Radio personality Geena the Latina (center, bottom) and City Clerk (right) Diana J.S. Fuentes posed with MBHS students who helped register voters. (Photos by Dave Schwab)
Before the school year wound down, radio DJ and TV personality “Geena the Latina” Aguilar visited Mission Bay High School on May 22 to celebrate it registering the most students in the Shirley N. Weber Voter Registration Challenge, beating out other San Diego Unified High School District schools.
Sarah Ozaki and Rowan Henehan, spearheaded the Shirley N. Weber Voter Registration Challenge at MBHS, managing to register 230 new voters, more than any other County school.
Throughout the challenge, 19 high schools participated with 825 students registered or pre-registered to vote. MBHS registered the most students to vote, followed by Will C. Crawford and James Madison high schools.
On May 22, Aguilar stopped by the MBHS office for a meet and greet. She was introduced to students by Gloria Cota, MBHS admin office support/student mentor. Cota told her about the school’s recent open house for First Gen Scholars, a program for grades 10-11 helping first-generation, low-income students navigate college admissions and graduate debt free.
Cota pointed out that registering more than 200 students to vote was “no small feat,” adding “hopefully, we can encourage everyone to follow through and vote.”
Aguilar brought along a friend and Loyola Marymount University alum and sorority sister, Diana J.S. Fuentes, the first Latina to be a San Diego City Clerk.
Asked about her nickname, Aguilar said: “When I was working in radio in L.A. they (producers) were trying to come up with a name. It was a time when there weren’t that many Latinos on the radio, if any, and it was an English radio station. So they wanted people to know that I was Latino. They were using my real name, Aguilar, and that didn’t flow that well, so someone said, ‘Let’s just call her Geena the Latina.’ They tested that, and people remembered that quickly, so they said, ‘That’s going to be her name.’”
Aguilar came out to congratulate students for registering voters, admitting she had not registered to vote while in high school. Asked if she had a message to deliver to students, Aguilar answered: “Don’t let anyone hinder your dreams. No dream is too big.”
Henehan told Aguilar the voter registration drive he and Ozaki conducted was for their school’s International Baccalaureate CAS Project. MBHS is part of the IB program, which fosters critical thinking skills while helping students become productive global citizens and leaders.
“Why did you choose that project?” asked Aguilar.
“The opportunity presented itself,” answered Ozaki adding, “We thought it was a great idea to register people to vote.”
Aguilar then asked, “Was it hard to get people to register?”
“It was easier than I thought it was going to be,” replied Henehan.
“I don’t know what I was expecting,” noted Ozaki, who added they visited every class of juniors and seniors with a video and slideshow to explain the Shirley N. Weber Voter Registration Challenge.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to formally recognize schools that champion voter pre-registration,” said Secretary Shirley Weber, who previously served as an Assembly member in San Diego. “Voting is making one’s voice heard and having one’s voice heard is a crucial component of democracy. By pre-registering to vote, these students have positioned themselves to have a say in decisions that impact them, their families, and their communities.”
