For Weavers
Rooted & Rising
Rooted & Rising is a multi-month collaborative initiative launched by Weave: The Social Fabric Project and the Center for Rising Generations at the Aspen Institute to celebrate the voices of young rural journalists.
About Rooted & Rising
This initiative reframes rural communities not as places defined by deficits, but as dynamic innovation hubs rich in trust, resilience, and educational creativity.
By centering on core themes like place, perspective, community investment, and vision, the project equips young weavers with digital storytelling tools and expert coaching to document how their local education ecosystems are deeply rooted in history and actively rising to meet the future.
Throughout the summer, participants actively contributed by submitting personal reflection essays and monthly videos focused on different aspects of weaving in rural education—offering authentic insights into their hometowns.
The essays, month by month
| Month and theme | Trey Jackson | Komari Crisp | Carmen Anarella |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place & Perspective | What Rural Means to Me by Trey Jackson (PDF) | What Rural Means to Me by Komari Crisp (PDF) | What Rural Means to Me by Carmen Anarella (PDF) |
| Building & Inspiration | Building Bridges Where None Existed by Trey Jackson (PDF) | No essay posted | Building Bridges Where None Existed by Carmen Anarella (PDF) |
| Community & Investment | Community Shows Up by Trey Jackson (PDF) | No essay posted | Community Shows Up by Carmen Anarella (PDF) |
| Vision & Voice | The People Who Wove Me In by Trey Jackson (PDF) | No essay posted | No essay posted |
Meet the Journalists
Trey Jackson
Trey Jackson is an Eastern Kentuckian and incoming J.D. candidate at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law. He graduated from the University of the Cumberlands in 2026, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Finance.
Komari Crisp
A proud graduate of Tulsa’s historic Booker T. Washington High School, Komari Crisp is the founder of the Youth Action Coalition, a nonprofit that equips young people to drive real social change. As a passionate advocate for justice and equity, she serves on the boards of the ACLU of Oklahoma and the League of Women Voters, where she fights to protect civil liberties and expand access to the ballot box.
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.