Photo Courtesy of Voice of San Diego
Nick Serrano will never forget what his family members said when he came out at 15 years old.
“You know, you’re never going to be anything if you don’t change…’ I remember, very intuitively, being like, ‘Okay, I’m going to show you,’” Serrano said.
For Serrano, current Deputy Chief of Staff to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and chair of the San Diego County Water Authority, that became a turning point. One that lit a fire under him and led him to the roles he has today.
Serrano grew up in the South Bay, raised mainly by his mother after his parents’ divorce.
“I don’t have any memory of them actually being together,” he said. “I ended up in South Bay schools as a result of, quite honestly, that was where my mom, a single mom, could afford to live and buy a house.”
He attended Eastlake High School, where he graduated in 2008. After he graduated, his mother was ready for him to work.
“She was tired of paying my bills,” he said.
With her help, he landed a job at the District Attorney’s Office through a student worker program from the County government.
Serrano stayed at the District Attorney’s Office for two years, where he found his passion for serving the community.
“I thought government was where I wanted to be,” he said. “Because there’s no greater gratification than knowing that you’ve worked hard at a nine-to-five, and the work that you’ve done has made somebody else’s life better.”
At the same time, he enrolled at Southwestern College, a decision encouraged by his mother. Serrano said his mother always expected him to go to college.
“Southwestern was where I felt was the most comfortable step for me, and I’m always glad that I did ,” he said.
Serrano was part of Southwestern College’s Associated Student Organization (ASO), where he used his experience from the DA office to navigate through tough times at Southwestern College – the school’s accreditation was being threatened; meaning all of the courses were not going to be recognized by other institutions.
“Having that happen to our school, particularly one that serves South Bay communities, was deeply concerning, so the student government was very involved in that because we needed to be involved in the process of trying to retain that accreditation,” he said.
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Southwestern eventually won that accreditation battle. But Serrano faced other challenges. When a superintendent left Southwestern, Serrano was on the selection committee to hire the next one. Those experiences taught him the value of service.
“It was a really formative time, I just remember all those experiences, those long hours, being able to, kind of the same thing as public service, being able to be on campus and be doing something that is in furtherance of all of my fellow students,” he said.
For Charles Clark, an adjunct professor of Political Science and alumni of Southwestern College, seeing former Jaguars succeed is a great source of pride.
“You know that they’re capable of certain things,” he said. “That gives you a certain amount of assurance that whether you vote for them, whether you don’t vote for them, whatever the case may be, that you have a certain level of confidence, that you know what they’re capable of.”
Serrano transferred to San Diego State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in political science. He later found a job opportunity, an internship at City Hall. That internship connected him to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
“The internship here at City Hall solidified for me that this is what I want to do to continue to help people solve their problems in their community and work for good elected officials,” he said. “Staying there as an intern until a position opened up, choosing to become a community representative, a communications director, run his campaign for state assembly, work in the state assembly as a communications director, choose to run his campaign for mayor, and then choose to be part of his administration and continue showing up every day.”
For Dr. Gerardo Rios, a professor of Mexican-American Studies and History at Southwestern College, it is important for diverse leaders like Serrano to step up.
“It’s kind of like having a biology teacher who is Mexican American, or who is Latino, Latina, who is African American,” he said. “You start wondering, wait a second. That person looks like me. That person speaks my language. That person speaks my cultural language. That person is fluent, not only in the dominant culture, but in my immediate culture. That’s incredibly important.”
Serrano has been deputy Chief of Staff since December 2020, focusing his work on the betterment of San Diegans lives.
Serrano will leave office in 2028. He will continue to dedicate his time and effort to serving the community of San Diego, hoping to leave his mark on the city.
“To quote the mayor, I hope to leave the city better than I found it,” he said. “My hope is that by the time that we have left, we have put the city on a better path forward, a more responsible path forward, and one that sets the city up for long term success going forward.”
