Before she was a biology lecturer and Zumba instructor, Dr. Fabiola Serra had a variety of jobs in her home country of Peru.

Described as “enthusiastic” and “energetic” by students in her Zumba class, she brings the same cheerful attitude to her biology classes where she makes students laugh between descriptions of Glycolysis and the Krebs cycle.

Born and raised in Lima, the capital of Peru, Serra has an extensive veterinary and agricultural background, as well as a bevy of past jobs.

Besides working as a veterinarian, Zumba instructor and biology lecturer, Serra also hosted an agricultural themed radio and TV show, worked as a translator and was the director of the veterinary school she graduated from.

In 2004, Serra received her doctorate of veterinary medicine, and made her first trip to the United States in 2007 for an 18 month exchange program.

While attending the Ellensburg Extra Llama Show, where she had been invited to give a presentation on llamas and parasites, she met, and later fell in love with, her husband, Seth Harris.

“Nobody tells you that in 18 months you’re going to fall in love,” Serra said. “I met my husband, but I still had to go back to Peru.”

For two years, Serra and Harris dated, each living on a different continent.

Every six weeks, Harris would fly down to visit, but he inevitably had to return to his home in the states.

“Imagine you want to go to dinner, the movies or just a walk around the block with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and he or she is thousands of miles away,” Serra said.

During this period, Serra worked for a development project whose goal was to teach sustainable agriculture in some of the most remote parts of Peru.

“You fly to a larger city, and then from there you take a bus ride for about seven hours, and then another part of the trail, walking or going by a horse,” Serra said. “A lot of the time I didn’t have, not only cell phone reception, any kind of phone available and I was going there by myself.”

Despite the challenges, Serra said that it was very fulfilling.

“You feel really good [about] being part of a solution. Everybody always talks about the problem is this, the problem is that, but nobody does anything to be part of a solution,” Serra said.

In 2008, Serra and Harris married at Serra’s great-grandfathers house outside of Lima.

The pair tried to live in Peru, but eventually decided to move back to the U.S.

“[Harris] tried to live [in Peru] for a couple months, but the language barrier for him was very hard,” Serra said. “So then we decided to move back here, to Ellensburg.”

Living in the U.S. came with its set of challenges for Serra, the biggest of which was the loss of a passion she had carried all her life.

Having been a dancer since childhood, Serra suddenly found herself without an outlet for her art.

“You don’t dance here. You dance if you go to a place to dance,” Serra said. “But in Peru, if you’re in a restaurant, there’s going to be music in the background, and loud enough for somebody to at least be shaking.”

Serra went to a local dance studio, and after meeting several resident dancers, began to teach them the traditional dances of her homeland.

In 2010, Serra founded TusuyPeru, comprised of the friends Serra had taught.

“We represent Peru in different activities, we go to FolkLife, we go to different international dance festivals around the Northwest,” Serra said.

In 2011, Serra was contacted by Dr. Stella Moreno, a Spanish lecturer at Central, about TusuyPeru performing during Hispanic Heritage month.

The two became close friends, sharing a deep connection formed because of their shared heritages.

“For me, it has been a gift to have her here, because there are not many people from Latin America in Ellensburg,” Moreno said. “For a community like Ellensburg, it is very special that we can have a person like Fabiola, because she can make a difference in the community.”

Serra also began teaching Zumba to members of the Ellensburg community. It was through these classes that Serra met Kari Linnell, the secretary supervisor for the biology department.

Linnell found out about Serra’s background in biology and encouraged Serra to submit an application as an adjunct instructor. In spite of meeting Serra as a dance instructor, Linnell wasn’t surprised by Serra’s extensive credentials.

“She really works with the people, if she’s teaching a dance class, or if she’s teaching a biology class,” Linnell said.

During the hiring process, Dr. Tom Cottrell, the chair for the biology department, was impressed by Serra’s expertise. He had previously heard about Serra’s talents as a dance instructor, which to him meant that she was comfortable working with and in front of people; an important skill for any faculty member to possess.

“She’s extremely energetic and personable,” Cottrell said. “If she’s in the room, you know she’s there.”

For this quarter, Serra receives aid from lab TA Charles Lawson, first year biology grad student.

Lawson, who typically sets up lab materials and provides the introduction to activities, said that his first impression of Serra was of someone who obviously had a passion for teaching and was excited to do it.

“She cares about the students, first and foremost, and she wants them to succeed,” Lawson said. “She commands attention, but in a nice way.”