Sofia Williams
Editor-in-Chief
Standing behind a microphone at the White House, sophomore Mona Cho was nervous. But using her eloquent words and passion for change, Cho created a national impact from a grassroots local initiative.
Cho was honored on Oct. 11 at the White House by First Lady Jill Biden for her online safety campaign, “Mindful Media Movement,” she conducted as part of the Beach Cities Health District’s Youth Health and Safety Committee.
“Witnessing my friends experiencing the negative impacts of social media and seeing statistics from the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory about the effects social media use has on youth mental mealth inspired me and my peers from the Beach Cities Health District Youth Advisory Council to create the campaign to support teens in our community,” said Cho.
The “Girls Leading Change” celebration gathered 15 high school students making change in their communities. Cho gained a spot by leading a team of five peers to create the Mindful Media Movement. The campaign, which consists of social media posts addressing specific issues relating to teen mental health, aims to spread awareness about the dangers of social media.
“[The campaign team] got together almost weekly over the summer, establishing what we believed were the biggest issues revolving around social media in the Beach Cities and its ties to mental health,” said Cho. “We then worked on designing posts with solutions and tips for teens according to each problem. Digital footprint, misinformation online and healthy screen time were some of my favorite topics we explored.”
Cho also created a short film, which features several students who speak about the negative effects of social media on their mental health. The video will be posted on the Beach Cities Health District’s social media platforms.
“The video explores the real life stories of people who have experienced the negative impacts from digital footprints,” said Cho. “Veronica Fish, Gabriella Fish, Kevin Son, Christian Chae, Elizabeth Baranowski and I created it over the summer.”
Cho was nominated to attend the “Girls Leading Change” event by Kristen Sauceda, her advisor at PlanUSA. PlanUSA, in which Cho is involved, is a non-profit organization that fights for gender equality. After Sauceda nominated her, Cho was interviewed and selected by the White House Gender Policy Council. According to Cho, visiting the White House was an experience that she will never forget.
“Before the event, I was so nervous and excited because I had no idea what to expect or what it was going to be like at the White House,” said Cho. “It felt surreal to [be] inside the White House, let alone speak on the stage and meet Jill Biden, Karine Jean-Pierre, and Jennifer Klein. Everything happened so quickly that by the time it was done, it felt like a dream.”
According to Cho, she plans to continue her activism throughout high school and beyond, and aims to expand upon her current campaign.
“My biggest goals are to create an online safety training course and to write a children’s book about online safety one day,” said Cho. “This event and all the other female change-makers across the country taught me that there is no one way to make change.”
Cho’s campaign posts can be viewed at @beachcitieshealth.
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