'Ignite Good!' Kroc Employee Named National Ambassador
A background and focus on education led Julia DeSerio to Camp Walter Johnson as a member of the staff at the North and South Carolina Music & Arts Conservatory program, where she was immediately taken with The Salvation Army and its mission.
“I quickly fell in love with the Army and what they stood for,” DeSerio states. “What truly drew me in was how the arts are so integrated into worship. I’ve never felt more connected to Christ than I have when I am worshiping in this space. I’m very thankful for that.”
That connection eventually led DeSerio to her current position as the music coordinator at The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center of Atlanta. DeSerio brings four years of experience as a public school teacher to her role, and, with her passion for helping young people, DeSerio was identified and selected for a unique opportunity.
Earlier in 2024, DeSerio was named as a national ambassador for the Global Game Changers (GGC) Student Empowerment Program. This program — which has the motto of “Ignite Good!” and involves lessons following the “Superpower Equation of my talent + my heart = my superpower!” — is project-based and designed for Pre-K through fifth grade. GGC also aims to provide curriculum and resources that are teacher-backed with tools focused on social, academic, emotional, and leadership growth for students.
DeSerio’s initial introduction to GGC emerged from her work with the Miss Georgia pageant program, leading to what she describes as a prime opportunity to “use my platform there in the work that I do within The Salvation Army and utilize the curriculum to benefit youth.” DeSerio is also the first GGC ambassador for the state of Georgia and only the fourth ambassador in the United States.
“We were thrilled to have Julia join our growing team of National Ambassadors,” says Jan Helson, co-founder and board chair of GGC. “Her commitment to helping students build pathways to success through music directly aligns with our Superpower Equation, and her ability to speak to teachers and non-traditional educators means she can be a great advocate for Global Game Changers users across Georgia.”
“The more I learned about the Global Game Changers program, the more I wanted myself and our kids at the Kroc Center to be a part of it,” DeSerio remarks. “Its focus on empowering students to make a difference, all while teaching them essential social, emotional, and leadership skills can really set them on a pathway for success.”
The GGC curriculum is used in classrooms, after-school programs, summer programs, and homeschooling across the country, with documented effectiveness in behavior improvement and student motivation. DeSerio refers to the curriculum as “incredibly flexible,” noting that it is “jam-packed” with options. “It’s been really cool to see the kids buy into the concepts,” she says.
“It’s also a social-emotional learning curriculum, and we have truly seen the benefits of that as well using color-coded emotions,” DeSerio continues. “Kids can identify where they are feeling, and we try to give them words they can choose from that they won’t be able to verbalize in that moment. But they do know how they’re feeling, and they have options to communicate that, and we work with them. It’s really helped with behavior and reaching kids ten-fold.”
The curriculum’s initial implementation at the Kroc Center was within its after-school programming, and it has become a smash hit, with planned expansion into the upcoming 2024-25 program year.
“We started introducing the general concept that [GGC uses] of ‘my heart plus my talent equals my superpower,’” DeSerio notes. “To me, that is a perfect segue into ministry, right? Just thinking about how we can use the gifts that God has given us and our talents.”
“I was immediately drawn to the mission of empowering kids to make a difference with their gifts and talents which aligns well with our ‘Salt and Light’ initiative with youth ministry,” comments Lt. Sam Mhasvi, senior Kroc Center officer. “In ‘Salt and Light,’ we emphasize how God calls us to be influencers and game changers where God has placed us and in our sphere of influence.”
DeSerio and Lt. Mhasvi cite the strong benefits of the GGC curriculum being free and evidence- based, in addition to its alignment with national education and curriculum standards. This is also a program that could be utilized in other Salvation Army units, and the GGC curriculum is designed to either stand alone or fold into existing programming.
“I think having a network within Kroc Centers across the country is key in the work that we’re all doing,” DeSerio remarks. “I’m eager to meet with others within the Army to share what GGC has done for us, and I think we can work together as well.”
“Looking through Global Game Changers’ practical approach of ‘being the good,’ we see it helping us bridge the gap between faith and practical real-life implementation as it demonstrates to our youth how we might practically embody being ‘Salt and Light’ in our communities,” says Lt. Mhasvi. “My hope is we can combine faith and practical action and mold this initiative into a powerful tool for nurturing the next generation of empowered and impactful youth.”