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UC Berkeley
Student Ernesto Arciniega
!
!
named
Executive Director of Rock the Vote
!
!
Spain
!
!
!
ErnestoRock
Arciniega,
a senior undergraduate !from UC Berkeley and former UCEAP
the Vote Spain is an embassy of the American organization Rock the Vote, the largest
andIII
non-partisan
organization
in the United
States
driving
the American
youth voteof
to Rock
student non-profit
at Carlos
University
of Madrid
served
as the
Executive
Director
the polls. Fusing pop culture, politics, and technology. Rock the Vote celebrity spokespeople
the Voteinclude
Spain.
“It
was theSarah
bestJessica
experience
of my life.
Being
theMartin,
headamong
of such amazing
Jake
Gyllenhaal,
Parker, Leonardo
DiCaprio,
Ricky
several others. Ernesto was hired as Executive Director after the launch party event of RTVS at
organization
opened my eyes to realice the importance of democracy and activism
Gabanna. "When President of BeMadrid Pedro Perez-Bedman and RTVS Director Lisa Jung
me for the but
interview
I was pretty confident I was going to get the job. And I was right.
not onlycalled
in America
in Spain”.
!
!
!
Rock the Vote Spain is an embassy
Other students working under my
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!were
of the American organization Rock
command and volunteering
!
the Vote, the largest non-profit and
from all universities
around the
non-partisan organization in the
United States: from
! UCLA, Brown,
United States driving the American
Princeton to Johns Hopkins
!
youth vote to the polls. Fusing pop
University. They were all really
! democracy".
culture, politics, and technology.
devoted to promote
!
Rock
the
Vote
celebrity
spokespeople
include
Jake
Ernesto Arciniega
was also
!
Gyllenhaal, Sarah
Jessica
Parker,
selected by UCEAP officials to be
Harvard
University.
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Ricky Martin,
part of the student hosts team at
!
among several others. Ernesto was
the 50th Anniversary of UCEAP in
!
hired as Executive Director after the
Spain. As Executive Director of
launch party !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"##!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
event of RTVS at
RTVS he talked in private to most
!
Gabanna. "When
President of
of the special guests at this event
BeMadrid Pedro
about
the mission of
his
$%&!Perez-Bedman and
RTVS Director! Lisa Jung called me
organization. Among the guests
for the interview I was pretty
were high-ranking officials from
confident I was going to get the job.
the U.S. Embassy in Spain,
And I was right. The next week after
representatives of APUNE and
the interview I was already hosting
prominent
academic
viceour second international event of the
chancellors and directors from
electoral season in Madrid. My team
Spanish universities and the
was amazing. My co-worker and
University of California.
friend Jacqueline Sheridan from
Boston University was hired as
!
Coordinator and she really made the
difference.
!
!
!
"As Executive Director of Rock the
Vote Spain I was able to meet a
lot of important and interesting
people throughout the semester. It
was actually funny sometimes
because I was talking to a judge
from the Supreme Court of Spain
one day and the next I was
interviewing the winner of Miss
Universe Spain. You meet so
many different people and that
helps you to build relations not
only in the political arena but in
any field you could possibly
imagine. However, I truly believe
that the most important thing
about working for Rock the Vote
Spain is to let all the people know
how important true democracy is".
Ernesto plans to get involved in
politics back in California while
working on his senior thesis. He is
graduating Summa
Cum
Laude from UC Berkeley in
May and his next goal is to get his
PhD. from Harvard University.!