Founded in 2019 by Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust, Rise backs 15- to 17-year-olds with scholarships, funding for their ideas and a global network
On October 4, 2023, as Rise named its newest Global Winners, Dr. Raven Baxter posted the first of three videos for the program. "How would you feel if you had amazing ideas on how to positively impact the world and you got the support to do that?" she asked viewers on TikTok and Instagram.
That day Schmidt Futures and the Rhodes Trust announced 100 Rise winners from 43 nationalities. Rise's fourth application cycle had opened September 28 and ran through January 17, 2024, for ages 15 to 17. A Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens ran from September 26 to October 23, 2023. It found that 63% of teens ages 13 to 17 used TikTok and 59% used Instagram.
The campaign ran from October 4 to December 21, 2023. It included three videos for Instagram Reels and TikTok and two sets of Instagram stories. Both public videos carry an on-screen #RisePartner tag. In June 2023 the Federal Trade Commission had updated its Endorsement Guides and its guidance for influencers on disclosing material connections. It called child-directed advertising "of special concern."
In the first video, Baxter described Rise as "an initiative dedicated to leadership and making a difference." Leadership, she said, is about "inspiring others, driving positive change and dreaming big for the future." "Rise is on a mission to empower the leaders of tomorrow because everyone deserves a chance to shine," Baxter said.
Baxter shows a portrait of her younger self in her second Rise video, posted October 26, 2023. Image: Dr. Raven Baxter / TikTok
The second video, posted October 26, opened on that portrait. "When I was 16, I was an emerging leader. I was a go-getter, budding scientist, educator, and activist," Baxter said. She described that teenager as "a role model who dreamed of tackling world challenges like fighting climate change and improving access to science education."
Rise, she said, "empowers them to create a positive change in the world with evidence-based solutions." She asked, "Know anyone who's perfect for this?" and told viewers the 2023-2024 Rise Challenge was open.
Rise was announced in November 2019 and launched worldwide a year later, according to its history page. Its release calls it "the flagship program of a $1 billion commitment by Eric and Wendy Schmidt across their philanthropic organizations and initiatives to find and support global talent." Winners receive a need-based four-year scholarship with a living stipend, a funded residential summit and a chance at funding for their ideas. The Rhodes Trust, home of the Rhodes Scholarship, has been based at Oxford since 1903.
As of October 2026, the first video's public TikTok counter showed about 3.9 million views.
A molecular biologist and science communicator, Baxter earned her Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo in 2022.
The videos are on TikTok (October 4 and October 26), and the first is also on Instagram. Rise's October 4, 2023 release introduces the 2023 cohort.
Dr. Raven Baxter and NASA astrophysicist Dr. Ronald Gamble co-hosted the fifth season of Pfizer's Science Will Win, a four-part series on conjugate vaccines, multispecific antibodies, molecular glues and antibody-drug conjugates.
In a film for Brooks Running's Run on Nitro campaign, Dr. Raven Baxter explains how the company infuses nitrogen into the foam of its running shoes.
Olay's #FaceTheSTEMGap campaign brought Dr. Raven Baxter's case for women and women of color in science to Harper's Bazaar, AFROTECH and PEOPLE between 2022 and 2023.
