The Coronavirus pandemic took the world by storm and left many devastated, but sophomore Fiona Ngo found a way to uplift people’s spirits and leave a positive impact on others. In late July, an Instagram account named “betheelevator” sprung up and caught the attention of many members of the Hacienda Heights community.

Fiona Ngo created the account amid the ongoing pandemic the country is currently suffering through. The account is all about spreading positivity and lifting others up with the power of words. Anyone can send in a quote, song lyric, or anything positive to be featured on the account.

Sophomore Fiona Ngo, creator of @betheelevator, said, “I wanted to find a way to unite people and to spread positivity because during this time there is so much negativity and people have never felt so lonely and I just wanted to find a way for people to come together and to lift each other up.”

The account has gained 246 followers and over 60 quote submissions in less than 3 months. Ngo plans on continuing to spread positivity through the account for as long as she can.

Sophomore Anthony Padilla said, “When I look at my [Instagram] feed, the first thing I see is the betheelevator posts, and when I look at it, it really does help brighten my day even if it’s just a small quote. It’s something positive especially during this pandemic and us as people need to be able to find the positive in life and people like Fiona are able to find the positive in life like being able to bring these quotes out to other people.”

Ngo is involved in Renaissance at Los Altos and is always looking for ways to bring positivity and kindness to others. She showed some interest in possibly expanding on the account and forming a related club at Los Altos in the future or by turning it into a team account with multiple users running it.

Ngo was trying to find a new project to pursue over the summer since Covid left her with much more time on her hands. Her dad inspired her to try her best at what she is most passionate about. This led her to realize that she is most passionate about uniting people and spreading positivity.

“I used to believe that actions were more powerful than words but someone really special to me taught me that words and actions are equally as powerful and now I believe that words have the ability to bring people up and tear people down depending on how you use your words,” said Ngo.