Serena was born on the island of Guam, grew up with relatives living on all sides of her family home. She moved from this remote yet bountiful experience to attend school in California. She went to San Jose State University and majored in Psychology. At SJSU, she discovered her passion for community engagement through leadership roles in many women’s organizations, as well as research projects in health literacy and intimate partner violence. Through these experiences, she came to realize the fundamental importance of access to quality healthcare. This core belief led her to matriculate into Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. Her time at Mayo was key in defining her as a physician. At Kaiser, she has the honor of caring for patients during a very difficult and often emotional time in their life.