Darris Serrano, a Wright State University (WSU) Spanish professor, won the prestigious 2025 Pedro Correa Vázquez Literary Criticism Essay Award for her book “Voices in Global Times.”
The Pedro Correa Vázquez Literary Criticism Essay Award is an annual prize presented by Panama’s Ministry of Culture to recognize excellence in literary criticism and other literary categories.
The decision was made by a jury of literary critics who ultimately decided on Serrano’s book. Evelyn Muñoz, a writer for the Ministry of Culture, shared why Serrano's work was selected.
“The winning work was highlighted for demonstrating maturity in the critical and essayistic craft, with original ideas and pertinent to the Latin American, Panamanian and global literary work,” Muñoz said.
A short sample of her writing was submitted to her home country of Panama for review of her book, which highlighted the struggle and perseverance of women across the world.
“The project was to talk about the global voices of women that have been enclosed in discrimination, even in matrimony. I felt that it was an opportunity to show the great and very solid thinking of women since the medieval ages,” Serrano said.
Serrano was born in Panama and came to the U.S. in 1997 to study at Michigan State University (MSU), earning her bachelor’s degree in Humanities with a Specialization in Spanish, her master’s degree in Comparative Literature and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Cultural studies.
Serrano credits her professional success to coming to America for her education.
“I studied at MSU and it changed my life forever. My life can be divided between before and after arriving at MSU. I learned so much and for the first time, I really understood what it was like to have fun in a class and how the communicative approach worked,” Serrano said.
While at MSU, Serrano got her start up in teaching, working in school as a Spanish consultant and a graduate teaching assistant before leaving to become a full-time professor at WSU.
Serrano has been a professor at WSU since 2005 and has continued her own writing while teaching. Her passion for each of these crafts intersect, showing her desire to educate and unite people.
“I think that the mission of a teacher and the mission of a writer is to orchestrate the best of humankind. You cannot spread hatred, but you can spread the truth. I can define myself as a teacher first and then as a writer trying to make the people understand how important the culture of Latin America is to balance the horrible history we have,” Serrano said.
Professor Serrano is still teaching at WSU and she has a big impact on students by sharing her love and passion for Latin American culture.
Dorothy Alvarez, the Senior Spanish Lecturer at WSU, has worked with Serrano for years and has witnessed work with her students.
“Dr. Serrano is an enthusiastic professor who has a scholarly love and passion for the Spanish language and culture. She shares her knowledge and energy with her students, in and outside of the classroom,” Alvarez said.
This award is prestigious, especially in the country of Panama. Serrano was honored to be recognized by her home country for her work, and plans to continue writing.
