A cherished and instrumental member of the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) community, Rosemary Serra announced her retirement in late 2022, effective at the end of January 2023. She has been at Yale for almost two decades, having served in the role of senior administrative assistant in the YCSC chair's office the entire time.
Rosemary will be dearly missed by countless people at the center, many of whom may not know that she came to Yale after 20 years in the airline transportation industry. “I changed trajectory to spend more time with my young daughter,” she shared, adding that she intentionally sought work at the YCSC. “Yale was a generous employer in ways I needed, and my life-long interest in child development made it a perfect fit! That was 18 years ago, and I never once doubted my decision.”
When asked for three words that friends or colleagues would use to describe her, she listed pragmatic (noting that this has been a major asset for her time at Yale), caring (adding that she truly likes people and finds them fascinating at times), and sweet – on the latter, she said, “that one came from my husband, an adjective that wouldn’t have crossed my mind!”
Meanwhile, YCSC community members submitted words to describe Rosemary, to contribute to a word cloud in her honor. Common words included caring, dedicated, funny, helpful, and warm. “Kind, cheerful, helpful all come to mind,” said YCSC Professor Arietta Slade, “but they simply do not capture her wonderfulness. Let's just say that if everyone we worked with were like Rosemary, it would be a sheer pleasure,”
YCSC Chair Linda Mayes commented, “Rosemary has been with me on so many exciting (and challenging) journeys for the center over our years of working together. All the way, she has been right there – anticipating what is needed, thinking about others, and always going more than the extra mile. I’m not sure I can yet imagine what it will like not to be working together though I know we always stay connected. I am forever grateful, Rosemary, for your ever present, steady support and our working together for the CSC.”
According to Rosemary, it seems the feelings are mutual – she added, “The Child Study Center is made up of some of the most kind and thoughtful people I have ever met. The scope of what they do is empowering and gives me hope for our children’s future. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather have spent the past 18 years. Thank you for the great journey.”