Joseph City resident Talaina Fisher has been added to Northland Pioneer College’s nominees to the All-Arizona/USA Academic Team, making her eligible for an Arizona Board of Regents Tuition Waiver to complete her bachelor’s degree. She will also receive a scholarship from NPC.
A computer glitch at Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society that co-sponsors the academic team scholarship, caused Fisher’s name to not appear on NPC’s list of eligible students. She will represent the Holbrook–Painted Desert Campus, joining 12 other NPC students who will be recognized at a luncheon on March 9 in Mesa.
An Arizona native and first-generation college student, Fisher excelled in high school, serving as student body president, and graduated with a 4.07 GPA. She was named the 2014 Youth of the Year by the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce. Her art abilities earned her a scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the nation’s top fine arts schools, where she was ranked in the top 10 percent of the incoming freshman class.
Despite scholarships, the Chicago school proved too expensive. She left after the first year and returned to Joseph City with a heavy student loan debt. Enrolling at NPC, Fisher has been able to continue her education without adding to the debt burden, while focusing on her art practice, volunteering in the community, and jobs as a reporter/photographer for the Tribune-News and as a personal assistant to Tina Mion, whose work is displayed at Winslow’s famed La Posada.
Art has been an integral part of Fisher’s life since she was a small child. The City of Holbrook tapped her artistic abilities and community involvement to design and photograph a billboard to promote visitation to the I-40 community. Response to the billboard was tremendously positive. “This is an example of how art can be a vital part of economic development and provide opportunities to support community interaction and involvement,” noted Fisher.
“I believe art is just as important and influential to one’s development as reading, writing and mathematics. Art is fundamental in developing creative and innovative thinking, and can define a culture both in its current state and from an historical perspective,” she continued.
Fisher plans to pursue her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Northern Arizona University, specializing in Visual Communications.
“The field of Visual Communications provides me with an opportunity to expand upon my artistic ability and pursue a career to include curating events and developing art installations that would bring awareness to the arts and encourage community involvement in the preservation of art,” she concluded.
