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Don’t be fooled. Rocsi Diaz, former 106 & Park staple and Entertainment Tonight‘s new host, isn’t just a pretty face. The girl has smarts too.

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That’s why when it comes to education, the non-profit Get Schooled collaborated with Rocsi to engage and inspire our youth to help them excel in school and improve graduation rates. 

This week, Rocsi visited Brown Education Campus in Washington D.C. to talk to students about the importance of earning a high school diploma and having a successful career. The main message…keep showing up!

“There is nothing more important than showing up to school every day, working hard, and staying focused on earning your high school degree. I am so proud of all the Brown Education Campus students who took the Get Schooled Attendance Challenge, worked together, and came out on top in raising their attendance rates.”

Rocis is no stranger to hard work, and she stresses that in her message. She told GlobalGrind a little about growing up in Louisiana, how school was no joke in her household!

“There were definitely times where school was hard. I didn’t excel in math and science…but quitting was never an option! There was never even a notion of missing school.”

Rocsi’s mom didn’t play that, apparently!

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For Rocsi, taking education seriously is exactly what landed her where she is today. That’s important, she says, to let the students know that you can’t get anywhere without learning.

“I tell the students, ‘every one of your favorite personalities couldn’t get where they are without learning. It should be what your focus is basically.’ All the things I learned in school helped me today. Like researching for my school science paper; it taught me how to do research on someone I’m interviewing.”

“I started working with Get Schooled to motivate kids to get to school on time and to show up, to cut the tardiness down.”

In fact, Brown Education Campus was able to lower their tardiness rate by four percent due to Get Schooled initiatives.

But the former 106 & Park host also realizes that school and education might take a back seat in poverty-stricken areas without the resources.

“Sometimes people are a product of their environment. It’s depressing, but that’s not an excuse. But better atmospheres do create better working environments.”

The key is to enjoy yourself while taking education seriously. It’s a priority, Rocsi told GlobalGrind. But don’t forget to have fun.

“My favorite thing about school was learning how to be a social person,” she laughed.

So yes, she did tell us that some of her favorite things were lunch, cheerleading and soccer, (ours too!) but grades and attendance absolutely came first.

“Education is the key to success,” Rocsi said, leaving us with words of wisdom we should all live by.

Stay tuned to see the other celebrities the Get Schooled Victory Tour brings along during their five city journey to talk about educational experience and to prepare the almost 7.5 million students a month who miss school for college and successful careers.

We’ll be watching!