The interview was part of the live conversation series “Get With the Times,” which aims to inspire students to find their civic voices.

There is an opening right now for young people to speak up, Ms. Welteroth said, especially those who are marginalized — whether they be women, people of color or part of the lesbian, gay or transgender community. Giving these people a voice has been her focus since leaving Teen Vogue this year.

Among various journalistic efforts, Ms. Welteroth has shadowed survivors of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., for the TV event “For Our Lives: Parkland,” which she hosted, and moderated a panel this month at The United State of Women Summit.

“If I could choose any time to be young and alive, it would be now,” she told the crowd. “This is your moment.”

Here are some other takeaways from the full conversation, which can be watched here.

‘I was very laser focused’

“I was the girl who just said yes to everything,” said Ms. Welteroth, who grew up in a small Northern California town and was the first in her family to go to college. “There weren’t a lot of people that I grew up with that were dreaming big,” she said.