10 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 12 student at John Paul College, Frankston. They’d gone home that same afternoon and locked in a day-one win: a vision board. Not hype, they said. A reminder to stay disciplined, focused and honest with the standards they’d set for themselves.
A few more didn’t just say thank you. One admitted they’d never felt good enough and had shied away from opportunities for years. Another said they’d spent their life believing confidence in yourself was a weakness, until that day.
9 more students wrote in with stories of their own.
On 30 January 2026, Glen Gerreyn — a year 12 motivation speaker — ran Hope Unlimited with the Year 12 cohort at John Paul College, Frankston. 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 goal in their own handwriting.
In the days that followed, 10 students wrote in. They’d taken action. Here are some of them.
In their own words
All 10 pieces of feedback, in the students’ own words. Grouped by the 4 themes they kept returning to.
Theme 1. Small wins, the same day
“I wanted to follow up after your visit to our school. I don’t usually take much from motivational talks, but the way you spoke cut through and made me stop and reflect. Your message gave me a needed nudge at the right time — not hype, but a reminder to stay disciplined, focused, and honest with the standards I set for myself. I went home and locked in a day-one win by creating a vision board. What you said reinforced the idea that progress comes from consistency and backing yourself, especially when things don’t go your way. That’s something I’ll carry with me.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
“I just wanted to email you and really thank you for coming out to see us today, all the stuff you said was really moving and definitely a reality check while also being a great source of motivation. I feel especially moved by getting one win a day and I think even being able for you to come out to talk to us was a win in itself, although after hearing you speak I have had a few wins after the fact. Again thank you glen for coming out.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
“I went for a swim and 1 min run at the beach this afternoon. I finished my 2026 vision board and I’m going to start my analog ‘bigger goals’ (moonshot) vision board tomorrow to hang up in my room. Completed the character skills test too. Thank you so much. You’re truly amazing at what you do :)”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
— Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
Theme 2. The reframe
“I wanted to start off by thanking you from the bottom of my heart. I know you said you think you don’t really inspire us, but I feel more motivated and encouraged to follow my dream. I never felt good enough and shied away from any opportunities. But with your encouragement, I now feel stronger and more confident to achieve my goals. I came out of your seminar with my whole life changed. I genuinely believe that you have changed my life for the better. I will always remember your words when I feel unmotivated and don’t want to do school work, go to that audition or take risks in my life. So again thank you.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
“You spoke at JPC in Melbourne today. Firstly, I want to thank you for your incredible encouragement today. My friends and I came out of that lecture and were moved. Today, you were able to fuel my desire, and unleash my wildest ambitions. I would like to say that I am a very driven person and will never give up, but today, you taught me that having confidence in myself and wanting to reach my full potential no matter what it takes is in fact not a weakness. It is a strength. To be able to wish such a high level of success is what I should be doing. I wanted to thank you again for what you’re doing for my generation. It is truly moving- you are genuinely magnificent at what you do. Thank you again.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
“All I can really say is wow. To say I got a lot out of today would be an understatement. One of the biggest takeaways for me was what you said about school, particularly maths. I wrote down your point about how the things we often think are pointless — the moments where we ask, “When will I ever use this?” — are actually some of the most important. Even if we never use the content again, the real value is in the process: problem-solving, discipline, and learning to do the hard things even when we don’t want to. When you spoke today about doing the things you don’t want to do — especially in school — it completely shifted my mindset. I realised I’ve been dreading going back to school, even though there was a time when I prayed for the opportunities I now have. I thought about the students from my old school who would have done anything to be in my position, and it reminded me how grateful I should be.Thank you again for coming out — your work is truly amazing.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
— Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
Theme 3. Clarity, and the courage to use it
“I really loved and appreciated your speech and talk today. There was not one moment I wasn’t taking down notes or nodding my head. I truly felt understood and really appreciated you speaking to us as it gave me a lot of clarity on who I am and what I want to do with my future. You showed me that if I really want something I can do it and achieve success I just have to believe in myself and stay committed, no matter how long it takes. Thank you so much again.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
“The lecture you provided to us today deeply resonated with me as most of these skills that you talked about today, I have been trying to develop and implement into my life over the past 12 months. To see it come from someone from beyond the screen with real world results helped me understand that with enough courage and passion anything can come from nothing. Today helped me understand that I still have a fair amount of improvement that I can make to my own mindset and routines to help better myself and live the best way I can, so thank you for coming to our school to provide this lecture today.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
— Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
Theme 4. What they’ll carry
“Today you told us not to train harder but to train differently, so I’ve decided to take a new approach I haven’t tried yet and start journaling. You also talked about the importance of knowing our character strengths and I hope that through journaling I’ll not only be able to build the mindset I need to compete but also gain a deeper understanding of myself and my values. Thank you for coming to talk to us today, I found it really insightful and a good learning experience.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
“Today’s talk really hit deep today, thanks for coming out and reopening some closed gates for us. Today’s talk genuinely rekindled my passion to dream. if anything, today’s talk helped me to start dreaming again so I appreciate you coming down.”
Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
— Year 12 student, John Paul College, Frankston
What this feedback tells us
3 things worth noting, for the teacher reading this.
The action started that afternoon, not the following week.
One student went straight home and built a vision board the same day. Another finished their 2026 vision board and completed the character skills test before dinner, then said they were starting a second, bigger one the next morning. The measure of a seminar is what happens before the debrief, not after it.
They named the belief that was holding them back, then dropped it.
One student admitted they’d never felt good enough and had shied away from opportunities for years. Another said they’d always treated self-belief as a weakness, until they were told, in the room, that it’s a strength. Students don’t rewrite a belief like that for a stranger unless something in the room made it safe to say.
10 of the cohort wrote in. Nobody made them.
Year 12 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 The HopeFULL Institute’s seminar for Years 9 to 12, in person, on campus, and one of our Melbourne 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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