Her Story
About Serena
My professional journey spans both education and gospel music, two fields that have been intertwined throughout my life. I started in education as a teacher, then advanced to become the director of the school. My college major was English, and I later earned my Master's in Organizational Management. I was asked to join a quasi-government agency in Philadelphia because of my writing skills, where I managed the contract administration department for 29 years before retiring in 2014. Even during that time, I kept my teaching certification active. After retirement, when I looked at the scores after COVID, I decided to go back and help with reading. I stumbled upon a job at a private elementary Christian school in walking distance from me, and that's what I'm doing now - helping students with reading. In my music career, I'm deeply involved in preserving gospel music heritage. I'm on the board of directors for the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses, which is the oldest gospel music convention founded by Professor Dorsey. I serve as Regional Director for the states from Boston to Virginia. I also founded the Gospel Music Preservation Alliance, which is dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of gospel music. Philadelphia is a solid seat for gospel music, and I grew up in that environment - my dad sang professionally and my mom was a music teacher. I'm also on the board of directors for the Philadelphia Heritage Corral. My focus is on staying relevant and aware of what's going on with people, not just in education but in leadership and guidance. I'm an avid reader and I focus on learning things that I can share with and guide other people.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Serena
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the mindset of helping others that I learned from my mom. She was a teacher and had this mindset for community help - she was always doing something to help the community, even through her music. She was known in the community to sing for people who had transitioned, which is a very important and meaningful part of people's lives because it brings comfort to them. I saw how her music was doing that, and it just trickled down to me. I was taking a class once and the lady said, if you want to help yourself, help other people - that tends to take the focus off of whatever you're going through. So that mission mindset of help runs through my family, and it started with my mom. That direction of helping others is what led me into education and all the work I do.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've received is that there is no age limit in growth. There's no timeline when you can't grow. You can always grow and learn some things. You don't have to be locked into a period of not knowing because you feel, oh, I'm at this age that I don't have the ability or I can't do it. There is no limitation on growth.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge I saw was the deficit that COVID had taken on education. Many people were not even signing on for school - there was no real monitoring effect because this was new to a lot of schools. People would sign on and then they would say they're on, and all kinds of scenarios happened. So people weren't getting what they needed, and many people are visual learners who needed that experience of being in the classroom. That was a major factor in my deciding to go back to help with the reading.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Family is very important to me - making sure that everybody's connected and that we don't disconnect as a family. I also value staying relevant and aware of what's going on with people, not just in education but with people in general. I focus on growth and understanding and leadership and guidance. I'm an avid reader and I focus on learning things that I can talk to other people about and guide them. Keeping my mind open to growth and understanding is important to the success of my work with the Convention and all my responsibilities.
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