A Class Of Their Own

Jesinta Franklin’s mum taught her daughters to dream big and founded a special school for them. Now, Jesinta tells Susan Horsburgh she wants to raise her own children with husband Buddy the same way.

The vision board Jesinta Franklin made a decade ago would spook even the most hard-core sceptic. As a 15-year-old, Jesinta imagined her dream life and put it all on a pink poster she looked at every day for inspiration. She pasted on pictures of former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins and headlines like “Getaway star”; she listed goals such as “Buy a house” and “Learn how to dance properly”. In her teenage handwriting, she vowed, “I will be signed as the face of David Jones” and coached herself with the words, “Nothing is impossible”.

Showing me the poster, even Jesinta can’t quite believe it. “Is that not scary?” asks the 25-year-old. This, after all, is the woman who went on to win Miss Universe Australia in 2010 (and come second runner-up for the global title), to report on the travel show Getaway, compete on Dancing With The Stars and buy a house at 21. Sure enough, she has become a David Jones ambassador, too.

It is all testament to the power of “intention”, she says – of drive and ambition – not to mention a childhood that encouraged her to think big. Her mum, Valerie Campbell-Hogg, always advised her two daughters to be led by what they loved – and to never, ever have a back-up plan.

As The Weekly chats to Jesinta, Valerie and Aleysha Campbell at their airy, hillside family home in the Gold Coast hinterland, there is an artwork on the wall that says, “Follow your dreams”. That philosophy of self belief has informed not only Jesinta and Aleysha’s upbringing, but also their education, thanks to the school their mother founded 20 years ago.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Valerie was the daughter of two teachers and had always wanted to be one herself, but dropped out of school in her final year, disillusioned with the mainstream system.