At first glance, gifted students might seem like they’re doing just fine. They finish their work early. They get good grades. They show up ready to learn. But underneath the surface, many of them feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or uncertain about what their learning is really for.

Educator Verna Rolland saw this pattern—and decided to build something better.

As a Thinkering Fellow and gifted education specialist, Verna created Future Worlds: a project-based learning model that helps gifted students build real-world solutions to problems they identify in their schools and communities. It’s not about adding extra assignments. It’s about helping these students connect their intelligence to purpose, their creativity to community, and their growth to action.

🌍 What the Project Does

Each student cohort is guided through:

Collaborative problem-solving: Students identify issues they care about—like improving school recycling, access to multilingual resources, or supporting local needs—and co-design solutions.
Social-emotional learning: Verna leads lessons focused on executive functioning, managing perfectionism, and navigating the social/emotional complexity often faced by gifted learners.
Legacy building: Each year’s cohort builds on the work of previous ones—creating a lasting impact and a culture of contribution that spreads across the school.

💡 Why It Matters

Gifted learners often experience burnout, social isolation, or feel unchallenged by traditional enrichment models. Future Worlds offers something different: a chance to build something real, in partnership with their peers, while gaining critical life and leadership skills.

“I want my students to look back and say, ‘That helped me. I learned something. I grew. I made a difference.’” — Verna Rolland

This project helps students feel seen. Supported. Empowered.

🚀 Why We Need Your Help

With your support, Verna can:

Provide materials and supplies for student-led projects
Expand the model to additional schools and grade levels
Build a digital showcase of student solutions and reflections
Offer ongoing SEL coaching integrated into the classroom experience

Every donation fuels more student-led innovation and more stories of growth, confidence, and impact.

✨ Join Us in Building Future Worlds

Help Verna continue transforming how we support gifted students—not with more pressure, but with more purpose.

Your support powers student voice, action, and long-term change.

Let’s build a better future, together—one student solution at a time.

Changing the world one classroom at a time

Our Mission

As a 501c3 Nonprofit, our mission is to elevate a child’s creativity and interests alongside traditional academic metrics, fostering passion-driven learning with real community impact.

To be a Thinkerer is to be a curious changemaker, open to solving longstanding challenges with fresh ideas.

We collaborate with leading organizations, educators, and innovators to create pathways that nurture student passions. By humanizing education, we aggregate and analyze learning experiences, building a global framework that values creativity and curiosity as essential to academic and personal growth.

Future Worlds - Student Led Problem Solving - Verna Rolland

By Thinkering Collective

Future Worlds - Student Led Problem Solving - Verna Rolland

Team Members