“Especially being Latino, Mexican, and bilingual, seeing the need for bilingual support in this community, I really wanted to give back to the community that I grew up in,” he said.

Serrano graduated from A.C. Davis High School in Yakima and earned his associate’s degree at Yakima Valley College before transferring to Central in 2019. He completed a bachelor’s in psychology and then continued directly to the school psychology master’s program, graduating in May.

This fall, he started a position as the lead psychologist for two elementary schools in the Yakima School District.

Any school psychologist can provide excellent service, he said, but having a background that resonates with the community helps the families he serves feel represented.

“For example, I work with a lot of Latino families, and a lot of families that migrate from Mexico. And for them, sometimes they feel a little bit more comfortable sharing with me and connecting with me,” he said. “A lot of the time, I’m able to empathize with their own stories, so it makes that process and the trust within the system a lot more fluid.”

Serrano said the graduate program at Central helped him become a versatile school psychologist because it offered classes where he could explore his passion for mental health and connecting with many different minority populations. He looks forward to working alongside LGBTQ+ and first-generation students, as well as those who share his Mexican American background.

“I’m really excited to see what kind of impact I make in the next few years,” Serrano said. “Hopefully, I’ll make Central proud.”