If you needed a little hope for the future, the Strive Community Expo on Friday 27 June at Kolbe Catholic College was the place to be. The event marked the exciting culmination of a semester-long journey where our Year 9 students stepped up, thought big, and took bold action to help solve real-world issues affecting our local Rockingham community.
Over the course of the semester, students in the Strive program explored problems close to home—from homelessness to mental health, vandalism to social isolation. Through workshops, challenges, and collaboration, they built the capabilities that matter: creativity, critical thinking, character strength, and community-mindedness. Then they took those skills and used them to design solutions that could make genuine, lasting change.
“It felt really rewarding to be taken seriously and have people genuinely interested in what we created. It made us proud of the hard work we had done!” – Phoebe (Year 9)
The Expo was a vibrant celebration of this learning. Students proudly showcased their projects to an incredible audience that included parents and guardians, representatives from the City of Rockingham, Rotary, WA Police, local business owners, volunteers, and of course, our Kolbe staff and peers.
From mobile laundry services and men’s mental health hubs to youth-designed art murals and reporting apps, the ideas on display were nothing short of inspiring.
“We were hoping that we could make people’s lives better instead of living on the streets and starving. People don’t deserve to have a bad life no matter who they are or what they have done because everyone is human and they all deserve a chance at a good life.” Hayley (Year 9)
At Kolbe, we’re passionate about giving our students voice, choice, and the chance to lead. Strive is just one way we empower our young people to be active citizens with real impact.
The Expo proved what we already knew—when students are given the tools and the trust, they can transform their communities.
Let’s keep striving, Kolbe!
