This fall, Serena Handrick ’24 is coaching volleyball and serving as an AmeriCorps reading tutor at Viking Elementary School in Holmen, Wisconsin. Last summer, she was helping families access fresh produce at the Rochester Farmers Market. Next year? She isn’t sure yet, and that’s okay.
“If I’ve learned anything from these past five or six years, it’s that you can’t force anything,” she says. “What is going to come is going to come when it needs to come. Take a step back. Do what you know.”
That adaptability has carried Handrick through her time at the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) and beyond. A native of Melrose, Wisconsin, she first heard about UMR during a high school college fair. Friends who had stopped by the UMR booth came back buzzing about the skyways. “There’s this school in Rochester where they have these skyways so you don’t have to go outside in the winter,” they told her. It was enough to make her grab a pamphlet. The proximity to home, small class sizes and a welcoming campus environment sealed her interest.
Still, finding her place at UMR wasn’t immediate. “After taking a chem lab, I realized how much I hated it,” she recalls. “I didn’t like any of the chem classes. I didn’t like any of the biology classes. I didn’t really like psychology.” At times, she wondered if she had chosen the right university. “I did feel very lost at UMR,” she admits.
The turning point came when she enrolled in Introduction to Public Health. “It just felt so natural. It clicked for me. It impacted people’s lives directly,” she says. With the encouragement of faculty and student success coaches, Handrick leaned into this new direction. She especially appreciated the mentorship of Dr. Jessie Barnett. “She’s been a great mentor of mine,” she says. “I love when teachers teach with excitement. When they actually care what they’re teaching, it gets you inspired. I’ve really appreciated her.”
As a student in UMR’s 4+1 program, Handrick was able to earn her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Public Health in just five years. Along the way, she discovered the impact of hands-on learning. One highlight was the Ecoliteracy course at UMR, which she describes as her favorite class of all time. During that course, she had the opportunity to mentor Pine Island High School students on projects that included a camping weekend and naturalist education. “It was so fun to just take a step back from everything to be in nature and work on human connections,” she reflects.
Her applied practice at the Rochester Farmers Market reinforced the value of human connections. She worked on a program that helped customers use EBT benefits to buy fresh produce. “I was interviewing vendors and working with customers,” she says. During that experience, Handrick saw public health in action.
Looking back, Handrick says her years at UMR were about far more than coursework. They were a season of personal growth. “I’m really happy I went to UMR during that period because the UMR community was so supportive,” she says. “My favorite thing about UMR was the success coaches. I felt very supported.” That encouragement helped her build persistence, perspective and confidence. “Just keep moving forward and focusing on the bigger picture,” she says. It’s a lesson she carries with her into every new role.
When a climate change-related position she hoped for was cut due to funding changes, Handrick had to pivot. The current landscape is, in her words, “very scary and very uncertain.” But, she’s moving forward a step at a time. She’s grateful to be able to continue working as a teaching assistant for UMR’s Dr. Jessie Barnett, in addition to her work as an AmeriCorps reading tutor and high school volleyball coach. These opportunities give her the chance to keep building skills, stay rooted in service and trust the unfolding of her career path.
Through it all, Handrick has held on to her love of nature and her passion for learning. Her journey hasn’t been linear, but she sees strength in that.
For Handrick, hope and resilience go hand in hand. Whether she is coaching a team, guiding young learners to improve their reading skills or considering her next professional step, she is living out what she learned at UMR: persistence, adaptability and steady, forward momentum that will open doors to unexpected opportunities.
Written by Emily Carson
Read more stories from the Fall 2025 Alumni Magazine: The Kettle.