“She’s the player every coach dreams of having.”

Serenity Curry, a recently-graduated senior at Baker College Prep and captain of the girls’ varsity basketball team this year, had an amazing final season in her high school basketball career. Chosen as an Athlete of the Week across the Noble Schools network, scoring over 100 points this season, and celebrated by her coaches and family alike, Serenity worked hard to get to where she’s at.

Her head coach, Rashawn Redmond, was inspired by her dedication to the sport and the leadership Serenity displayed this year.

“During the summer, Coach Lewis and I held a week-long summer camp for basketball. On the first day, Serenity was at the school, basketball-ready, 10 minutes before starting time. She was the only person to show up that first day, and she stayed for hours working with me and Mr. Lewis on different skill sets. That dedication carried over to the basketball season months later,” Redmond said.

And that dedication paid off. Serenity was the team’s leading scorer all season. She attributes much of this success to her hard work and skill but also to her incredibly supportive family.

“My mom, siblings, auntie, and cousin have been my biggest supporters this season. They are always proud of me and motivate me before my games,” Serenity said.

Family has always been central to Serenity. Being the youngest of five siblings, she’s had a great group of people backing her and her dreams. She’s particularly close with her sister Sharde, who comes to all her games and sits in the front row to cheer Serenity on. Sharde also helps Serenity stay on track.

“If Serenity is lacking in something, I will call, and we will fix the issue,” Sharde said. “I have always told her to make sure her grades are good and to focus on basketball—everything else will be taken care of.”

Sharde also respects her sister’s grit.

“I’ve seen her after bad games. Sometimes, she would cry, and then she would ask to go to the gym and sweat it out,” Sharde said, “I am so proud of her dedication and hard work. The fact that she never gave up says a lot.”

She’s been watching Serenity ever since she started playing competitively in 7th grade…

Serenity fell into basketball the way a lot of other kids do— she often found herself at the park by her home playing pick-up games with her neighborhood friends. To Sharde and Serenity’s family, it was clear she had a natural talent and a passion for playing ball.

“I saw the work ethic and motivation she had from the start. We knew she was going to be great!” Sharde shared.

When Serenity got to 7th grade, she saw this talent in herself and started playing competitively on a team. That year, she joined a travel Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team and has never left basketball since.

She vividly remembers how it felt to win one of her first tournaments in AAU.

“I made a three-pointer for us to win the tournament. That was a cool feeling. As winners, we were given chains with a basketball on the end of it. And, of course, I still have it to this day,” Serenity said.

Since then, Serenity has played on an Iowa-based team, The Dream Chasers, and won countless tournaments. She also played on her Iowa high school team during 10th grade. When she moved to Chicago from Iowa right before her junior year, she decided to attend Baker because one of her cousins was already attending here. It wasn’t a question that she was going to play basketball when she arrived at Baker—it was a given.

Serenity started her senior season off on the right foot with the basketball camp and had big goals right from the start. During her senior year, she wanted to “become a better-skilled basketball player, continue building leadership skills, and teach the skills already knew to teammates.”

“And, of course, I wanted Senior Night to be the best night of my basketball career,” Serenity said.

From there, she said it was about continuously pushing herself to improve and take care of her health. All that work led to Serenity not only being the lead scorer but also a leader in rebounds for the season. Her passion and work ethic spread to her whole team as well. For the first time since the 2017-2018 season, the Baker girls varsity team racked up multiple wins—four total. Her teammates appreciated her leadership all year.

“This year felt much more team-focused,” Tykaha T., a junior and one of Serenity’s teammates, said.”When we were off track in practice, she would make sure to help us get back on track. She also helped me practice plays.”

Desire Davis, a freshman on the team, added, “Every time I passed her the ball, she scored. She was a huge reason why we won our games. During practice, she would help us with plays and kept the motivation up.”

Even though Serenity’s career as a Baker basketball player is officially over, she has planted the roots for the program to continue to grow at Baker. The momentum and skills the team gained this year with Serenity’s leadership and tenacity will help push her underclassmen forward next year.

As for Serenity’s future, she was recently accepted into her dream school, Purdue University, where she wants to study education. While she has not made her final decision on where she will study in the fall, she knows that she will join organized basketball wherever she ends up. She also knows that she will always have a cheerleading section full of family and friends back home. 

“She is a superstar that inspires me in so many ways,” Sharde said.