MISSION:
Making students better leaders and the world a better place
PURPOSE: VALUES: VISION:
Forging an army of good for good
Student-driven, empowered ownership, equality of voice, doing good, and creative innovation
We believe in the power of students
A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CELESTE:
Dear One Stone Community,
Each week, I meet with Mackenzie King, our Board Chair and a Lab School student from the Class of 2026. Together we dream big about what’s ahead, and we are continually inspired by the curiosity, optimism, and commitment of our newest students. They are already diving in, asking bold questions, and charting how they will make their mark on the world. This work continues to fuel my soul and my Why. I am incredibly proud of the work we have done together this past year. Thank you for exploring our Annual Reflection and celebrating the transformative impact of One Stone.
This year we have made tremendous progress on our strategic goals: brave blue skies, find meaning, thrive in the real world, elevate humankind, and design for everyone. We now support seven schools with the One Stone Growth Framework, including our own Lab School, and were honored to share our expertise at conferences across the country and abroad, including an invited visit to the Seto Solan School in Japan. Interest in One Stone continues to grow worldwide, with requests for tours, podcasts, blogs, and consultations coming from as far as South Africa and Australia.
Our students are digging deep to understand themselves and applying durable skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, curiosity, and research to solve real-world problems. They are promoting safe and accessible spaces for Boise teens, expanding access to mental health resources for refugees, building community for veterans, and supporting adults with intellectual disabilities. This is the heart of One Stone: students finding their voice, pursuing their passions, and making the world a better place.
This fall, we are thrilled to welcome our newest Trailblazers into the 10th year of the One Stone Lab School! When we started with our first One Stone students in the fall of 2016, it felt like this milestone was light years away. Yet here we are, and we could not be more inspired or proud of how far we’ve come.
Our Army of Good for Good continues to grow through our alumni, who are using their Toolkit for Life in every path they pursue. They are thriving in college and graduate school, launching careers, starting families, and giving back to their communities. They are interior designers and computational biologists, law students and environmental engineers, EMTs, wildland firefighters, educators in Spain and Colombia, and so much more.
None of this is possible without you. Alumni, families, donors, community partners, and students—you make our equitable, innovative efforts to transform the learner experience possible. Thank you to all of you who have donated this past year, whether in time, money, or other support. Sadly, the exciting $250,000 pledge from the 2025 One Event was not fulfilled, leaving us with a short-term funding gap. To meet it, we’ve launched a $100,000 campaign to sustain our programs and ensure we can continue offering transformative learning experiences to every student, regardless of financial barriers. We need your financial support to help us recover from this setback. More information on the Bridge the Gap Campaign can be found on page 14.
The horizon for 2025–2026 is full of possibility. In just the next two months, our students will travel to Louisiana, Colorado, and Spain to present and lead workshops, while more schools across the country look to implement our Growth Framework.
To see this groundbreaking work in action, I would like to invite you all to our annual One Event fundraiser on February 7, 2026. For more information, please visit: givebutter.com/oneevent2026
Thank you for walking beside us—for believing in students, for investing in innovation, and for making this dream last for decades to come.
Executive Director, One Stone
MEET THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pic: 2025-2026 Board Chair
Mackenzie King speaking at the 2025 One Event.
One Stone has one of the only student-driven boards of directors in the world. Per the board bylaws, at least two-thirds of the members must be students, and students hold every governing position, including Chair.
2025-2026 BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Mackenzie King - One Stone Lab School, Chair
Evangeline Horel - One Stone Lab School, Vice Chair
Charlotte Bolin - Sage International School, Secretary
Ryah Miller - One Stone Lab School, Treasurer
Braydon Hardy - One Stone Lab School, Director
Brock Elvidge - One Stone Lab School, Director
Crimson Stewart-Fatzinger - One Stone Lab School, Director
Jackson Wallace - Boise High School, Director
Logan Knox - One Stone Lab School, Director
Louie DePhillips - One Stone Lab School, Director
Max Ziegler - One Stone Lab School, Director
Sophie Gunther - One Stone Lab School, Director
Teresa Poppen - Co-Founder and Former Executive Director of One Stone, Director
Jennie Myers - Owner of Against, Director
Michael Myers - Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Micron Technology, Director
Tom Vander Ark - CEO of Getting Smart, Director
BRAVE BLUE SKIES
Daring to continually take risks, innovate, and operate in unknown, previously unexplored spaces authentically positions One Stone as a global leader in studentdriven learning. Building and prioritizing diversified revenue streams, including the prioritization of lab school enrollment, will drive learning innovations and ensure that One Stone’s bold belief in students has a sustained impact on the world.
ONE STONE OUT OF HQ
Nagoya, Japan
Over the past few years, One Stone has cultivated strong partnerships with educators in Japan, particularly with the elementary school Seto Salon. Their student-driven, projectbased learning approach aligns closely with One Stone’s values and learning framework. In February, four One Stone students, Max Ziegler,
Mackenzie King, Ryah Miller, and Evangeline Horel along with staff and parents, traveled to Japan to visit Seto Salon, connect with its students, and immerse themselves in Japanese culture. Mackenzie was able to travel back to Japan for her Summer Experience.
Austin, Texas
In March, One Stone students
Raya Naymik and Ella Cornett, along with staff members Celeste, Ashlee, and Camille, attended South by Southwest (SXSW). Celeste, Raya, and Ella presented and facilitated an interactive workshop on One Stone’s Growth Framework in the Stand Together Lounge.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Celeste and 2024-2025 Board Chair, Nora Smart, attended the Aurora Conference where they presented on a panel discussing competency-based education.
San Diego, California
One Stone staff members Allison and Chad, along with student Sophie Gunther, represented One Stone at the Deeper Learning Conference 2025 in San Diego. They led workshops on our passion and purpose finding mentorship tools, engaging educators from all over with innovative strategies for student-centered
Pics: (above) One Stone student Sophie Gunther speaking to a group at the Deeper Learning Conference 2025 in San Diego; (opposite page) Three students pilot a cardboard boat around a course at Quinn’s Pond during the Cardboard Boat Regatta 2024
GOOD LINKS
Check out the links below to explore the local and national recognition One Stone has received over the past year.
READ: Friday Feature, One Stone
Written by Colleen Hroncich, Cato Institute Blog
READ: Shifting to an H3 Mindset Starts With Believing in the Power of Students
Written by Chad Carlson (One Stone Ventures), Getting Smart Blog
READ: Beyond the Grade: How One Stone’s Growth Framework Empowers Learners for Life
Co-Written by Celeste Bolin, Sophie Gunther, and Raya Naymik (One Stone Staff and Students) and Susan Haws and Lauren Mansfield (Insight Co-Learning Center Staff and Student), Getting Smart Blog
READ: Taming the Turbulence in Educational Leadership
Written by Jennifer D. Klein
READ: The Practices Powering Durable Skills in High School
The Path Forward Blog, published by America Succeeds
LISTEN/WATCH: Transforming Education with Celeste Bolin
Hosted by Matt Todd, The Ranch Podcast
LISTEN/WATCH: Students & Community in Idaho with Celeste Bolin
Hosted by Matt Todd, The Ranch Podcast
LISTEN/WATCH: What Does Rethinking Assessment Look Like?
Hosted by Victoria Andrews, Getting Smart Podcast
WATCH: The flawed history of testing - and how we move beyond it?
Produced by Stand Together
MEET THE STAFF
One Stone’s staff embodies unwavering dedication to One Stone and the mission of making students better leaders and the world a better place.
“The coaches at One Stone are passionate, uniquely talented people, and that passion and talent is what makes them so valuable to students. They have such unique and vast experiences that help them guide students as we develop our own skills.” - 2025 Lab School Graduate
Allison Fowle - Assistant Lab School Director
Amee Hardy - Lab School Counselor
Andie Kelly - Two Birds and Yearbook Specialist
Ashlee Greenwood - Operations and Innovation Director
Brooke Ward - Engineering, Math, and Physics Specialist
Carly Costello - Finance Director
Celeste Bolin - Executive Director
Dilyn Brown - Office Arranger, Lab School Alum ‘22
Elise Alford - Managing Director, One Stone Ventures
Eric Straubhar - Two Birds Video Production Specialist
Emily Watkins - Humanities and Lab School Coach
Jason Sievers - Creative Director
John Brassey - Math Specialist
Jordi Johnson - Foundry and Lab School Coach
Josie Derrick - Robotics Specialist
Julie Gunther - Math, Art, Medicine, and Social Science Specialist
Julia Grief - Development Manager, One Stone Alum ‘14
Jun Campion - Ripple and Lab School Coach, One Stone Alum ‘14
Pic: (above) Ashlee Greenwood, our Operations and Innovation Director, poses with her mentee, Jillian Cook, at One Stone’s 2025 Graduation ceremony; (opposite page) One Stone staff dining together during our 2025 Staff Retreat.
Kylie Poppen - One Stone Ventures Co-Founder, Director of Strategy and Design, One Stone Alum ‘10
Lisa Fisher - College Admissions Director
Mackenzie Link - Design Thinking Specialist, Lab School Alum ‘24
Michael Reagan - Lab School Director
Molliann Jones - Biology and Chemistry Specialist
Peggy Sellery - Math, English, Science, and PSAT/SAT Prep Specialist
Sam Johnson - Engineering, Design, and Writing Specialist
Our staff are not only specialists in the fields where they support students, but they also bring the depth of excellence and experience they cultivate beyond One Stone into their roles. Their diverse achievements and expertise enrich our community in countless ways. Here are just a few highlights of the remarkable contributions they bring to their work:
In the summer of 2025, Emily Watkins was one of 25 educators selected in the State of Idaho to participate in the Idaho Humanities Council Teacher Institute. This year, the institute focused on commemorating the United States 250th birthday. Professors from around the state attended and provided graduate level lectures for deeper learning and understanding.
Allison Fowle serves as the Secretary on the Idaho Conservation League Board of Directors where she serves on the Executive, Governance, and Conservation Committees.
In the fall of 2024, Jason Sievers held a solo photography exhibition titled Portals at the Center for Arts & History at Lewis-Clark State College in his hometown of Lewiston, Idaho. The show featured 30 pieces that combined his passion for thrifting with 360-degree photography, showcasing images taken from inside thrifted vases—each print sold alongside its corresponding vase.
One Stone staff also demonstrate a resolute commitment to One Stone’s continued success, actively championing and contributing to its long-term financial sustainability.
100% of staff donated at the 2025 One Event.
25% of the sponsored tables were staff tables.
25% of total donations made were made by staff or friends and family related to staff.
CORPORATE, COMMUNITY, AND FOUNDATION SUPPORTERS
We are profoundly grateful to our corporate, community, and foundation partners whose generous investment in One Stone makes our work possible.
B.Realty | Boise Premier
Real Estate
Boise Co-op Market
Coeur d’Alene Tribe
D.L. Evans Bank
Delta Dental of Idaho
Digestive Health Clinic
Education Reimagined
E. E. Perkins Foundation
ESI
FIRST Idaho
Fisher’s Technology
Flutterby Gardens Landscaping
Fulcrum Wealth Management
Georgetown International Relations Association
Highlands Hollow
ICCU
Idaho Botanical Gardens
Idaho Humanities Council
Idaho Regional Robots
Idaho Transportation Department
Idaho Trust Bank
Juliet Blick State Farm Agency
KeyBank
LearnerStudio
Mitchell + Palmer
Payette Brewing
Pulse Holistic Health
Rathbone Falvey Research
Selway Bitterroot-Frank Church Foundation
Sparklight
SupreME Moms
Trailhead
Verandah Sportswear
Wellness Psychiatry
Whittenberger Foundation
wildfire aesthetics
Youth Action Climate Fund
Zelham Inc.
Pic: The 2025 One Event, our annual fundraiser and showcase of student voice.
DEVELOPMENT REVENUE SOURCES - FISCAL YEAR 2025
One Stone’s development initiatives are strategically designed to meet and exceed financial goals that ensure long-term organizational sustainability and provide equitable opportunities for all students. These efforts include executing targeted and large-scale fundraising campaigns and events, cultivating strategic partnerships, stewarding donor relationships, and securing corporate sponsorships and grant funding.
A diversification of development revenue allows One Stone to remain agile, invest in long-term impact, and continue delivering on our mission even in uncertain times. This diversification reflects both strategic planning and strong support from a broad base of stakeholders who believe in our work.
FAMILY/INDIVIDUAL DONORS
FUNDRAISING EVENTS
CORPORATE SPONSORS
GRANTS/ FOUNDATION GIVING
One Stone Ventures is sharing our innovative, competency-based learning model with the world. Through services and products including the Growth Framework, professional development and workshops, and discovery visits, One Stone Ventures is dedicated to transforming the learner experience for students everywhere.
• One Stone Ventures currently has seven partner schools across the country who are integrating the Growth Framework into their schools to address the unique needs of their learners. Of the total 1,939 students using the Growth Framework, 65% attend school in marginalized communities or school districts and 90% of the students at our partner school, Bostonia Global, speak English as their second or third language. Currently, 198 educators use One Stone Venture’s products and services, empowering their students to discover their purpose, build durable skills, and develop a strong sense of self.
• Throughout the year, One Stone has hosted educators, philanthropic organizations, and journalists from across the country and world including Japan and Canada.
Pics: (opposite page top) Students and staff with visitors from Learn by Creation, an inquiry-based elementary and middle school in Japan; (opposite page bottom) One Stone Executive Director Celeste Bolin poses with educators from around Japan during a visit facilited by www.futureedu.tokyo.
BRIDGE THE GAP CAMPAIGN
The $250,000 pledge made at this year’s One Event (January 2025) will not come to fruition. To close our fundraising gap, we are launching a campaign to raise $100,000, and we need your help.
Grow the good. Align with the mission. Personalize your giving.
The Bridge the Gap Initiative is designed to help fund the financial gap between the cost of providing high-impact, student-driven learning at One Stone Lab School and what families in our community are able to pay. Through our Family Individualized Tuition (FIT) model, each family’s tuition is set based on their unique financial situation. While this makes One Stone accessible for all, it also creates a gap each year between our tuition target and actual revenue. Currently, with our FIT model there is an average gap of about $9,500 dollars per student.
Bridge the Gap is about closing that gap, together. By aligning your giving with your passions and capacity, you can make student transformation possible and sustain One Stone’s mission well into the future.
Below are key programs your contributions will directly fund:
Engages students in meaningful conversations and helps them build strong reading habits through shared reading experiences.
Provides Idaho’s first through ninth grade students with enriching summer experiences centered around STEM, art, literacy, and leadership.
Enables real-world learning opportunities that support students in developing durable skills and a toolkit for life.
Supports wellness, environmental stewardship, and collaboration through an immersive exploration of the outdoors.
Fuels innovation and creativity by maintaining a fullyequipped space where students gain valuable skills through digital design and technology.
FIND MEANING
Living and learning with passion, purpose, confidence, and voice begins with designing relevant, student-driven learning experiences that challenge each student to connect their learning to themself by growing their mindset, creativity, knowledge, and skills.
The following learning experiences were shaped by students’ passions and interests, and intentionally designed to cultivate durable skills, key competencies, and growth-oriented mindsets.
Robotics
Students participating in our FIRST Robotics team got hands-on experience building robots and competing against other teams from around the world. Through this experience, they not only built engineering and coding skills, but also practiced other key skills including collaboration and teamwork (with each other and other teams), grit, iteration, fundraising, project management, and more.
Music
In the summer of 2024, One Stone Humanities Lead, Emily Watkins, was one of 20 educators selected nationally to be a part of the first cohort of Democracy in Dialogue, a program from the Smithsonian Institute. The lab school learning experience created through this program encouraged students to explore the history of music and music venues in Boise including the Shrine Social
Club, Treefort Music Hall, and the Record Exchange. Through this experience, students made connections between self expression, spaces that support that expression, and the need for these spaces in a democratic society.
Foundry
In a lab school experience facilitated in the spring of 2025, Blame the Architect, 20 students learned about architecture, materials and drawing, visited with a local architect, and used CAD software to design and build personal projects.
Pic: Students from the FIRST Robotics team working in The Foundry at One Stone.
Pics: (above top) One Stone student Crimson Stewart-Fatzinger giving a four-minute pitch to outside judges in Hatch; (above bottom), Rowan Gardner wins third place in the High School Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge, hosted by Boise State Venture College; (opposite page) scenes from The Big Creek Expedition in Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness.
Hatch
All lab school students participate in the entrepreneurship experience, Hatch, where they learn about the fundamentals of business, develop their own business concepts, and ultimately pitch to a panel of judges for feedback. This spring, One Stone was grateful to have Scott Schlange (KeyBank), Edward Moore (116 & West), Billy Mitchell (Mitchell Palmer), and Carolina Longo (Mitchell Palmer) serve as our community judges.
Additionally, four students represented One Stone at
this year’s High School Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge, hosted by Boise State Venture College, pitching original business ideas in a statewide competition. Each student delivered a fourminute pitch, followed by a Q&A with a panel of judges. Rowan Gardner placed 3rd in the Tech/Services track for his innovative idea, RideLine, which he developed in his Hatch experience.
Rethinking the Selfie
Students, with the help of Julie Gunther, a One Stone parent and lab school specialist, explored the art of portraiture by designing portraits of One Stone coaches based on famous historical paintings including by Van Gogh and Da Vinci.
Take a Seat in the Garden
A group of sixteen students visited The Idaho Botanical Gardens and immersed themselves in nature, learned about furniture design, and ultimately built eight benches for IBC to use in their outdoor classroom.
Summit
For nine years, One Stone Lab School has made outdoor, experiential learning a cornerstone of the student experience. Studies show that “nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress (Science Advances, Vol. 5, No. 7, 2019).” This past spring, we officially launched
Summit, One Stone’s outdoor leadership program. Eleven One Stone students and two staff embarked on an inaugural 7-day backpacking adventure called The Big Creek Expedition, that took them into the heart of the Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness. They flew on two bush plane flights, backpacked over 30 miles, and stayed three nights at the University of Idaho’s Taylor Wilderness Research Station. Other Summit spring trips included Three Islands Crossing, Garden Valley, and City of Rocks where students were able to camp, raft, climb, hike, soak in natural hot springs, and explore topics such as botany, geology, and Idaho’s rich cultural and natural history.
Mechanical Engineering
In an experience exploring the world of geology, a group of One Stone students visited the geo-mechanics and geo-imaging laboratory hosted by doctoral student Grant Goertzen at Boise State
University. Grant showed the group how they use a hydraulic press to test different types of rocks for failure. In addition to learning about how rocks fail under compressive forces, Grant shared about his research understanding how rocks fall depending on the rock shape and size and the terrain slope and composition. This research is used to determine necessary safety precautions to protect people from falling rocks and to determine which locations may not be ideal for development based on probable trajectories of falling rocks. Each student got to take home their very own portion of the rocks they crushed.
Community Civic Engagement
In the fall of 2024, Emily Watkins worked with the Braver Angels to host a screening of “Undivided US” a film aimed at discussing the polarization of politics in the United States. Several community members and One Stone parents attended.
Pic: One Stone engineering students on a field trip with Coach Brooke Ward.
Model Arab League
With funding from a generous grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, as well as support from the University of Wyoming and the National Council for US and Arab Relations, One Stone hosted Idaho’s first Model Arab League Conference for high school students as well as a dinner and conversation open to the public on the importance of learning about current events in the Middle East.
GOOD Reads:
Each term, students participate in Community Read, a bookclub-like experience, designed to inspire a lifelong love of reading by helping students identify genres and authors that engage them, build a habit of frequent reading, and use reading as a tool to connect with others.
This past year’s Community Reads sparked curiosity, reflection, and meaningful conversations among our students. Below are a few standout titles that you may be inspired to add to your own reading list.
Crying in H Mart - A group of 20 students, alongside Coach Jun, read Crying in H Mart, a book written by Indie Artist, Japanese Breakfast. This Community Read explored themes of terminal illness, complex family dynamics, and the power of food and culture to bring people together as a way to honor and remember those we love. The group cooked Asian dishes together and visited local Asian markets to understand the Asian culinary experience in Idaho.
All About Love - In the All About
Love Read, students examined how author and cultural critic bell hooks explores the meaning of love in our society. Adopting a sociological lens, they examined and challenged the traditional ideas about love in relationships, gender roles, family, and community. Students also explored the idea of love not being just a feeling, but an active choice rooted in care, respect, trust, and responsibility. Students thought critically about how love operates in their lives and the world around them while sharing their own unique perspectives using skills including reflection, communication, and vulnerability.
Atomic Habits - Students took a deep dive into Atomic Habits by James Clear, where they explored a powerful, practical guide to creating the life they want through small, meaningful changes and the tools necessary for building healthy habits.
Healing Grounds - Students visited community gardens around Boise, learned about soil, and the human connection to land, while reading Healing Grounds by Liz Carlisle, a book showcasing four groups of people who have been pushed off their ancestral lands and how they have been able to reconnect through restorative gardening and farming practices. Through this community read, students also attended the Youth Climate Summit hosted by the City of Boise.
Pics: Last year’s Community Read selections.
THRIVE IN THE REAL WORLD
Practicing human-centered design and place-based learning challenges students to grow in ways that are highly desirable to colleges and employers because they can apply their toolkit for life to solve real problems, right now and in a rapidly changing future.
Lab School’s Class of 2025 & All-Time Graduation Rate: 100%
Lab School College Data:
• # of applications submitted: 189
• # of schools offered acceptances this year: 58
• # of unique acceptances this year: 19
• Total acceptances since 2019: 184
• Merit aid:
• Average scholarship: $23,864
• Projected Total 4 Year Merit Scholarships Offered in Dollars: $95,455
• Scholarship Highlights
• Ashtyn Burgess won Gold in the SkillzUSA Auto Body Repair challenge for the State of Idaho. He won $10,000 in scholarships and participated in the National Competition in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Mwajuma Joselyne earned the A.C.E. (Accepting the Challenge of Excellence) Award from the Boise Exchange Club. This award honors high school students who have overcome significant physical, emotional, or social challenges and are now on track to graduate. This award recognizes the strength, resilience, and determination of students whose achievements may otherwise go unnoticed. Mwajuma will also be nominated at the district level to receive an additional award.
Pics: (above) Ashtyn Burgess winning Gold in SkillzUSA Auto Body Repair challenge; (right) One Stone’s Class of 2025.
Read Mwajuma’s powerful college essay below:
My green card reads: DOB January 1, 2007, Joselyne Mwajuma, Country of Birth: Burundi. None of this information is correct. My name is Mwajabu Joselyne, and I was born on February 5, 2007, in Kinshasa, Congo.
When I was seven, we fled the war in Congo to Burundi. Our documents listed us as Burundi even though we weren’t, and we had no power to correct them. In my culture, the men choose names. My father died at war, and my mother wasn’t allowed to name me, so a stranger named me Joselyne. Those were the first of many choices made by anyone but me.
We arrived in America as refugees on June 6, 2015. We spoke Swahili, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, and some French, but not a word of English. Arriving in Boise, Idaho at age 8 felt magical; I believed it was somewhere I wouldn’t have to suffer, see people die, or worry about money. Of course, I soon learned this wasn’t entirely true. People still suffer greatly in America. As a black, queer, woman living in Idaho, I still face many struggles here, but my perspective from my early years in Congo helps me push through. Though I still worry about money, I don’t have to worry about my house being bombed or walking to the river and seeing dead bodies flow down the stream.
My education in America has been especially challenging. My first day of 3rd grade, I was very excited to meet my teachers; however, that excitement quickly disappeared. Many teachers yelled at me, believing I was ignoring them when, in fact, I just didn’t speak English. They kept yelling until I learned English. When I entered 7th grade, I’d planned to drop out of high school at age 16 to get a job to support my family. I never told anyone this plan, knowing no one would approve–especially my mom, a disabled single mother of four who gave up her entire life in Congo so we could move here.
Pic: Mwajuma Joselyne with her mother and younger brother.
She didn’t fight for this life for us just to drop out when things got hard, so I pushed myself to keep going.
In 8th grade, I missed 66% of my classes because my mother got sick, and no one else could take care of her. Falling behind in school, my mental health got worse. Talking to a therapist, I learned about a school called One Stone, a unique independent high school in Boise. She believed One Stone would be a perfect fit for me. I applied to One Stone, and the day I was accepted was the happiest day of my life. There, I’ve found a safe place and formed deep connections with people who are like family, and educators who understand me and meet me where I am.
The challenges I’ve faced for as long as I can remember—navigating the trauma my family experienced in the Congo and adjusting to life in America as a refugee, including learning an entirely new language—have made me reflect deeply on myself and others. Without a therapist, I don’t believe I would have made it this far. Therapy helped me develop my values and beliefs, and over the past three years, I’ve worked hard to spread awareness about racism and LGBTQ+ issues, participate in local protests and marches, and be an upstander for those who need support and care. I plan to continue this important work at Seattle University, where I will start in the fall, and beyond. Ultimately, I want to become a therapist not only to help people of all ages feel better mentally, physically, and spiritually, but also because there should be more therapists from diverse backgrounds and more inclusive and empathetic approaches that honor people’s unique cultural, social, and personal backgrounds.
I am Mwajabu Joselyne. My birthday is February 5, 2007. I am from Kinshasa, Congo. And I plan to do whatever I can to help others feel safe and be fully themselves.
Mwajuma is excited to attend Seattle University this fall.
To support Mwajuma’s college journey, please consider contributing to her GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/78b90dab6
Pic: Graduates at One Stone’s 2025 Commencement Ceremony.
EQUIPPING STUDENTS WITH A TOOLKIT FOR LIFE
Class of 2025 Student Exit Data:
• 100% of Class of 2025 graduates agree they have experienced real world opportunities in ways that created relevancy in their learning and in life.
• 100% agree they have developed the skills to be successful in life including passion, ownership, leadership, communication, and critical thinking.
• 97% agree they can confidently approach challenges with creativity and creative skills including curiosity, synthesis, ideation, iteration, risk taking, collaboration.
• 97% of all graduating lab school students agree they have the mindset to grow and practice with intention using skills such as empathy, desire to grow, altruism, vulnerability, reflection.
“For a long time, all I wanted was a future plan that outlined every detail of what my life would look like. Now I have a future plan that I am not only excited about, but that still leaves room for change and growth. Having the ability to create this framework for myself makes me feel prepared to manage myself throughout college and beyond.”
“I am confident in my ability to show up and apply my skills in every capacity to leave lasting impact and create meaningful change”
“One Stone gave me the skills to work at my current job and there I’ve gained more real world skills that have made me realize how capable I am. I feel equipped to build meaningful relationships with adults and peers alike which will take me far in life.”
Pic: One Stone student Logan Knox presents during the Fall 2024 Design Lab Showcase.
And Continuing Far Beyond:
• 73% of respondents from the annual lab school alumni survey (Class of 2019-2024) were enrolled or had graduated from college
• 33% of respondents were planning to pursue graduate degrees
• 92% of respondents report that One Stone prepared them to be a better leader and make the world a better place
“ I am forever grateful for the skill I gained at OS giving me the ability to advocate for myself - it has made all the difference in the world while in law school. ” - One Stone Alumna, Class of 2019
“The public speaking experiences required me to build story telling and presenting capabilities which have fueled my career. Due to it, I now have the ability to create engaging narratives to persuade board rooms, executives, and other change makers integral to helping my designs become a reality. I also look back fondly at January Exploration experiences. They helped me build tools to understand myself, how to set goals, and core values. While I have changed as a person, starting to build that toolbox of skills has helped me be open to pivots in my career and personal life.” - One Stone Alumna, Class of 2019
“Literally every professor has commented on my skills as a communicator, a leader, and a student. I credit One Stone every time. - One Stone Alumna, Class of 2024
Pic: One Stone students at Paradise Point in McCall, Idaho, during Fall 2024 Week of Welcome.
ELEVATE HUMANKIND
Leading with empathy in everything, everywhere empowers people to listen, collaborate, respect, and design with recipients, end users, stakeholders, partners, team members, and industry experts. Doing good for good is about meeting the needs of our common humanity now, and into the future. One Stone’s charge is to transform the learner experience and share our innovations with the world to disrupt the status quo and create lasting change.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH PROJECT GOOD
• Future Public School - Each week, One Stone students would visit Future Public School and implement immersive and meaningful after-school programming. After exploring music and songwriting, a group of Future students wrote and performed an original song, Power of a Changemaker, and One Stone student, Ella Cornett, edited and produced the music video. Check it out HERE.
• Empow(HER) - In April, the One Stone EmpowHER Team hosted a Vision Board Workshop with young women leaders from Anser Public Charter School. Through meaningful conversations and team-building, One Stone students helped cultivate confidence and empowerment. A key activity was creating vision boards with collages of words, images, and symbols that represent each student’s goals and dreams.
• Families Living in Inspired Places (FLIP) - Students partnered with CATCH Idaho to support a newly housed family of four by transforming their space into a true home. Over the course of several months, the team fundraised, collected donations (special thanks to Record Exchange Boise and St. Vincent de Paul Southwest Idaho), built furniture, gathered supplies, and connected deeply with the family. They interviewed the family to design a space that was not only functional, but also full of comfort, personality, and joy—especially in the kids’ dream rooms. “I learned about the need for having a safe space within your home. All kids should feel like they have their own space.” FLIP student.
• Do Good Days - This year for our annual Do Good Days, the One Stone community came together for an unforgettable two days of service, learning, and community — all centered around medically fragile children and their families. We were honored to hear Jacob Serre and his family share their powerful journey over the past couple of years. A panel of One Stone alumni, students, and staff also shared their own connections to the
Pics: (top) One Stone and Anser students at EmpowHER’s Vision Board Workshop; (bottom) The FLIP team working on bedroom for a newly housed family.
medically fragile world and stories of hope, wisdom, and deep empathy. Teams of students and staff then got to work:
• Building a shed and garden beds at the Serre House
• Prepping freezer meals for families at the Ronald McDonald House
• Creating and painting IV pole lilypads so kids in the hospital can move more freely with their parents
• Sewing blankets, pillowcases, and taggies to spread comfort and color throughout the Children’s hospital
• Assembling NICU bags to support overwhelmed parents
• Supporting Game Changers’ Thursday night Flag Football games
• Cooking breakfast for the Ronald McDonald House.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi. I feel this every time One Stone provides me with an in depth exploration of other people’s experiences. It always resonates deeply with me and I get a strong urge to help out. One clear example of this was during Do Good Days, when I was inspired to work all the harder to help the Serres family because of the intricate and emotional context I got into their personal lives.”
• Camps - This summer, One Stone hosted camps serving close to 100 students in grades 1-9. Our camps provide valuable opportunities for young learners to connect, play, learn, grow, and have fun in the summer months. This year’s camps included:
• Open Book Adventures - literacy camp for 1st-2nd grade students
• Tinker - STEM camp for 3rd-4th grade students
• Outside the Lines - art camp for 5th-6th grade students
• Leadership Camp (NEW) - leadership camp for 6-9th grade students
Pics: (above) Students sewing blankets for the Children’s hospital at One Stone HQ and doing clean-up at the Serre House during Do Good Day 2025; (opposite page) scenes from our 2025 summer camps: (clockwise from top) Open Book Adventures, Leadership Camp, Outside the Lines, and Tinker.
1,550 TOTAL RECIPIENTS OF PROJECT GOOD
• Idaho Botanical Gardens
• Warm Springs Care Farm
• Future Public School
• Anser Charter School
PARTNERS
• CATCH
• Grow More Good Garden
• Serre Family
• Ronald McDonald House of Boise
• St. Luke’s Children Hospital of Boise
• Game Changers
• St. Alphonsus NICU
• Boise Kitchen Collective
MEETING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS TODAY
• 89% of One Stone students who participated in the Communities for Youth Well-Being Survey report high self efficacy as compared to only 61% of 9-12 grade students in the City of Boise, who participated in the survey.
• 88% of One Stone students who participated in the Communities for Youth Well-Being Survey demonstrate high empathy skills as compared to only 66% of 9-12 grade students in the City of Boise, who participated in the survey.
“I found myself at One Stone after years of being lost. I finally became a confident person on what I stand for and who I am.” - 2025 One Stone Graduate
“The ability to self-direct and explore his passions, as well as the opportunity to reflect on the direction of his learning throughout the four years. It led to insights on areas of focus and learning styles that likely would not have been discovered in a traditional model. The emphasis on student voice was important. He felt like a valued member of the community.” - One Stone Parent of a 2025 Graduate
Pics: (above) One Stone student Ocean Morrill with his parents. Ocean was awarded “Volunteer of the Year” by Warm Springs Care Farm, a Project Good partner; (opposite page) Alasdair McLenna shares his Curation of Me with family, friends, and OS staff.
At the culmination of their One Stone journey, graduating students present their Curation of Me, a powerful reflection of who they’ve become, how they’ve grown, and what their One Stone experiences have meant. Shared with staff, family, and friends, these presentations are a celebration of voice, purpose, and transformation. Here are some powerful insights students gained from presenting their Curations:
• “I have gained an ability to articulate myself and my voice that I am very proud of.”
• “I am more known and loved than I could imagine or thought.”
• “People want to hear what I have to say.”
• “People care.”
• “I gained my voice at One Stone.”
• “Reflection on your living and looking forward to your way of living will cause a change in yourself you can’t quite describe.”
• “I can do hard things and can accomplish ambitious goals.”
• “My family values me more than I will ever know.”
• “My story is worth telling.”
• “Younger me would be proud.”
• “I am loved.”
FORGING AN ARMY OF GOOD FOR GOOD
One Stone alumni are changing the world through their passions, durable skills, and One Stone experiences.
• Veronica Richmond, One Stone alumna, was named a 2025 Truman Scholar—one of the highest national honors for students pursuing careers in public service.
In her words: “My experience at Two Birds and One Stone was pivotal in my realization that I wanted to pursue science communication. Thank you for your trust in student leadership and eternal encouragement!”
• Chris Cardella recently presented his research on how the early stages of alpine plants respond to warming conditions at the Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting in Baltimore, where he was able to discuss his findings with ecologists from across the world including China, Korea, and Colombia.
• Elise Batten, a 2019 One Stone alumna and Associate Footwear Designer at Oboz Footwear, creates products that improve lives and support the planet. Her experiences at One Stone in public speaking and leading workshops grew her skills in empathy and communication, preparing her for an Industrial Design degree at Western Washington University. At Oboz, Elise designs footwear that balances user needs and environmental goals, selecting materials, refining seasonal designs, and collaborating with factory teams to bring concepts to life.
Pic: Veronica Richmond, Chris Cardella, and Elise Batten.
DESIGN FOR EVERY(ONE)
Meeting learners where they are requires a shift in mindset from teaching to coaching, allowing for radical individualization and personalization that ensures equity because each student is driving their learning. When every voice matters and growth is valued over grades, students build confidence, accountability, and the skills needed to thrive.
DESIGN LAB
A core aspect of the One Stone learner experience is Design Lab, a project-based learning framework where students use humancentered design, a creative problem-solving process originating from Stanford’s d.school, to develop solutions to problems found in the community of Boise and beyond.
“Any Design Lab we did definitely changed my life. I learned so much about empathy and reflection. Being a part of something bigger and helping the world as a kid made me grow confidence that I never knew I would have. I became the “adults of change” I admired so deeply as a child” - 2025 One Stone Graduate
BY THE NUMBERS
Total Partners: 25 Projects: 42
This past year, Lab School students in their first, second, and third years dove into real-world challenges alongside a variety of community partners. We’re deeply grateful to the following organizations for joining us as Design Lab partners and empowering students to turn ideas into impact.
Idaho Out-of-School Network
Idaho Transportation Department - We also want to extend a huge thank you to the Idaho Transportation Department for sponsoring our Disruption Night, a community-centered showcase of our students’ high-impact work from the year.
Communities for Youth
Duck Club
Planned Parenthood
Pics: Disruption Night 2025 at the Shrine Social Club where students presented work from their 2024-2025 Design Lab projects.
Students in their final year embark on a nine-month, individual design lab project where they advance through phases of the design thinking process including developing solutions, coordinating with community partners, presenting their proposed solutions and receiving feedback, testing or prototyping their solutions in a real-world context, and finally summarizing their implementation methods and reflecting on the process as a whole.
EXAMPLES OF PROJECT TOPICS:
• Healthy protein snack business
• Traffic collisions
• Homelessness
• Wildfire prevention
• Teen mental health
• Food insecurity
• Bullying
• Biophilic design
• Historical preservation
• Storm drain debris (below)
Camden’s project was focused on the problem of debris accumulating over storm drains. Debris buildup presents a variety of issues for homeowners, motorists, wildlife, and local communities. Clogged storm drains often lead to stagnant water, which becomes a breeding ground for pests and toxic algae blooms. After defining the problem, he interviewed homeowners, local businesses, and neighborhoods to better understand their needs. His research consistently revealed the need for education and upstream prevention, so he began brainstorming possible solutions. He developed an innovative and modern response to this complex issue by utilizing QR code technology. Camden presented his solution at the Idaho High School Entrepreneurship Challenge, where he received valuable feedback. Based on that feedback, he reached out to the Ada County Highway District (ACHD), which manages the stormwater runoff system in the area. Camden was able to present his solution at ACHD headquarters. Ultimately, ACHD is currently redesigning the system they use to educate the public, and senior staff promoted Camden’s idea to the ACHD Head of Marketing.
Pics: (above) Camden Costa presents his YLab project during the Fall 2024 Design Lab Showcase; (opposite page) Raya Naymik and Ella Cornett on stage at Disruption Night 2025.
EXAMPLES OF END-USERS:
• Senior citizens
• Veterans
• People with Type 1 diabetes diagnoses
• Neurodivergent youth
• Teens living with chronic pain
• Elementary school children
• Mining agencies
• Youth interested in local and national politics
• Animal shelters
• Sport instructors
• Young drivers
• Conservation agencies
• Children and families living in homeless shelters
• Adults with intellectual disabilities
• Those incarcerated in the correctional system (below)
The goals of Lyla’s project were to challenge the stigma of incarceration and create a more livable reentrance into society for previously incarcerated individuals. Lyla’s implementation had 3 parts: community engagement, empowerment of residents (incarcerated people), and educating the public. Alongside her community partners, she brought residents’ family and friends into the Idaho State Correctional Center (ISCC) for a potluck and celebration for the residents and staff on their completion of a mentorship program. She also brought students and professors from BSU into ISCC to go through a simulation on the struggles of reentry, which was created and run by the previous and current residents. Lastly, she brought a film crew into the same institution to learn about life inside and to educate others on the stigma and hardships that these individuals face.
Pic: Lyla Tucker presents their YLab “How Might We” Statement at Disruption Night 2025.
OUTGROW EXPECTATIONS
Outgrow Expectations was the core theme of the 2024-2025 marketing campaign for One Stone’s Lab School.
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Boise Centre • 6:00 PM
Premier Visibility Sponsorship Add-On:
Sponsorship (Starting at Steppingstone) + $2,500: Custom logo placement • Auction Tables • Photo Booth • VIP Lounge
Sponsor Benefits:
Reserved Table: Each table seats 10 guests and includes dinner and priority seating for the program. Your name will be featured on the table.
Event Program, Website, and Annual Report Feature: Your name or company logo will be featured in the One Event program, on the event webpage, and in One Stone’s Annual Report as a One Stone supporter.
Student Host: Your table will have its own designated One Stone student as a host and guide for your One Event experience.
Invitation to VIP Reception: You and your table attendees will be invited to the Club Fifty-One VIP Reception at the One Event that hosts long-time champions and donors of One Stone.
Social Media Feature: Your name or organization will have a dedicated post on our social media channels including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn as a One Event sponsor and One Stone supporter.
Logo Placement in Program Video: As a Keystone or Capstone Sponsor, we will feature your name or company logo at the end of one of the program’s main videos.
Use of One Stone HQ Space: Our Capstone Sponsor will have complimentary access to use One Stone Headquarters in Downtown Boise for an event, party, conference, or gathering of your choice.
For more information or to sponsor the One Event: EMAIL julia@onestone.org
WEB www.givebutter.com/oneevent2026
