Foothills Blog

When Stella Thornfeldt joined Foothills in sixth grade, she was quiet, reserved, and by her own admission, terrified of speaking up. That began to shift during her very first Socratic seminar. “I remember sitting there with my list of questions, things I thought had ‘right’ answers,” Stella recalls. “Then a classmate asked this big, open-ended question, and I thought, Oh no, I don’t belong here. My question is terrible.”

It was a moment of discomfort that became a turning point. With encouragement from her teacher and mom, Stella realized that mistakes weren’t something to fear. They were part of learning. “At Foothills, it was okay not to have the answer. The whole point was to think differently, to grow, and to stretch ourselves. That completely changed how I see challenges.”

Over time, the shy student who once dreaded speaking discovered her voice. “Foothills gave me the confidence to stand in front of a crowd and share my ideas,” she says. “Now, my friends have to tell me to quiet down! That transformation would not have happened without the safe space I had here.”

Today, Stella is a senior at Boise High, applying early decision to Rice University with plans to study aerospace engineering. Her fascination with the cosmos, paired with the thrill of hands-on problem-solving, led her toward aerospace engineering. “Last year in physics, we built bottle rockets with egg payloads. The engineering process absolutely hooked me. I knew I had to do this for the rest of my life."

Beyond academics, Stella has carried Foothills’ values of connection and agency into everything she does. She coaches gymnastics, serves as a Wassmuth youth leader, and sits on both a city commission and a charitable board. “Foothills taught me not just how to learn, but how to think and how to contribute,” she reflects. “I know how to collaborate, how to lead in a crisis, and how to stay true to who I am, even in big new environments.”

When asked what she wishes more people knew about Foothills, Stella doesn’t hesitate: “Here, kids get to be fully themselves. Foothills meets students exactly where they are and helps them grow into the best version of who they can be.”

Stella describes herself as curious, invested, and joyous. Those qualities not only capture who she has become but also reflect the kind of learner Foothills nurtures: engaged, authentic, and ready to launch into the world.

We’re grateful to Stella for sharing her journey with the Foothills community and for continuing to embody the joy of lifelong learning.