The students slowly opened the door of another room. Inside, the room was dark. Silent. The air felt heavy. At the center stood a single figure—motionless—wearing a mask. No greeting. No explanation. After a long pause, the figure began to speak. He told a true story—one that started far from home, while he was working in Qatar. What began as “just trying” online gambling slowly tightened its grip. Loss after loss piled up, turning into a snowball of desperation. To keep chasing what was already gone, he fell into predatory loans. One debt led to another. In the end, the burden took everything—until he was forced to sell his last and most precious asset: his home. When the story ended, the silence returned. As their eyes adjusted to the room, they began to notice the walls. Written all around were real stories of people who had made devastating financial decisions. One story, in particular, made the students stop and frown. It was about a fisherman who lost his savings—3.5 billion rupiah—kept in a bank. The students were confused. How could someone lose money in a bank? Aren’t banks supposed to be safe? What happened to the fisherman? Did he ever get his money back? Those questions stayed in their minds—and became the starting point of their inquiry.

In inquiry-based project learning, every learning journey begins with a powerful hook session. During this session, students are immersed in two contrasting stories. In one room, they encounter people who achieve financial success through wise decisions. In another, they see the realities faced by those trapped in poor financial choices. This contrast invites students to reflect deeply on the consequences of the decisions we make. The experience becomes even more meaningful when real people share their stories. One of them is Nabila, a fellow Bitcoiner, who openly tells her journey—from starting with nothing, facing hardships, and choosing to focus on self-improvement, to eventually building her own business. She shares how learning to manage her income and carefully choosing assets and investments through research changed her life. Her story leaves a lasting mark on the students. In their own words, they realize that success is not instant—it is built through consistency, hard work, and the courage to keep learning and seizing opportunities.

On the first day the students learned about themselves, their interest, things that they want to do growing up, how would they earn their money. Doing deep research on career, income projection, and how to get there. Facilitated by education psychologist