"I know which of those spooky campfire tales is fake," read the e-mail from 14-year-old Serena Juchnowski. "It's 'Fear Doesn't Age.' If I didn't win the contest," continued her note, "would you consider publishing my spooky story anyway?" Serena had indeed been one of two junior NRA Members to correctly judge which out of several Halloween-themed stories was true. She had also included a spooky campfire tale of her own, a clear stand-out winner, and that is why I claim the unique pleasure of having been the first to publish this young dynamo's work.
That was seven years ago. In the interim, Serena went from being a Youth Education Summit (Y.E.S.) attendee, to a chaperone. She went from being a subject of our Rising Shooting Stars series, to the resident columnist who writes it. After graduating from college, she "graduated" to writing for NRA Women as well. Now, she has gone from shooting Sierra Bullets to representing the company as the newest member of Team Sierra.
Serena's writing is matched only by her shooting. Serena competes in High Power Service Rifle and Long Range Palma. Some of her accomplishments include earning her Distinguished Rifleman’s Badge before she turned 21 and earning the Palma Junior Achievement Award. She is a member of the USA Young Eagles developmental team, which represents the USA in long range matches around the world.
Her favorite advice for new shooters is, “Focus on your journey and do not compare yourself to other shooters. Shooting is about improving, learning, and having fun (and firearm safety of course). At the end of the day, you are only competing against yourself. A score cannot measure what you and your soul gained from the experience.”
Team Sierra's tagline is that they are "a community of hunters, shooters, ambassadors and content creators who shoot straight when it comes to their bullet choices." Adding Serena to their lineup is, in my humble opinion, proof that it's true. Just remember, Team Sierra: We saw her first.
