Learning to be Heard Winner: Teaching Mental Health Skills

“Teens don’t just need to protect their grades – we need tools to protect our minds, because resilience is a skill, and skills can be taught.”
– Zoraida de Souza

For Zoraida de Souza, mental health isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a vital life skill that is too often sidelined by the relentless pursuit of academic excellence. As a high school freshman, Zoraida noticed a glaring gap in the way schools support students: while grades are prioritized, the tools to manage burnout, anxiety, and boundaries are frequently left out of the curriculum.

Driven by this observation, Zoraida founded T.H.R.I.V.E., a teen-led project based in Boca Raton, Florida. Partnering with the local YMCA, T.H.R.I.V.E. creates safe spaces where students learn practical emotional well-being tools. “Teens don’t just need to protect their grades – we need tools to protect our minds,” Zoraida explains. Her goal is to move mental health out of the shadows of stigma and into an open, supportive light.

Zoraida’s commitment to understanding the human mind goes beyond advocacy. She has conducted independent research with doctoral mentors through the Lumiere program, specifically studying Borderline Personality Disorder and the impact of stigma on treatment. This scientific background informed her TED Global Speaking Challenge submission, where she had to condense her expansive knowledge into a powerful one-minute talk—a process she describes as a “challenge in editing and highlighting the most essential truths.”

Now, as a scholarship winner, Zoraida is looking forward to attending the TED summer school in London or Singapore. She views public speaking as an “inevitable and essential” skill for her future career in scientific research and keynote speaking. Her advice to other young people hesitant to share their voices is simple but profound: “Do it anyway. Even if you’re scared, do it anyway. Every person has a message that is completely original to them, and you never know the ripple effect your words might create.”

Watch Zoraida’s winning video here:

‍

About the author

Zoraida de Souza

Zoraida de Souza is a freshman at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a growing interest in neuroscience and behavioral psychology.

As she continues to explore this field, Zoraida has conducted independent research and is applying her learning beyond the classroom. Her research focuses on the efficacy of neurofeedback as a treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder, while also analyzing how historical stigma shapes perceptions and influences its acceptance.

She is the founder of T.H.R.I.V.E. (Teen Health, Resilience, Insight, Vitality, Education), a teen-led mental wellness summit presented in partnership with the YMCA of South Palm Beach County, where she is designing and testing practical systems that help students manage stress, strengthen focus, and navigate real-life challenges with greater clarity.

Beyond her work in mental health, she is the author of the poetry collection Whispers of Innocence and an emerging keynote speaker, sharing her perspective with audiences across schools, nonprofit organizations, and community events.

She also led the initiative Beds for Jamaica, which raised over two million Jamaican dollars in hurricane relief for her family’s home island of Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa in October 2025. Her work has been featured by ABC and in The Jamaica Gleaner.

‍