National athletics champion returns to UEA to promote safer sport
By: Communications
An elite sprinter has returned to the University of East Anglia (UEA) to pursue a career in athlete welfare and safeguarding, after spending two years studying and competing in the United States.
Serena Grace, who won the under-23 200m title at the England Athletics Championships last year, has rejoined UEA to study the MSc Professional Practice in Sport with scholarship, a two-year programme delivered in partnership with Active Norfolk.
After graduating from UEA in 2024 with a BSc in Physical Education, Sport and Health, Serena spent two years in Los Angeles studying Psychology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) while competing as an NCAA Division I student-athlete.
Turning sporting success into a career
Through her MSc programme, Serena is working in safer sport and physical activity, combining her backgrounds in sport and psychology with a growing interest in athlete welfare and safeguarding.
The 23-year-old said: “My undergraduate degree gave me a strong foundation in sport, while studying Psychology in America gave me a different perspective on people, development and the psychological side of both sport and life.
“I wanted to bring both of those experiences together and continue developing my career within the sporting industry. My MSc enables me to combine my academic background with practical experience through my placement with Active Norfolk, working in safer sport and physical activity.
“I'm really interested in athlete welfare, safeguarding and creating positive sporting environments, so the course gives me the opportunity to explore those areas while continuing to compete myself.”
The MSc Professional Practice in Sport is part of UEA's postgraduate sport portfolio delivered in partnership with Active Norfolk, giving students industry experience while developing the skills needed to make an impact across the sport and physical activity sector.
Success on both sides of the Atlantic
Alongside her academic achievements, Serena has enjoyed a successful athletics career, including:
- Winning the under-23 England 200m title at the 2025 England Athletics Championships
- Competing at the 2024 UK Championships and Olympic Trials
- Helping her team secure the UK national women's 4x400m relay title in 2026
- Winning bronze at the Big West Outdoor Championships in California
“Becoming the national 2025 under-23 England 200m champion is one of the highlights of my sporting career. I'd previously won bronze in 2024, so coming back the following year and winning the title was a really special moment and showed me that the work I had been putting in was paying off.
However, Serena says some of her proudest achievements have come away from the track: “Graduating from both UEA and CSUN while competing at a high level has required a lot of discipline, commitment and patience, and I feel really blessed to have had the opportunity to experience both.”
‘It feels special to be back where it all started’
Now back in Norwich as a UEA Sports Scholar funded by UEA Sport, Serena says the support she received during her undergraduate degree played a major role in her decision to return:
“It feels special to be back where it all started. UEA was such an important part of my development before I went overseas, and coming back now feels like returning with a completely different perspective.
“From the support of my lecturers and academic staff to the UEA Sport team, I always had people who understood that I had to juggle academics with sporting competitions, and the Sports Scholarship enables me to train and access the support I need right here on campus – making it much easier to manage both sport and study.
“I've grown a lot since I left, both personally and professionally, so it's exciting to see what this next chapter will bring.”
Thinking about studying at UEA?
Discover our award-winning campus, meet current students and staff, and find out what life at UEA is really like at our upcoming Undergraduate Open Day:
Saturday 28 November 2026
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