Brooke Serrano (19) has drawn on skills and lessons learned at PLNU to serve those working on their mental health in San Diego. As an online clinical counselor, she has has been able to provide dozens of clients with holistic, personalized support.
Serrano, who went to high school in Temecula, didn’t want to go to school in San Diego at first. She looked further afield for higher education opportunities, but after attending a college fair and stopping by a PLNU booth, she felt called by God to apply.
“It was so interesting, because I was not necessarily the most religious person,” Serrano said. “I didn’t really grow up in church. I just was kind of bebopping around through different faiths.”
Serrano graduated from Palomar Community College in the fall of 2016 and spent some time exploring her options, which included traveling to Europe and getting her phlebotomy license. When she returned from her travels, a surprise was waiting for her.
“On the day I came back, it was in the mail — the acceptance!”
Serrano attended an overnight visit as a prospective student, and was invited by her host student to come to homeless ministries one night. Her experiences there, and through the rest of the weekend visit, cemented her decision.
“The minute I stepped on campus, it felt like home,” Serrano said.
That feeling of home was only amplified by the welcomes of other students. Serrano was introduced to a student who was studying social work — the very field Serrano was interested in pursuing.
“This is a girl I didn’t know at all, Kathleen,” Serrano remembers fondly. “She comes running down and gives me a hug, and she’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re social work too!’ At Point Loma, you run up to somebody and that’s how you meet them. When I became president of Social Work Club, the president before me is now my best friend, and for her kids, I’m Aunt Brooke to them. They’re great!”
Serrano’s lasting friendships are some of her most valuable takeaways from PLNU. “I think all these connections are what makes Point Loma such an amazing pace,” she said.
“The minute I stepped on campus, it felt like home.”
While at PLNU getting her B.A in social work, Serrano was very active in the Social Work Club, bringing resources to campus and connecting with others.
“I hosted a ‘mental health first aid’ training on Point Loma’s campus,” Serrano said, “which is similar to first aid training, but it’s more for people to understand suicide prevention, understand mental health diagnoses and learn more about the student body. If you have a friend who’s going through a crisis, how do you respond to it appropriately?”
The success of the training is a high point in her time at PLNU.
“To get that certification, it’s an eight hour training,” Serrano said. “To get [students] to sign up is insane. But people came; they came out for fall and spring. And I think we probably trained over 200 people, which is insane.”
Serrano highlights that her time at PLNU was service-oriented, whether it was mental health first aid training, her internship at a middle school, or working with kids.
“I was surrounded by love and care, and I grew in my faith.”
“[Point Loma is] an incredible place to be,” Serrano said. “I was surrounded by love and care, and I grew in my faith. I grew in my connections with people, I would say … some of my best friends are still from Loma, whether I met them there or met them later in life. Point Loma carries you through.
“[My time at Point Loma] prepared me in the way of understanding more about people through a faith lens, but also understanding more about how to be compassionate and really see all the aspects of people.”
This perspective has served her well over time as she continues to advocate for mental health treatment.
“What social work is, is seeing the entirety of a person holistically,” Serrano said, “and then really being there and listening to no matter if you connect with them on anything but understanding where they are coming from.”
Serrano’s education didn’t end at PLNU in 2019.
“With social work, it’s pretty standard to go on for your master’s degree if you want to continue with mental health work,” she said. She mentions faculty member Dr. Kevin Modesto by name as a huge inspiration for continuing in her career.
“He always was pushing us to leave San Diego and explore as much as we could of the world, because so many of us would move into a master’s program that he [said], ‘Don’t just go to SDSU. Don’t just stay here. Really explore the opportunities you can and then come on back and share those with that community again.’”
She ended up obtaining her master’s in social work from the University of Utah in 2021 and solidified her plans to work professionally in the area of mental health. After some experience in community health, working with people of all incomes and ages, she knew it was time to come home.
“After I got licensed, I was like, ‘You know what, it feels right to come back to San Diego.’ So I did.”
Upon returning, she guest lectured a few times in Modesto’s classes and plugged into a local church, Normal Heights United Methodist, volunteering with their youth group. Now, as an online LCSW, Serrano manages a caseload of about 30 clients and says she loves the way her job is structured.
“I am an independent contractor on a website called Rula,” she said, “and I really enjoy it because it allows me the flexibility to be a private contractor. So essentially having my own private practice.”
While some may struggle with the ebb-and-flow nature of online counseling, Serrano draws on her experiences at PLNU to make things work.
“Loma has prepared me in the ways of just kind of rolling with the flow and going with it and trusting God’s plan,” Serrano said. “I really loved Loma. I loved the experience. It prepared me for doing all these things. It’s just such an inclusive community that just gives back. And I think there’s a lot to how can we give back, especially in a time of need.”
