College Students Shaping Their Destiny

‘There is only one quality needed for success and that is clarity of purpose. This is knowing what you want and having a burning desire to achieve it.’
Darren Pereira

To reinforce the message that our students should aim high in all that they do, the College invited highly successful motivational speaker, Darren Pereira, to speak to some of our senior students. Considered to be one of the foremost speakers in Australia, Darren has delivered his motivational speeches to over 220,000 students at top secondary schools and universities around the world. This is the second year that Darren has visited the College and he was highly complimentary about the impression he gained from his previous visit. He was pleased that many of last year’s students had taken advantage of his offer to contact him via email for on-going coaching during the year.

With a DJ in attendance pumping out the music, our Year 12 students knew from the start that this would be a seminar with a difference; one that proved to be high energy, quickly getting them on their feet and thinking. Using Darren’s signature mix of music, self-depreciating humour and videos, he quickly engaged the students and the morning’s work got underway. Keeping the motivational levels high over three hours, Darren  asked our Year 12 students to think carefully about their goals and dreams as they enter their final senior years and begin to make decisions that will impact their future both here and beyond school – decisions that would ‘Shape their Destiny.’ His aim was to help them crystallise their thinking and identify their desires, talents and unique abilities - using these to set goals and create a unique step-by-step plan of action best suited to each individual.

In a second workshop, Darren worked with our Year 11 students, this time offering them ‘Study Skills for Success’ to develop the critical habits of mind necessary for academic success: the motivation to study, creating organisational systems, good study habits and the resilience required for to achieve academic excellence.

Our students thoroughly enjoyed the level of energy that Darren used to deliver his message and the buzz as they left the Chapel suggests his aim to engage and motivate was highly successful.

‘When all else fails, consult a tree. A tree knows to grow as tall as it possibly can.’
Darren Pereira