Meet The Young Leaders Behind Generation Connected
At Generation Connected, our team consists of youths looking to be the changemakers of tomorrow. Founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to remote learning has heavily impacted the way students learn. Teachers were lost as to how to create a feasible system or how to teach their students to screen. Parents juggled between their jobs and their children at home. Students, especially, struggled to get used to this new normal.
The organization blossomed as a force that aims to connect students with high school students for extra support and mentorship during this time of crisis. Not only that we want to help Miami-Dade students, we would love to expand across the world. We are currently reaching students from the Philippines.
With this, meet the leaders and the founder who are part of Generation Connected.
Founder
"A lotus must rise from mud in order to bloom."
Zeean Firmeza is a rising junior at School For Advanced Studies. When she had lived in the Philippines, Zeean had seen children who asked for just one peso in the streets instead of being in school and simply being a child. This was one of the inspirations for creating GenCon. Her motto is "The future is children, the future is us." Education is the answer to the future. She is passionate about helping kids get the right education and environment that they deserve and would like for Miami Dade County students to be more involved in their community and beyond, even if working remotely. Zeean would love to expand GenCon's impact globally and connect students from across the world. She is a writer for The Peahce Project, proud fellow for Luisa Santos District 9, part of the Junior Advisory Board to Achieve Miami, and published in The Grief Dialogues. Other than that, she loves boba tea, reading romantic novels, and playing video games.
Founder: Zeean Firmeza
Instruction
"A lotus must rise from mud in order to bloom."
Head of Instruction: Lara Gastelumendi
Lara Gastelumendi is a rising junior at MAST@Homestead. She loves working with kids in all aspects of life, and does so by volunteering at Nicklaus Children’s hospital, LEAP South Florida (special needs gymnastics center), the Red Cross, and more. With Generation Connected, Lara hopes to provide all kids the equal opportunity for an excellent education, despite the current circumstances of the world. This year, she will be starting a (currently remote) Key Club at her school, hoping to raise money for UNICEF, local hospitals, and other areas of need. Outside of school and volunteering, Lara is a gymnast training 3-4 hours a day, she loves baking brownies, and stealing Sara’s (our Head of Research) clothes!
Research
“The Two Most Powerful Warriors are Patience and Time”- also Tolstoy
Sara Oppenheimer is a rising junior at Mast Academy. During her time at Generation Connected, she hopes to help in the battle against inequality in the education system and provide underprivileged students with the tools and motivation necessary to succeed. She is an aspiring marine biologist, and the Art Editor at her school’s literary magazine, Spilt Milk. In her spare time, she can be found engaging in various creative activities, like drawing, writing, and tie-dying. Her favorite food is the sushi burrito
Head of Instruction: Sara Oppenheimer
Outreach
“I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored.” - David Attenborough
Head of Outreach: Jaim Steele
Jaïm Steele is an incoming MAST Academy Junior. His passion for the Ocean has led him to start his own charity to help raise money for Ocean conservation, as well as become a Miami Waterkeeper Youth Ambassador. His two greatest commitments are shark conservation and education of underprivileged youths. His hobbies include windsurfing, fishing, and anything else involving water.
Graphic Design
“You have to be your biggest believer”- Marina Diamandis
Head of Outreach: Amala Pattabiraman
Amala Pattabiraman is an incoming senior. She is really involved in computer science, graphic design and has a love for art. She is very passionate about racial, gender, and social equity and holds multiple positions of leadership in these efforts. In her free time, she loves to draw and play video games. Amala hopes to be an advocate for education while also being a woman in STEM.
Editor
"Work hard, play hard... then work harder."
Chief Editor: Celine Mazloum
A rising junior at School For Advanced Studies, Celine Mazloum is determined and motivated to help educate as many students as possible. She would love to see more students (of all grades) spend their time (virtually or in-person) volunteering and getting more involved in their communities. She is a Shake-A-Leg mentor, food blogger, and Reach For Resources volunteer. In addition, she loves the early 2000s music, food, and photography.
Social Media
"A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden."
Head of Social Media Coordination: Nate Fuente
Nathaniel Fuente is a rising junior at MAST Academy. As a child, he struggled in school without the correct resources to help him, and this has lead him to become passionate about giving children the right resources to excel in what they love. He is also a proud advocate for LGBT rights and children's safety. Apart from the serious stuff, he's a board game fan, writer, amateur hair stylist (not really), and an avid anime fan.
Mental Health Chairperson
“We’re not educated on how to be, we are educated on how to accomplish.”- Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mental Health & Wellness Chairperson: Sophie Underwood
Sophie Underwood is a rising senior at MAST Academy. She is deeply passionate about destigmatizing mental health in her community and works to reframe her peers’ misconceptions regarding such topics. Sophie has a strong background in neuroscience and psychology and as the founder of the MAST Psychology Club, she hopes to bring her leadership and knowledge to Generation Connected. Her goal is to expand her breadth of advocacy during her undergraduate education and ultimately become a neuroscience researcher, finding scientific solutions to dispel mental health stigmas worldwide. Sophie is active in numerous honors societies, is a Peer Educator in her school’s chapter of Anti-Defamation League’s “No Place for Hate” program, and has interned at a local mental health and wellness medical practice. In her free time, you can find Sophie having enthusiastic conversations about sloths (her all-time favorite animal) and binging the latest Food Network shows.