By Jackson Wallace, Class of 2028
This article is a part of a series of student stories of growth curated for the 2025 One Event. If you enjoy this story, please donate and tell us which student’s story inspired you to give.
Way back when I was a wee little thing – couldn't have been more than five – I watched an episode of this show called Mythbusters with my Dad. These two guys would whip out welders and glue together the coolest stuff with metal. I remember clear as day how inspired we were, fantasizing that someday we would have our own shop and free reign to weld as we wished, but the years went on, hopes slowly turned to doubts, and eventually seemed to sputter out. It wasn't until almost 9 years later, two months ago, that I came to One Stone and got the kind of access to opportunities like welding that I had so desperately dreamed of. The kind that now allow my passions to shape the way I learn, play, and work.
A few months ago, on a Thursday afternoon, I found myself in the middle of a lot of large power tools, a bunch of peers, and Sam. Sam is my mentor, my one man support system, and one of the Foundry guys. The peers are irrelevant, and the tools were due to me being in the Foundry, One Stone’s makerspace. What on earth could have brought all of these components together on a Thursday afternoon, you ask: Project Good. Project Good is an after school program in which students from any high school in the Treasure Valley can come together and make a difference in the community.
This Thursday afternoon was different. We still had access to the great space that is the Foundry, but we did not have a project. So there we sat, a Project Good without a project, but it is never a good idea to waste a load of perfectly good Foundry time, so Sam asked us what tools we wanted to try while we waited for our community-changing project to come along. I looked around. There were saws, a lot of saws. Drills hung cheerfully from their hooks, and hoards of metal doodads and scraps lay strewn about the welding table – the welding table! That was where I had seen Joe and Deagan welding; that was where all the action happened. All of a sudden I wasn't 14-year-old Jackson, I was little 5-year-old Jackson. Here was my chance. Right across the room was the coolest thingamabob ever, and Sam was asking what tools we wanted to use. I asked: "Hey Sam, how about you teach us to weld?" He paused, and said: "Why not?" And poof, I was welding.
The truth is one afternoon did not turn me into an avid welder – I actually haven't welded all that much since – but it did give me the opportunity to try something I had dreamt of since I was five. I believe that this is what makes One Stone the place that it is. The opportunities, the freedom, and the phenomenal guidance and support system it provides alongside a student-driven education.
It hasn’t just been welding. I’ve also tried new passions by starring in a 48-hour film challenge, going on a friend’s show on RadioBoise, and building my own musical instrument. All of this to say that One Stone provides me with the sort of opportunities I have dreamed about, and the skills I will need along the way. It gives them to me in an abundant and welcoming forum, and provides method after method of ways to find out what to do with them.
