This fall, a high school senior in California is carrying poetry into libraries, museums, and community spaces as her county’s poet laureate. Students with disabilities are reshaping how millions of young people take the SAT and AP Exams. Teen boys are telling researchers exactly what would keep them in the game.
Every story in this issue shows why the Center for Rising Generations sees young people as leaders of today. We invest in that leadership with real pathways, real connections, and real doors to their next opportunities.
That’s why this month we also launched the Center’s Opportunity Hub. Read on, then go find your next move.
In this issue
Cover Story:Meet Krishita Kataria, the 2026 Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate Network Wins: College Board’s Bluebook earns a 2026 Gaady Award The Research: Investigating the experiences of teen boys in sports The Conversation: iCivics on teaching young people to talk to one another Now Live: CRG’s Opportunity Hub
New this month: CRG’s Opportunity HubFellowships, internships, programs, and roles for young people ages 14-24, all in one place.
Krishita kataria didn’t win the first time. she kept writing anyway.
In 2025, the Dublin High School student was a finalist for Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate. Instead of stepping back, she stayed in the program, attending workshops, performing, and building projects with other young poets. This year, she entered again and won the 2026 title, chosen from 47 applicants nationwide.
“I would rather help make the microphone bigger.”
– Krishita Katara, 2026 Alameda County Youth Poet Laureate
The role makes her an ambassador for youth voice, civic engagement, and literacy excellence through August 2027. She wants to bring poetry out of the English classroom and into libraries, museums, and the places people least expect to find it.
The poem: “Before We Come of Age”
One of Kataria’s three winning entries, “Before We Come of Age,” makes the case that young people deserve a say in the decisions shaping their lives now, not years from now. It’s a civic argument written as art, and it captures the Center’s belief that young people are already documenting, questioning, and leading their communities.
“We tell children they will inherit the world, as though inheritance requires their absence until the arrangements are complete.”
Your turn: Are you a young writer, artist, or storyteller using your voice for your community? Reach out. We want to feature you.
Network Wins
Students Helped Build It. Now It’s Award-Winning.
Congratulations to College Board, the Aspen Institute’s Education & Society Program’s partner in the Social Mobility Leadership Network (SMLN), on earning a 2026 Gaady Award for accessibility.
The award honors Bluebook, the app students use to take digital exams like the SAT and AP Exams, and recognizes the students with disabilities who helped test it, flag barriers, and shape its improvements. College Board was one of five winners chosen from 33 candidates worldwide.
“Our responsibility is to make sure every student can demonstrate what they know without technology creating unnecessary barriers. That means building accessibility into Bluebook from the start and listening closely to students with disabilities throughout the process. Their experience and insight have made the product stronger for everyone – and made sure it can help every student pursue the college or career path they choose.”
Maggie Linak, Executive Director for Accommodations and Accessibility, College BoardBluebook shows how institutions build better when they treat young people’s lived expertise as leadership.
Teen boys know sports give them fun, friendship, and a chance to grow. A new report asks how to make sure more of them get it.
Boys in Sports: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Delivering on the Promise of Sports for Boys is a new report from the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program and the American Institute for Boys and Men. The research puts boys’ own perspectives at the center. Teen boys told researchers they value sports for fun, connection, and personal growth, and they want lower stakes, more ways to get in and stay in, and more support from coaches.
Where the report goes from here
The report calls for a more inclusive, supportive sports ecosystem, rethinking how youth and school sports are structured, coached, and woven into boys’ lives. Its recommendations are:
Diversify boys’ experiences in sport
Create government incentives to expand sports participation
Provide boys with the coaches they need
Foster healthy connections between sports and boys’ digital lives
Bring sports into the public conversation on the state of boys and men
When you ask boys what they need, they’ll tell you, and the next step is building with them.
And learn more about the Aspen Institute Captains Leadership Academy, a partnership between the Center for Rising Generations, Aspen’s Sports & Society Program, the Heisman Foundation, and IMG Academy.
The conversation
Learn to Discuss, Discuss to Learn
What if one of the most important things we can do for democracy is also one of the simplest – teaching young people how to talk to one another?
That question drives the latest A250 Interview from iCivics, in which Louise Dubé, CEO at iCivics, sits down with Diana Hess, former Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and author of Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion.
Hess has spent decades studying how students can engage thoughtfully with controversial issues, and her guiding idea is “learn to discuss, discuss to learn.” Young people build that skill through practice, by listening, asking genuine questions, weighing evidence, and being honest about what they don’t know.
Civics teachers across the country are already doing this work every day, and as the nation marks its 250th anniversary, the conversation is a reminder that each generation learns to practice democracy.
To help young people find the right place to step up, we built the Opportunity Hub, a growing, curated list of fellowships, internships, programs, events, resources, and roles for young people ages 14-24, from organizations across the country and around the world working in civil dialogue, civic engagement, and leadership development.
Filter by age, format, compensation, and more to find what fits. Here’s a taste of what’s on the Hub this month.
Close Up Foundation, 2027 Civic Program Instructors
Lead middle and high school students through civic learning, policy deliberations, and historical visits in Washington, D.C. These paid, full-time positions run February 1 – June 25, 2027, and include benefits. A bachelor’s degree is required.
National Conference on Citizenship American Conversation Project Youth Track
Young people ages 13-25 across the U.S. train online to host three recorded community conversations. Build facilitation skills, earn a host credential, and contribute to a national listening project. Limited stipends are available in designated Knight communities.
Rural Youth Catalyst – Rural Youth@250: Dreams of a Shared Future
Rural young people are invited to share reflections on America’s past, present, and future for publication with 100 Days in Appalachia. It’s not a competition, just a chance to be heard.
Application Deadline: December 31, 2026. Format: Virtual
Institute for Youth in Policy – 2027 Public Policy Fellowship
U.S. high school and undergraduate students ages 13-23 build policy research, communication, and leadership skills in a two-month fellowship, working together on a policy brief while developing their own capstone projects.
Application Deadline: December 23, 2026. Format: Virtual
Have a civil dialogue, civic engagement, or leadership development opportunity for young people ages 14-24? Submit it to the Hub.
Last word
A poet widening the circle. Students redesigning a test. Teen boys naming what they need. Teachers making room for hard conversations. This month’s stories show that young people lead best when the people and systems around them listen, connect, and open doors.
That’s the work. Thanks for doing it with us.
One more thing… Know a person whose leadership deserves a spotlight? Reply to this email and let us know!
