Carmen Anarella
A Rooted & Rising journalist
About Carmen Anarella
Carmen Anarella is a 2024 Boettcher Scholar from Yampa, Colorado, studying Elementary Education at CU Boulder with an endorsement in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. At CU, she enjoys her time in the School of Education as a student teacher, serves as the co-president of both the student government and the rural education club, and works as a student ambassador.
Having grown up attending a small rural public school, rural education is very near and dear to her heart. She feels fortunate to have a platform to discuss her upbringing and to advocate for the future generation of rural schooling.
Essays
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· Place & Perspective
What Rural Means to Me
“So you’re kinda like from the middle of nowhere?” I am asked. I sit with this question, and struggle to find a response that feels true, honoring, and that will continue the conversation. I grew up at the base of the Little Flat Tops, in the southern part of Routt County, in northwest Colorado; I grew up in a rural place.
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· Building & Inspiration
Building Bridges Where None Existed
As a teacher candidate majoring in elementary education, I spend a lot of time studying teaching practices, strategies, and innovative pedagogies. Teachers should strive to honor their students, bringing the whole child into the lesson in order to bridge what learners know to what they want to know.
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· Community & Development
Community Shows Up
When you go to a school with 400 people from PreK-12 including staff, it is hard to ignore the impact and relevance of relationships. Although I do not want to perpetuate stereotypes about rural communities, it is true that nearly everyone knows everyone else.
