Chelsea Self / Post Independent
Izzy Knaus comes from a family of doctors and teachers – her dad and grandpa are both established physicians in the Roaring Fork Valley, and while she grew up in a family that had already made a name for itself that has only strengthened her ability to impact change on her own in the Carbondale community.
“To me social justice is … being invested in issues that don’t necessarily affect me directly or personally. I have a lot of privilege coming from an upper-middle class, white family, but seeing all my peers who don’t have that privilege has really invoked this sense of I want to fight with you guys for your rights,” Knaus said.
Senior Vanessa Leon-Gamez at Roaring Fork High School identifies as Latinx and said throughout her whole life growing up in the valley she has seen separation in the community.
“Like for example, town events or First Fridays or whatever it might be…There’s a definite divide between white people and everybody else. And that’s how it’s been for a long time,” Leon-Gamez said.
As part of the effort to increase equity and conversation around social justice in its schools, Roaring Fork School District partnered with the Aspen Institute to provide a leadership seminar for students at RFHS. There are 10 other students in addition to Leon-Gamez who meet once a week after regular school hours to share experiences and become better listeners when it comes to the discussion of challenging topics.
Chelsea Self / Post Independent
David Anderson spent a brief part of his childhood going to sleep every night in a tent.
“I didn’t have a lot growing up as a child,” he said. “I found it easier to feed my imagination more so than to go outside and play and make friends.”
With the Crystal and Roaring Fork rivers nearby, it would soon play a major role in Anderson’s thinking. The Carbondale native, who’d eventually find himself living in more suitable dwellings while attending schools around the Roaring Fork Valley, used the element of water as a recurring theme in his newly published fiction novel, “Diunthum: Illumnesia.”