Keystone was founded on the legacy of Wellington developer Graeme Bringans, who left school at 15 without the connections that helped smooth a path into the industry. The model he inspired is built on a simple premise: talented young people deserve a hand up, not just a handout. Rubix has seen directly what happens when they get one.
Simone Sharp, the inaugural recipient of the Bayleys Key Partner Scholarship in 2006, is now a Director and National Health Sector Lead at Rubix and a Keystone Trust board member. Temukisa Taito and Neo Stuart, both former Keystone Scholars, have since joined our Auckland team. When a model is working inside your own organisation, continuing to invest in it needs no further argument.
In 2025, Rubix awarded its first Keystone Scholar: Emily Howden, now a fourth-year civil engineering student at the University of Canterbury. Alongside the scholarship, Emily was paired for mentoring with Rubix Director Ashton Peters, a connection that by year's end had given considerably more to both than either anticipated.
2025 Rubix Keystone Scholar Emily Howden with Managing Director Peter Chudleigh and Director Simone Sharp
Ashton put his hand up deliberately. "As a leader within the business, I felt it was important to show our commitment to the Keystone family in a way that was visible and tangible, not just financial," he says. "I also wanted to get a genuine understanding of what younger people are dealing with, in their studies and as they move into the profession."
What he found sharpened that understanding fast. "The first thing that blew me away was the sheer financial pressure young people are under just to survive while they study. Emily studies full time and works part time because she needs the income. The commitment she shows to both was a real eye-opener."
The relationship built gradually, grounded in connection rather than formality. A coffee to start, text check-ins every few weeks and in-person catch-ups every couple of months. Rubix also made a deliberate effort to bring Emily in properly with team gear, a laptop for her study and invitations to social events. "We wanted her to have a relationship with Rubix the business, not just with me," says Ashton.
For Emily, access to someone at Ashton's level was something the programme offered that she had not quite expected. "In mentoring situations it's quite common to be paired with someone who has recently graduated. Working with a senior leader was a unique opportunity. Ashton’s career experience also showed me that it doesn't matter where you start out, you can always grow and change direction."
Their conversations ranged widely from study decisions, job applications, what different firms are actually like, and how to position herself in a fast-shifting sector.
"I tried to give her some insight into how the professional world works," says Ashton.
"I'd remind her that your grades feel like everything in the moment, but once you've got the degree, employers care far more that you can present yourself and show you'll be a capable professional than about your mark in any single course." Emily valued that grounding in industry reality, the kind of context a textbook cannot provide.
Emily leaves the programme having secured an excellent graduate role, starting in early 2027, following the completion of her studies. The confidence underpinning that came, she says, in no small part from the mentoring, including Ashton's guidance on AI. "He has given me really valuable advice about making sure I am prepared for what is coming, so I can stand out when I graduate."
That exchange, Ashton reflects, went both ways. "I enjoyed it more than I expected. It was never a chore, and far less formal than I had imagined. At its heart it is a chance to sit down with a younger person, hear their perspective and understand what matters to them. It gave me a much better appreciation of what young people in our industry think and feel, and what they can bring to a business like ours."
At the Keystone awards evening in early 2026, Ashton received the Outstanding Mentor Award for 2025, one of two recipients that year. Emily had nominated him and presented the award herself. He had no idea it was coming.
"When the award came up, I was blown away. That she had reflected on our year together with that much sincerity, and gone out of her way to nominate me, I was humbled, honoured, and a bit emotional, if I am honest."
Rubix's 2026 Keystone Scholar is Jayden Bickers, based in Auckland and in his final year of study. The programme continues, and so does Rubix’s commitment to it.
"Being active Keystone supporters is part of our culture at Rubix," says Ashton. "We go to the events, we are part of the family, and our people are rightly proud of that."
The industry has a long future ahead, and the people entering it now will shape what it becomes. Getting alongside them early and helping them, is simply the right investment to make.
2026 Rubix Keystone Scholar Jayden Bickers with Managing Director Peter Chudleigh and Director Simone Sharp