Passionate Student Gives Voice to the Younger Generation
Photo by: Lianne Milton
Ramos and Yoblonski pose for their photo in the Wall Street Journal article about the social media research study.
October 26, 2021
In sixth grade, she joined a youth wellness group, and, in seven short years, she made an appearance on Good Morning America. To say senior Destinee Ramos has come a long way is an understatement. In order to pursue her dreams, Ramos has had to make sacrifices, but at the end of the day, it is her passion that keeps her going.
Ramos first became involved with Fuel Up to Play 60, a youth wellness program that focuses on keeping kids healthy, in sixth grade with no idea where it would lead her. Ramos became an ambassador for the program quickly and was invited to join the national summit.
During her eighth grade year, Ramos was chosen to speak at the annual GenYouth gala with four other student leaders, where they were all flown out to New York City. She spoke in front of many well-known people including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former President Bill Clinton.
“It was so cool to speak in front of those people, but I also made such cool connections with the students that I was speaking with.”
The students created bonds during this trip and still keep in touch to this day.
This year, she was invited to apply for a STEM competition from Fuel Up to Play 60 to track social media’s physical impact on teenagers. She was one of the few girls to apply along with Neenah alumnus Isabel Yoblonkski, class of 2021, and after the Wall Street Journal (Click to view news article) published the findings of this study, most particularly social media’s negative impact on teen girls, they were invited to speak on Good Morning America (Click to view news video) about the findings. Since then Ramos has appeared on several prominent television shows to promote a change for social media.
After being able to have such a prominent voice on the teenage perspective, Ramos is convinced that adults genuinely want to hear teen voices. If not, none of her opportunities would have been available to her, or any teen who wants to spark change. Part of her success comes from her mindset: “Every day is a learning process.”
Despite all her fame, she is still trying to learn more, and this passion is why adults are willing to listen, and she has been able to make such a difference.
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