Alumna Teresa Serna on Advocating for the Opportunities That Shaped Her Life

Teresa Serna first joined SCORES as a Poet-Athlete and today serves as a mental and behavioral health provider. She shares how consistent mentorship, inclusive programming, and exposure to new opportunities transformed her life and why she wants to inspire the next generation of SCORES Poet-Athletes.

When Teresa Serna thinks about her childhood in Milwaukee, SCORES stands out. Her memories are defined by Friday afternoons buzzing with anticipation, parents cheering from the sidelines, and two mentors who showed up consistently, year after year.

"Kate and John just made it feel like they knew everyone. They remembered every kid. That just made it feel very special," she says of Kate Carpenter and John Eggebrecht, who respectively serve as the Executive Director and Associate Director of Milwaukee SCORES.

Serna joined Milwaukee SCORES as a Poet-Athlete in the third grade and now serves young people as a mental and behavioral health provider. She knows firsthand that when you give kids great mentors and access to new opportunities, they grow up to open doors for others. 

Today, in addition to her work as a Mental Health Therapist, she serves on the Milwaukee SCORES Advisory Board. In both spaces, she is committed to advocating for the youth programming that shaped her own life.

A Team of Her Own

When Serna’s parents researched after-school care at Riley Elementary in 2002, they were looking for an inclusive space for their daughters. SCORES offered a unique program that combined soccer, poetry, and service-learning. 

While Serna and her sister were often the only girls in co-ed teams they had played on in the past,  Milwaukee SCORES offered dedicated girls’ teams, where young players could connect with peers and coaches on their own terms. The program also brought Milwaukee Wave players to host VIP clinics and partnered with professional women’s players  like Julie Foudy to foster leadership opportunities for Poet-Athletes.

"It just made you feel included, and like you had a space there," Serna says.

Through SCORES, Serna and her sister traveled beyond their home neighborhoods for tournaments and camps, experiences that she says expanded what felt possible. “Our family being more from the inner city, we didn't really go out far within Milwaukee much," Serna