Berkeley student honored at White House for using poetry to inspire change

by Iris Kwok

Nov. 2, 2024, 5:25 a.m.Nov. 1, 2024, 4:24 p.m.

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Serena Griffin with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. Credit: Courtesy of Serena Griffin/ White House

Serena Griffin, Berkeley’s vice youth poet laureate and a senior at St. Mary’s College High School, has added yet another item to her already impressive list of accomplishments: She was recently named a “Girls Leading Change” honoree by first lady Jill Biden.

Griffin, 17, was recognized for her work “empowering youth through poetry, songwriting, and storytelling, and using creative expression as a tool for social change,” according to a statement from the White House. 

“Just being there was super cool and very surreal,” Griffin said of the experience. She was wowed by the other nine girls selected, who included an activist working to empower teens from military communities and a scientist who developed a prototype for a low-cost, less invasive test to detect triple-negative breast cancer.

Griffin, an Oakland resident, founded EmpowHer Poets, where she leads a weekly after-school writing program for fourth- and fifth-graders at Oxford Elementary, her former elementary school. (She also credits her Oxford Elementary teacher, Jacqueline Omania, for initially sparking her interest in climate activism.) She also serves as a member of the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls Youth Advisory Council. 

She briefly spoke at the White House’s celebration of International Day of the Girl in front of a packed audience of middle school girls from the D.C. area, ate herb-grilled salmon at the White House Navy Mess, went bowling in the White House basement, and posed for photos with Jill Biden, joined by her family. 

Serena Griffin (left) and Sreenidi Bala introduce themselves at a Girls Leading Change event on Oct. 10, 2024, in the East Room of the White House. Griffin said this photo was taken at the very moment when she noticed President Joe Biden slip into the back of the audience largely unnoticed. Credit: White House/Erin Scott

At one point, she held hands with President Joe Biden, who made an unannounced visit and told her that he hoped she would remember him when she was in a position of leadership.

“Everywhere I travel, I see inspiring girls leading change in their communities,” Jill Biden said during the celebration, according to the press release. “These incredible honorees are meeting the challenges they see in the world by developing innovative new technologies, expanding access to education, erasing silence through the power of art and poetry and more.”

Griffin was nominated for the honor by the director of Cinnamongirl, an Oakland nonprofit that aims to empower girls of color in predominantly white spaces. Griffin has been involved with the organization for three years, contributing to its poetry collections and leading book club meetings. 

Following an interview round, Griffin was one of 10 girls chosen by the White House Gender Policy Council out of a pool of over 600 nominees. 

Griffin got the call from the White House on a September morning. She was seated at her kitchen table, and her mom, who had actually learned of the news several days earlier but was instructed to keep it a secret — videotaped her reaction for social media.

“I was just so in shock that … my reaction was kind of subdued,” Griffin said. For Griffin, the hardest part was keeping it a secret from her friends, teachers and classmates until the White House made the official announcement days later. 

The highlight of her trip was having lunch at the Navy Mess with Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council and assistant to President Biden, Griffin said. Their conversation reaffirmed Griffin’s desire to attend law school — though that’s still a few years away. For now, she’s focused on getting into college.

We’ll leave you with a couple more photos from Griffin’s trip.

Serena Griffin and her parents Anatasia Kim and Quincy Griffin outside of the White House. Courtesy: Serena GriffinGirls Leading Change awardees and their families in the White House bowling alley. Courtesy: Serena GriffinLunch in the White House Navy Mess featured a salmon harvest bowl with pickled onions, kale, quinoa, brown rice, cranberries, candied pecans and vegetable medley. Credit: Serena GriffinAwardees in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Courtesy: Serena GriffinSerena Griffin and her parents Anatasia Kim and Quincy Griffin with first lady Jill Biden. Courtesy: Serena Griffin/White House