Alumni Highlight: Mandi Fisher

To many people, New Century College (NCC) alumnus Mandi Fisher, BA Integrative Studies '08, demonstrates the lasting versatility of her NCC studies. With a concentration in family studies, and a minor in social work, Fisher is now the program supervisor for Northern Virginia Family Service’s Healthy Families Prince William program. From her NCC coursework to experiential learning to internships, Fisher maximized her opportunities and applies many of the research and communication techniques she learned as an undergraduate in her daily work.

In her current role, Fisher manages a staff of six who provide education and outreach to young children and their families. The Healthy Families program goals include preventing child abuse and improving child health and development. As such, Fisher and her team work one-on-one with vulnerable families and help parents understand the importance of positive parenting and connect families with community resources (such as food pantries, legal support, affordable housing, etc) that can help them provide a solid developmental base for their youngsters.

Fisher came to this role after serving in the Teach for America program as a first grade teacher in Phoenix, AZ. In her classroom, Fisher felt that many students could not meet educational goals due to challenges they faced at home. Often, her students came to school tired, hungry, or unable to focus.

Fisher said, “ You can’t teach a student how to add if they are upset about something that happened at home.”

Often, Fisher would call or meet with parents and used communication techniques she refined in NCC classes. She said, “I learned to ask questions to get to the root of what’s going on. That way, I could approach parents in a much more understanding way… Rather than tell them their student failed at school, I asked them how things were at home and could often figure out why their student was struggling.”

These conversations, coupled with her teaching experiences, led Fisher to understand that children need stable, nurturing home environments if they are to succeed at school.

She said, “I felt that students entered the school system set for failure—which led me to consider their home life and the importance of teaching parents the basics.” After completing her Teach for America service, Fisher began working with Healthy Families Prince William program to help families establish positive habits that home which support healthy child development.

In her work with families and her staff, Fisher often thinks of classroom discussions and projects from her time at NCC.

Fisher said, “[At Healthy Families], we do a lot of sensitivity training and discuss the roles that culture and gender play when interacting with people. I often use strategies that I saw my NCC professors use in class when I work with my staff.”

Fisher continued, “As a student I had to work with people different than me, various backgrounds, different ways of thinking, different schedules, different expectations, different work ethics, etc. Group projects were always a challenge, yet I now appreciate the practice I had at this in NCC. In the real world very little can be accomplished on your own. Learning to work collaboratively and learning to cooperate with those different than you to accomplish a common goal is a skill all NCC students learn & one that has served me well both personally and professionally since.”