Syrena Travis is originally from Brooklyn, NY.  During her childhood, she attended ten different schools and lived in four different states.

Syrena experienced various inequalities within the public school system, which peaked her interest in education policy. She received her B.S. in Political Science with a minor in Communications at Appalachian State University. During her sophomore year, she studied abroad in Seville, Spain and served on the debate team.

Syrena is currently a second year graduate student in Public Administration at UNC-Chapel Hill.