Nun’s Stint as DJ Could Be Habit-Forming

Smashmouth . . . 98 Degrees . . . the Backstreet Boys . . . Ricky Martin . . . St. Augustine of Hippo and the Homilies on the First Epistle of John.

Say what?

It might be an unusual playlist for most deejays but not for Sister Mary Lisette Valenzuela, religion instructor at La Reina High School, director of vocations for the Sisters of Notre Dame in Thousand Oaks and, for one blessed hour this Friday, disc jockey at one of the biggest rock stations in the U.S.

No, it’s not for every nun.

But Sister Lisette had her reasons for entering Corporate Takeover, a deejay-for-a-day contest at KIIS-FM (102.7).

At 35, she’s listened to KIIS off-and-on since she was a teenager in West L.A.

And she likes rock--minus the harsh tributes to street life and obscenity-riddled rap.

But on top of that, she’s a savvy marketer.

“I’ve listened to the other deejay guests over the last couple of months, and at the end, they get to do a plug for where they’re from. It’s my hope to be able to tell young people to listen to the call in their hearts and think about being a priest or a sister.”

That message is not widely accepted, admits Sister Lisette, who delivers it at high schools, colleges and church groups. But hope is a marvelous thing--and where better to reach hundreds of thousands of prospects all at once than on KIIS Radio?

Officials at the station said they typically receive a couple of hundred essays daily from people trying to persuade them they’d be wonderful as deejay-of-the-hour. The contest has been running for eight months.

“We’ve had plastic surgeons in, and two wrestlers, someone from a dairy company, doctors, attorneys, actors, producers, record-label people,” said Gwen Roberts, the station’s talent coordinator. “We give them their 15 minutes of fame, and I say that only in the most positive sense.”

To this surging mass of temporary renown, add Sister Lisette.

In her fax to the station, she made two requests. First, she doesn’t want to play offensive music during her stint. She said she listens to it from time to time because “ignorance is death” and she’d rather know what teenagers are exposed to than cloister herself in comfortable pop.

She also asked that no jokes be made at the expense of religion--a reasonable request from anyone, any time.

“She sounds like a sweetie,” Roberts said. “She deserves this.”

At La Reina, the girls high school in Thousand Oaks, her students are primed.

They offered to take the day off--in order to focus full attention on Sister Lisette’s words--but starting at noon, her voice will be pumped into the cafeteria. Not to mention thousands of cars on dozens of freeways, plus homes, offices, factories, lunch counters, school parking lots, beach blankets, world without end . . . .

Sister Gina Marie will drive to the Burbank studio with her for moral support. Meanwhile, the 39 other sisters in the convent have the day marked on their calendar. The radio station has promised them a catered lunch.

Over the next couple of days, Sister Lisette will be jotting notes on 3-by-5 cards: family members to mention, names of people to give a big hello to and, she said, “a few things up my sleeve.”

Naturally, she wouldn’t say just what she meant by that, evidently preferring that you tune in to find out.

That’s the habit of a real pro.

Steve Chawkins can be reached at 653-7561 or at steve.chawkins@latimes.com.