13 students put pen to paper and emailed us after Hope Unlimited. A sample of what landed in our inbox.
The room
A few days after the seminar, an email arrived from a Year 10 student at All Hallows’ School. They’d ended up in the front row by accident, going in expecting nothing while quietly carrying anxiety and depression they rarely said out loud.
By the end of the first session, they said the weight had lifted and their mind had cleared.
A few more students didn’t just say thank you. They named the anxiety, the fear of judgement, the glass-half-empty thinking they’d been carrying quietly.
12 more students wrote in with stories of their own.
On 30 March 2026, Hope Unlimited ran with the Year 10 cohort at All Hallows’ School, Brisbane. 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, 13 students wrote in. They’d taken action. Here are some of them.
In their own words
All 13 pieces of feedback, in the students’ own words. Grouped by the 4 themes they kept returning to.
Theme 1. The lightbulb moment
“Today may have been one of the best days of my life though, not because I did anything crazy but the feeling of almost a lightbulb switching on has made me feel so much more curious and excited for the future ahead of me! Thanks so much for everything??”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to come in today to talk with my grade, I have found that it has helped me a lot. To be honest, I was feeling very lost and have been for quite some time and your lectures and examples have resonated with me and I had basically an epiphany. Thank you for showing me what I will become!”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to talk to the AHS year 10 cohort today. Hearing you speak today made me rediscover past hidden passions and look at it from another angle. I’ve found I had these positive attitudes and goals but I wasn’t actually putting it into motion. From today I now feel so confident and positive in my ability to shape my future how I want it to be.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
— Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
Theme 2. Naming the hard part
“I was one of the girls today at All Hallows’. I wanted to pretty much just say thank you. I would say I am someone who is like a glass half empty type of person, and someone who is very much scared of judgement and failure. To be honest with you I was planning on not coming today because I hate these types of day, but I am so glad I went, because you have inspired me and motivated me to make this happen. I am going to start believing in myself and be more confident and put myself out there. Thank you again.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“I just wanted to thank you for your session today at All Hallows – I came to be sitting in the front row by accident, and I am so grateful I was, because it made your already personal words feel that much more personal and motivating. I truly didn’t expect to get anything out of this day, but you made sure that was 100% not the case. You inspired me in such a way that I can’t put into words – in just the first session I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, my mind become clear and smiling became easier. I had been in a bit of a slump for a while about my present and my future – I struggle with anxiety, depression and many fears that I know hold me back and limit me greatly but I hadn’t found the will to fight this until today. Thank you for waking me up. Thank you so much, truly.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“I just wanted to thank you so much for your presentation today, I loved it and left it feeling a lot more engaged and hopeful about my future. I have never felt so positive or convinced of my capability to achieve. I have struggle with my mental health in the past, and I know the impact hope has on your mindset, quality of life, and your ability to look past the hard times and believe you can do better. This day really solidified that for me.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
— Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
Theme 3. Action, that same afternoon
“Thank you so much for your talk today at our school. To be honest, me and my friends weren’t expecting much but we all agreed that we came out genuinely motivated. Your talk has made me 10x more excited about what’s ahead of me!”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“Thank you for visiting my school (All Hallows’) and sharing your message today. I found your words truly motivating, and I’m very grateful for the impact they had on me. Your talk helped me identify several key areas where I can improve, both in my sport and academically. I hope I’ll have the opportunity to see you again someday and personally thank you for the positive change you’ve inspired in my life.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“After listening to your speech and story today, something sparked in me to become successful. To put more effort into everything I do and to look at things differently. You made me realise that I only disadvantage myself when comparing myself to others which is what I struggle with. At touch training this afternoon, I tried to take some of your information into the training, taking the opportunities to improve by asking for feedback and take my performance to another level by starting with this small step. I have written notes of what I will commit to. I would like to say thank you for changing my perspective on so many different things and life today, you have truly made me want the feeling of success more than ever, and I am ready for the challenges along the way.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
— Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
Theme 4. What they'll carry
“I know you must hear this very often but I just wanted to thank you so so much again for being such an empowering person to listen to today. I’ve listened to Olympians, coaches and motivational speakers many a time and I want you to know how much of an impact you have on my perception of purpose and self worth. I’m so excited to take all of the lessons I’ve learnt from you today into training, games, tournaments and life in general and become a much more mentally educated person going through the world through you’re strategies and mindsets. I hope you know that you have given me so much strength to take with me into every day life and that you’re certainly one step closer to achieving your own personal goals. I promise to you that you will hear from or see me in some form in the future because you deserve to see the true success of you’re empowerment for many youths to become the people that they were born to be. Thank you so much for using your gift to uplift me Glen.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“I know you probably hear this from everyone, but this actually moved me. I feel so inspired and ready to go out into my day and into my training, study and music with confidence. Your speeches today taught me so much and I couldn’t be more thankful. All my notes I took today, I have written them down again into my little book where I write inspiring things and things that I don’t want to forget. You have truly inspired me and given me so much hope in my life and for in my sport and you have motivated me and given me vision to why I should never give it up and keep going until I pursue my dreams. I cannot thank you enough. Once again thank you so much Glen, you truly have changed my focus on life and helped me on my path to greatness.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“Thank you for coming to All Hallows’ today for your speech. You really opened my mind to new perspectives, and I enjoyed the day as well, it was timeless, as it all passed by so quickly! Thank you again.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
“Thank you so much for all your amazing words of wisdom today, I feel like no other speech or presentation I’ve listened too has had this great an affect on me.”
Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
— Year 10 student, All Hallows’ School
What this feedback tells us
3 things worth noting, for the teacher reading this.
They told us the hard part, not just the good part.
Three students named anxiety and depression directly, on paper, days after a seminar. One almost didn’t come at all, saying they “hate these types of day.” Another described themselves as “glass half empty.” Students don’t write that down for a stranger unless something in the room made it safe to say.
The action started at training, that same afternoon.
One student took what they’d heard straight into touch training that afternoon, and wrote down what they’d commit to. Another said they rediscovered a passion they’d shelved and started putting it into motion the same day. The measure of a seminar is what happens before the debrief, not after it.
13 of the cohort wrote in. Nobody made them.
Year 10 students don’t send unprompted feedback to say thank you for a school presentation. They write when something has actually shifted. That’s the signal a wellbeing program should watch for.
About the work
Hope Unlimited
Hope Unlimited is delivered by a student wellbeing speaker for Years 9 to 12, in person, on campus, as one of our Brisbane 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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