Influencer journalist hopes to be beacon of change for new generation

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- "I'm gonna go back to my personal statement in high school I wrote. I want to change the world, like I want to be that beacon of change for kids like myself."

Journalist. Humanitarian. American dreamer. Los Angeles native. Yarel Ramos is the host and anchor of a daily news webcast for Univision.

"It's very digitally connected. We get a lot of our news from people submitting ideas or stories. Very engaging with the audience because we're on Facebook and on the live stream as well. We are this generation of technology-driven individuals ... that intersection of news and politics and world affairs with other interests like sports and pop culture and entertainment," Yarel said.

For Yarel, this is a dream job because it's a reflection of the things that she values and believes are important for the community to know and understand. This compassion and deep-rooted devotion to the community began at home. She says all of her achievements are truly because of her incredible parents and their sacrifice.

"I grew up in a home where we valued community involvement so much. My parents were always teaching us about like social responsibility, not just my story of being Mexican-American here in L.A., or a story in journalism and television, but just a story of a girl trying to find herself. Living in this duality of Spanglish, bilingualism and biculturalism." Yarel expressed.

From covering presidential elections and interviewing some of the biggest artists to being a voice for civil rights, Yarel is a role model for young girls all over the country and across all borders.

Yarel is humbled by the platform and feels it's a responsibility.

"I didn't have that growing up ... the people I looked up to were the Oprahs, people of color, Christiane Amanpour, who was someone that I admired growing up, but it wasn't really like someone that looked like me that came from where I came from," she said.

She's grown a big following and developed a strong influence on fans via social media. Yarel says it's the most authentic messages put out there -- from the heart - that get the most engagement and when she feels the most connected with her audience.

During recent groundbreaking movements, Yarel is proud to be part of the narrative and of a generation demanding accountability. It's something she believes is making the community, ethnic groups and people that much more empowered.

"That's why I'm still so hopeful for our country, for humanity. We have a lot of people that want to make a change and that work every day and that are sacrificing so much to be that change!"

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