When actor Jennifer Peña got the call that PBS was holding auditions for its PBS KIDS Preschool Destination, she didn’t think twice about saying yes.
“They started with a nationwide search of 3,000 people, and then narrowed it down to one person – me” she said. “If I’d known that then, it would’ve made me nervous! I’m glad I didn’t know!”
When the third season of PBS KIDS began on May 19, last year, Peña as “Miss Rosa,” began greeting her young viewers in Spanish and teaching them the theme and the Spanish word of the day undefined.
Peña’s role is part of PBS’ commitment to multicultural programming.
“The bigger goal with season three was to continue to create a true preschool environment by introducing new faces and exposing kids to different cultures,” said Lesli Rotenberg, senior vice president, PBS KIDS Next Generation Media. “Not every child can afford to attend preschool. So we want to give them the best experience we can through our on-air and online content.”
In addition to “Miss Rosa,” PBS also introduced “Mr. Steve,” who performs original songs that tie in to the day’s curriculum theme.
Peña’s acting career started at age nine, when she ran off from her mom at the mall and asked the judges of a beauty pageant how she could get started. An agent at one of the pageants she was competing in spotted her and there was no looking back after that.
But she credits her parents from keeping her feet on the ground as she pursued her dreams.
“If my grades suffered or if I started missing school, they’d pull me out,” she said. “But I had such a strong love for performing and acting that they were able to use that to keep me on track.”
Peña went on to graduate in the top five percent of her class. She graduated from Florida State University in Tallahassee in three years. She then became a Florida-certified teacher and taught elementary school for four years until an agent called out of the blue to ask if she wanted to audition for a commercial.
Peña returned to Orlando and then landed the job. “It was the door of opportunity opening a second time,” she said.
Peña went on to appear in an episode of “One Tree Hill” and “America’s Most Wanted.” In between acting gigs, she is an acting coach for children four years and older.
Reaching All of America’s Children
According to Rotenberg, when they were planning the third season of PBS KIDS Preschool Destination, they were specifically looking for someone fluent in Spanish, but who could also connect with children.
“We want kids to feel like they’re embarking on a new adventure when they are a part of the PBS KIDS Preschool Destination and Jennifer was a perfect guide for this journey,” she said.
Through children’s shows such as “Dragon Tales,” “Sesame Street,” “Between the Lions” and “Maya & Miguel,” PBS has made a point to bring racially diverse characters to its audience.
“It’s important we reflect the communities we serve,” Rotenberg added. “There seems to be a lack of understanding and awareness about other cultures among kids and we want to help bridge that gap.”
Full Circle
For Peña, a self-described “Double Rican” (her father emigrated from Costa Rica and her mother is Puerto Rican), taking on the role of “Miss Rosa” is a point of pride.
“In the fifth grade [some kids] asked me if I knew Spanish and when I said yes, they asked me to prove it,” Peña recalled. But because she spoke her father’s Costa Rican dialect, those same kids teased her. Humiliated, Peña decided she’d never speak Spanish again.
But while studying at the Florida State, she became the director of the Hispanic student union and was also responsible for every Hispanic student on campus, including the international students.
“For a lot of these students, their comfort zone was Spanish, and that’s when it all came back,” Peña said. Even though she is on TV sets nationwide, she plans to become more involved in her community.
“I used to mentor kids of migrant workers,” she said. “I want to be an example to the Hispanic community and [to convey to them] that with education, the sky is the limit.”
The ultimate pay-off to all of her hard work, aside from seeing her parents’ pride in her success, is to see the look on her 2-year-old godson’s face when he sees her on TV.
“Everything that came in my past prepared me for the opportunity with PBS,” Peña said. “Now, looking back I can’t believe how everything fell into place.”