Changemakers: Turning Adversity into Advantage

Following a difficult start to his career at Oregon State, Alexis Serna, ’08, rose to secure his place as the leading scorer in Beaver history and the second-leading scorer in Pac-12 history. Named an All-American by multiple organizations during his sophomore and senior seasons, he was recognized as the nation’s top kicker and awarded the coveted Lou Groza Award in 2005.

After graduating from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in history, Alexis played in the Canadian Football League for three seasons before returning to Corvallis to explore life after football. Today, he continues to serve the OSU community as the director of both Beyond Football and Varsity OSU. As the leader of both programs, he is focused on guiding student-athletes to develop and find their post-college career paths.

Join Serna for a candid conversation on how his three missed extra point attempts during the infamous 2004 LSU game, his friendship with a 12-year-old cancer patient and being cut from the Canadian Football League taught him to use adversity to his advantage.

About the speaker:

After gaining notoriety in 2004 for missing three extra point attempts against the reigning BCS national champion, the LSU Tigers, Alexis Serna, ’08, went on to build a storied football career at Oregon State. As a four-year letterman placekicker and punter, he became the leading scorer in Beaver history and the second-leading scorer in Pac-12 history. In 2005 he received the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker.

Serna earned a bachelor’s degree in history and, post-graduation, played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League. After three seasons, he was released and returned to Oregon to build a career after football. Since 2018, he has served as the director of Beyond Football and became the director of Varsity OSU in 2022.

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The Changemakers live webcast series, hosted by CLA Professor Susan Shaw, features Oregon State alumni who are blazing a path toward justice, equity and community safety and strength. 

During registration, submit questions you would like the host to ask during the conversation.

The Changemakers webcast series is brought to you by the College of Liberal Arts and the OSU Alumni Association.