Our young men were treated to talks by renowned authors including Jason Reynolds - African American author of Long Way Down, Chloe Gong, NZ Korean author of These Violent Delights and many other works of YA (Young Adult) fiction, and NZ's poet laureate Chris Tse.

A highlight for the boys was listening to Jason Reynolds who grew up in a housing estate near Washington DC. Reynolds uses a lot of the hardship of his upbringing in his story and his message of never giving up and believing in yourself 100% resonated with our learners.