How Lifelong Learning Led Rafael Serna to a Career in Teaching
| by Alex Skov
The path to the classroom isn’t always a straight line. Just ask Rafael Serna, who has spent 30 years working in education, even if it wasn’t always as a teacher.
“I passed through all the positions,” he recalled with a smile. “I started in IT because my bachelor’s degree is in computer [systems], then I started working as a computer science teacher, and then I moved on as a coordinator of computer science subject [and] academic assistant… I had a brief time as a director, helping in the certification of a school and planning for the next school year.”
This career movement took Serna through multiple local and international schools and through two countries — from his home in Mexico to Venezuela and back again — before landing him in Liberia.
“Everything is connected to my wife,” Serna said, smiling again. “My wife was invited to work here in 2015, but then we got married in 2016, so she moved with me to Mexico, but after her good experience and because they needed a teacher with my profile, we were invited again to work in Liberia.”
That was in 2021. In the years since then, Serna has worked as a math and computer science teacher at an international school, in addition to helping manage standardized math tests and technology platforms.
From Computers to the Classroom
Serna never intended to become a teacher, but a lucky circumstance that changed the trajectory of his professional life.
“By accident, someone asked me, ‘Could you please help me give this course to these [adult learners]? Because the person who was in charge can’t attend. I know that you have the skills,’” Serna remembered. “I [said], ‘This is my first time. I can help you, but I don’t know how it’s going to be.’ And I fell in love with teaching after that experience.”
Teaching that course inspired Serna to make a full-time career transition, with his sights set on eventually working abroad.
“I said, ‘Well, I need to move on to the next step because I like this, and it’s going to be very helpful for me to move on to the teaching if I want to live [an] international experience,” he shared.
Knowing that he needed to add new skills to his resume in order to build his new career, Serna began attending Moreland University’s professional development courses. As he gained new insights and appreciated the flexibility offered by the fully online format, Serna began entertaining the idea of earning his professional teaching certification, but there was one factor in particular that helped him fully commit.
“My wife started doing the certification and a master’s degree,” he said, “and after her it was my turn, so I got my certification with Moreland.”
Leveling Up with Moreland University
Although Serna had been working in schools for years, he understood that experience alone wasn’t enough to thrive in the competitive international system that he wanted to re-enter alongside his wife. Enrolling in the TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program could provide him the advantage of earning a U.S. teaching license — which is respected and valued by schools around the world — while also equipping him with the latest techniques and best practices for educators.
“I was so confident when I started the online certification because my wife just finished that a month ago, so I [knew] what everything was going to be about,” Serna said, noting his wife referred the TEACH-NOW as it equipped her with so many up-to-date education innovations. “To my good surprise, the whole program was [further] updated, so it was not the same program like my wife took.”
By applying his “obsessive” drive to get the highest possible grades on TEACH-NOW’s up-to-date content and coursework, Serna understood how important it is for educators to be lifelong learners in both a practical and a cultural sense.
“As a teacher, you can have 50 years of experience, but if you continue teaching [how you did] 50 years ago, maybe you’re not going to make it click with students in this new era because even with this funny ‘6-7’ thing, you need to know what that means so you can make a connection with the kids in a good way,” he said, referring to a popular meme. “At least they [will] know that you are not old. You are an adult, but you are not old, and they can trust and believe in you.”
Today, Serna applies those kinds of soft skills at a small school in West Africa that has about 150 students. While the student body is small, it is also incredibly diverse. Many of his students come from non-English speaking backgrounds, including those who speak French and Swedish as their first language. Because the school is small, it doesn’t have dedicated departments or staff members for English language learners (ELL) or special education. This means classroom teachers like Serna must be adaptable and skilled enough to support every learner’s needs directly.
“This year I had an experience with one of the students dealing with a social-emotional situation and it was so easy to deal with the situation because I have this background from Moreland,” Serna said. “They touched base on these types of situations [in the coursework]. I really had all the tools to manage it in that easy way.”
In the end, Serna’s greatest joy comes from helping students and seeing them grow particularly in math — a subject where many children feel insecure. Some students arrive in his classroom describing themselves as “the worst at math” before leaving at the end of the year realizing they capable and feeling confident moving forward.
“That kind of thing is what I really enjoy and keeps me in this job,” he said.
The Next Step in an International Teaching Career
Serna and his wife are currently in their final year teaching in Liberia and already planning their next move, potentially looking for positions in Asia or elsewhere in Africa. Once they are settled in their new country and new roles, Serna already has a clear plan for his professional development.
“I’m going to go back to Moreland and [get] the master’s because, as I said before, we need to keep updated in this career,” Serna said, giving one more smile.
If you are interested in changing career or are ready to add new skills to your teaching practice, Moreland University is ready to support you with our 100% online 9-month TEACH-NOW Teacher Certificate Preparation Program and 12-month master’s degree programs today. It takes less than 15 minutes to complete your free application.
