you said about setting goals and remaining persistent with my goals to achieve them. Your talk was really inspiring today and I felt that I needed that push to really make a start and actively achieve my goal effectively, rather than just picturing it without some effort. Thank you.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“I was lucky enough to have you speak in-front of my year level today. I thought deeply about what you said and I just felt so great about myself like I unlocked something that’s been holding me back. Thank you so much again for your heartfelt speaking today.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
— Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
Theme 3. Action, in Adelaide
“You had such an amazing impact on me today in Adelaide, I went straight to Kmart afterwords to get the vision board. I have started it but it is still in the making, I also did the character test getting love, gratitude, fairness, humour and humility as my top 5. Thank you so much.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“Thank you so much for your talk today, I have been telling everyone that I have been feeling down and I have been needing a ‘fortune cookie moment’. You have really helped me realign with my greater purpose.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
— Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
Theme 4. What they'll carry
“After hearing your presentation, I walked away with many valuable insights. Thank you for sharing your experiences, wisdom, and encouragement with us. Your presentation was truly inspiring and has motivated me to think bigger, set clearer goals, and take meaningful steps towards achieving them. Thank you again for making such a positive impact on me. Your words have inspired me to believe in my potential, and I am excited to put my goals into action and create the future I envision for myself.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“Please don’t ever retire I would love if my children in the future are lucky enough to hear your story, if not I will be sure to teach them what I learnt today. Thank you so much again.”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
“Today you spoke at my school and I was so intrigued and interested the entire time. You helped me realise my capabilities and how much I have to offer. Again, I appreciate and respect your work. Thanks for making today so personalised and getting me involved!”
Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
— Year 12 student, St Michael’s College, Adelaide
What this feedback tells us
3 things worth noting, for the teacher reading this.
They reframed the setback, not the goal.
One student turned a hard conversation with his coach into a training plan the same night. Another separated the goal from the doubt around it: “maybe I could control this.” A third stopped seeing years of study as one long journey and started working, in his words, “in decimal points.” When a student rewrites his own problem in front of you, the language has stuck.
The action started before the debrief.
A vision board bought at Kmart on the way home. A character strengths test completed the same afternoon. A study session forced through after months of avoiding one. The measure of a seminar is what happens the same day, and this is what the same day looked like at St Michael’s.
14 of the cohort wrote in. Nobody made them.
Year 12 students don’t send half a page of feedback out of politeness, not in the weeks before exams. They write when something lands. That’s the signal a wellbeing program should watch for.
About the work
Day of Hope
Day of Hope is a resilience incursion for high schools, delivered by The HopeFULL Institute for Years 9 to 12, in person, on campus, as one of our Adelaide student wellbeing seminars. Pen and paper. No phones. Quiet enough to think. Students name their character strengths, write a vision they can see, and leave with practical tools to build hope: grit, optimism, courage and resilience.
About Glen
Glen Gerreyn is the founder of The HopeFULL Institute. Former Young Australian of the Year (Queensland, Community Service). 750 schools. More than 1 million young people. He’s based in Brisbane, a father of 4, and a lifelong student of human flourishing. He leads with story, then strategy. He doesn’t swear to win the room.
Glen Gerreyn
Founder, The HopeFULL Institute
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