Hey everyone! My name is Serena Smith, and I am from Vancouver, Washington. I started with Whisper Running back in 2016, and I was one of the first Pacers for Whisper Running during the summer of 2017. My journey after Whisper Running has been a beautiful and empowering experience. I ran cross country and track and field for Union High School, and around my junior year, I met Dave Caldwell, who played a big role in helping me be successful in running. He was the first person that really believed in me and supported me. Dave introduced me to sport psychology and showed me how it plays a very important role in running.
In 2019, I attended Cal Poly Humboldt University in Arcata, California, where I continued to run cross country and track & field. Throughout all my years of running in college, it has been an enlightening and impactful experience. Running has taught me happiness and has allowed me to create beautiful friendships with teammates and make lifelong connections.
In 2022, we had a cross country race at Willamette University, and this race was both one of the worst and best races I have experienced throughout my running career. This race is the main reason why running has taught me so much. Before every race, I write on my calf with a sharpie, “I can do all things through Christ that gives me strength”, as a way to motivate myself to keep pushing through the race when I want to give up.
During this particular race, I blacked out while running, but even during my blackout, I kept running and finished the race. It was one of the scariest, but eye- opening experiences I ever had in life. I shared this experience with you all because we are all going to have bad races and not everything is going to go the way we want it to. The most important lesson that I learned from this experience is how I am going to pick myself up out of this situation and keep going.
In Spring 2023, I graduated with a degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in pre-physical therapy. Also, during that time, I started the Black Student Athlete Union at Cal Poly Humboldt. I am the first person to create the Black Student Athlete Union at Humboldt. I started the union to provide a safe space on campus to connect, embody, and empower the next generation of Black student athletes, setting them up for success.
Starting the union has opened so many new doors, and I have been blessed to have a great mentor, Douglas Smith, who is the coordinator of the Umoja Center for Pan African and Student Excellence at Cal Poly Humboldt. He has had a significant impact on my life, as I decided to pursue my master's in higher education. My goal is to work in a college and be part of the athletic department, providing resources for Black student athletes and advocating for them.
During this time, I was awarded through the Diverse Male Scholar Initiative at Cal Poly Humboldt University for being a woman of color on campus, who helped bring people of color together. Lastly, I work on campus at the Umoja Center for Pan African Student Excellence.
