5 Young Women for 2024: Leon senior Aria Fisher seeks out 'different perspectives'

When Aria Fisher first arrived as a student at Leon High School, she saw opportunities - for diversity, inclusion, and community. Now president of the senior class, she works to ensure diversity. “As a leader, I like to make sure everyone feels involved,” she said.

Her commitment to leadership and collaboration on and off campus, as well as her academic success, has made her one of Tallahassee's 5 Young Women to Watch.

One of Aria’s motivations is creating more diversity in the voices that are heard at the table where decisions are being made. “There is no uniqueness to hearing from the same groups of people all of the time,” Aria said. “By having different perspectives, we can figure out different thought processes and new ways of doing things.”

Aria was chosen by her peers to represent them as a student representative for both the District Advisory Council for Leon County Schools and the Student District Advisory Council for Leon County, jobs she takes seriously. In this role she has led discussions regarding safety concerns of her peers, like school shootings, which has led to increased safety measures on campus.

“We make sure everyone knows about apps like Fortify that, if on campus, someone brings a weapon or is doing something dangerous, allow us to report it anonymously and authorities will be contacted,” she said.

She enjoyed being part of Youth Leadership Tallahassee, where she honed her leadership skills and expanded relationships across diverse groups of students and community leaders, including getting to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity.

“It was great to get to meet students from other schools and network with people from all over town. Hanging out with leaders helps me to be a leader,” Aria said. At Leon High School, Aria is the secretary-treasurer for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, involved in Student Government as the Spirit Committee Chair, and part of the Pierian Chapter of the National Honor Society.

With long-term goals of becoming a lawyer, Aria feels lucky to be an intern for Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper. “I want to go into law, so I am really thankful to be able to learn so much,” she says.

As a company member of Dance Fusion Studios since the age of 7, Aria feels her best when dancing. “After school and internship, I head to dance and I am usually there for the rest of the night,” she said. “I love all styles of dance like ballet, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, and ballroom.”

Some of her acclaimed moments include dancing in Leon High School’s Black History program and fundraising to promote research in Autism and Breast Cancer. In the fall, she will attend Florida State University as a double major in Dance and Business.

Aria especially enjoys choreography and seeing different dance companies interpret and express music through dance. She rattles off a list of dance competitions where she enjoys performing, and also observing. “It’s fun to see how different choreographers think, and how they express their craft,” she said

Empowering those around her to be informed about issues that affect them, have access to avenues for having their voices heard, and take active roles in their communities is a passion for Aria, and she seeks opportunities to raise awareness for all, saying, “I want to make sure to promote everything, so all students have an opportunity to participate in something they are interested in.”

She admires problem solvers, inclusive leaders, and go-getters, and she seeks the company of those from whom she can learn. Little does she know, Aria Fisher can teach us a lot, too.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 5 Young Women: Leon senior Aria Fisher seeks 'different perspectives'