The Wong Family Legacy

Written by Inez Odom, OLP Strategic Initiatives and Research Director

The words of Mrs. Rachel Wong set the tone for the interview when she stated, “the emphasis that ‘God is love’ was what I found at OLP.” One’s sense of wonder at the transformative power of an OLP education is never more evident than when you are in the presence of an accomplished OLP graduate. That experience is exponentially amplified when meeting with the members of the Rachel (Murguia) Wong ’56 family, including her daughters, Alana (Wong) Robinson ’81 and Lisa (Wong) Soqui ’80 and her granddaughter Kate (Robinson) Googins ’10. In an hour-long conversation, we explored Rachel’s activism and efforts to desegregate schools in Oxnard for Mexican American children. We discussed Alana’s work in the U.S. Attorney General’s office for over thirty years, addressing serious issues related to violent gangs and her election to a Superior Court judge position. We explored Lisa’s role as a nurse practitioner working with those disadvantaged and marginalized people who lack access to quality health care. We reflected upon Kate’s journey as a young attorney and finding new points of intersection in her relationship with her family as she engages with her professional life.

some young men who were protesting that a local policeman had shot a young Mexican American man. The officer was reported to have said, ‘I finally got one of the brown ones.’ My heart went out to these young men, so at home made some Mexican chocolate and took it to them. This was the first time I actually acted.”

I look at my daughter and my mother and my sister and what they’ve achieved. So much of that is due to the intangible or unspoken lessons that we all learned at OLP. You can fulfill your destiny that God gave you. You can use all of your gifts in this safe environment and be who God meant you to be. You learn that when you’re a teenager and then you leave the school and you still have that inside of you. It allows you to fully realize your gifts. I am just very grateful for OLP, not only for what it offered to my family, but also for what it will continue to offer to other families.

It’s a very precious gem. Alana (Wong) Robinson ‘81 it was public service that appealed to me. That was always kind of in my fiber of wanting to help others, because of the example that my parents had shown me, but also because that’s the gospel that we were taught at OLP. That we’re here to share God’s love with others and to help other people. With my parents’ encouragement and support, did run for office. feel really blessed to be in this position as a Superior Court judge because we see people at the worst times in their lives. They come to Superior Court and they need a judge who will be fair, who cares about them, and who will be compassionate. And those are all the things that my mom has taught me, that was reinforced at OLP.”

“The schools were segregated,” reflected Rachel. “I saw that the {Mexican American students} were not getting an equal education. Here were these little kids who looked like me and I loved them and that’s where I got the courage to try to make changes. When I couldn’t do so from within the school district as an employee, that’s when ran for school board and was elected. There was nothing in the schools to reflect their culture. So my idea was to integrate the staff.” She went on to see that a significant number of well prepared, highly educated Mexican American faculty and staff were hired to provide that presence and representation for the children.

Following in her parents footsteps, Kate shares, “I really enjoyed the intellectual challenges that law school brought. My long term trajectory is not just to help the clients that I represent now, but to help my larger community. Being an attorney who fights for the rights of others who are underserved is something that I’ve always wanted to do and, once I have more training, look forward to the opportunity to do that.”

As a young girl, Rachel read a novel about a girl that went to boarding school. She then asked her parents if she might do so, saying that “it sounded like fun.” Rachel attended OLP, as a boarding student, graduating in 1956. She then went on to become an activist, very much influenced by the example of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet that she experienced firsthand during her time at OLP.

Rachel Wong recalls, “when first started to be active, I had four children and I was driving in the station wagon in the rain. There were

“What has motivated me to do what I’ve done is the example that my parents set for me, especially my mother,” shares Alana (Wong) Robinson ’81. “I remember as a kid going to the Legal Aid Society, where my mom worked and then later on, when was at OLP, my mom worked at the California Fair Employment Practices Commission. She never said ‘Alana, you need to help people who no one else is helping.’ It wasn’t her words. It was her example that really led me on the path that I have followed in my life.” This example includes OLP, ensuring the right educational foundation would support the pathway forward.

“I was fortunate to go to law school, and I served as a federal prosecutor for thirty years. also was in private practice, but really

Caring for others is a central theme in this OLP family’s legacy. Lisa Soqui ’80 considers, “I’ve been a nurse for about forty years. Mainly, I’ve worked with people who don’t have good access to health care. The underserved patients and those that have a language barrier are often afraid, especially when they are ailing. So I’ve worked in areas that allow marginalized people to safely get health care.”

Kate Googins ’10 brings gratitude and grace to her appreciation of her OLP family legacy. “I had the good fortune of having my family to look to as examples for what I wanted to do. just grew up around public servants. As my mom said so beautifully, it’s not like anyone ever told me…that wasn’t explicit.”

Alana reflects, “girls at OLP had a chance to explore all of their interests and hold all of the leadership roles, and do so without societal constraints about what a girl student should be like. Girls were not encouraged to be demure and quiet and submissive. They were encouraged to excel and to use God’s gifts. And so that was very important, in my formation, gaining confidence. When became a lawyer here in San Diego back in 1988, and then joined the U.S. Attorney’s office in 1990, federal law enforcement was predominantly men. The prosecutors were men. All of the agents, of course, were men.” The formation of voice at OLP is a foundational cornerstone for ensuring girls have the skills and confidence of leadership especially where women are historically underrepresented.

The Wong family legacy has made a mark on countless San Diegans. They’ve dedicated their life’s work to leaving a positive impact on everyone around them.

What wish would you share with a future grandchild or great grandchild or child?

WHEN ASKED WHAT ALANA MIGHT SAY TO HER FUTURE GRANDDAUGHTER, SHE SHARED “All of this is a gift from God, and God spoke to this family through OLP. And the values, the development that they seek to encourage in girls in terms of faith, heart, courage, excellence. They’re all related and you need each to have the other. My granddaughter will have her complete, self nurtured, and educated in the OLP model. And if she puts in just a little effort, she’ll turn out as wonderfully as her own mother, my daughter Kate. And that would be a blessing to the world.

RACHEL WONG: I was married to my husband for almost sixty years. And my husband was a very good person. He was kind and intelligent. And his kindness came from a full heart. Not because he was trying to get anything or to look good but really from the fullness of love that he had in his heart. I would wish for that grandchild to have at least one person like that in her life.

LISA SOQUI: Their education is something that nobody can ever take away from them. Many things can be taken from them…a loved one, home, money, a career, but their education is always there. So they should put as much into it as they can, because that’s something they will always keep. {At OLP} you learn how to develop your relationship with God and again, that is something that no one can take away from you. He’s always there.

KATE GOOGINS: I want my daughter or granddaughter to know that she has a place in the world wherever she wants to be. She belongs there and that she’s allowed to do whatever she wants to do with her life, and make her own decisions in that the love of her community and her family is what allows her to have that, and what allows her to be in that place. And if she loves herself and has the love of everyone around her, then she’s gonna be able to accomplish whatever she wants to, and will be very happy and fulfilled. And I think that intangible sense that I could achieve whatever I wanted to achieve, and could go wherever I wanted to go, and would fit in anywhere. wanted to fit in. I would hope that my granddaughter or my daughter would be able to have that as well.