Ageless advocacy

For the common college student, the first two years of higher education are the easiest part of earning a degree. The classes are new and exciting, adult responsibilities are relatively few and there isn’t much drive to get involved with anything outside of parties and friends.

Hannah Fisher is not a common college student.

Currently a sophomore at Portland State, Fisher was appointed a member of the State Board of Higher Education over the summer. The State Board is the governing body of the Oregon University System, and Fisher is responsible for representing student interests during State Board meetings, deliberations and financial planning.

Fisher also represents an oft-overlooked segment of the PSU student population��-students with disabilities. Last year, she was hired as outreach and advocacy coordinator for the Disability Advocacy Cultural Association (DACA), a position she still holds, and as director of university affairs for student government.

Fisher said she gets involved in PSU’s community because she is interested in real changes being made, rather than talking about student issues and not taking student actions.

“Basically, if I’m not helping other people, I’m not happy,” Fisher said. “I recognize students who are in need of advocacy and I just jump on it because I want to bring about positive change across the university.”

Fisher and former head coordinator Michael Malinowski formulated a plan to build a solar-powered wheelchair recharging station on campus. The station, which would allow electric wheelchair-using students to dock with it and recharge their chairs should they run out of power during the day, was to be placed in the South Park Blocks.

Due to contention with the city of Portland, which owns the park property dividing campus, DACA could not build the recharging station in its original location. However, Fisher’s efforts kept the project alive, and the station is expected to be built near the Urban Center Plaza at Southwest Montgomery Street and Sixth Avenue during this academic year, Malinowski said.

“Hannah really got the ball rolling on this one, and she is very tenacious,” Malinowski said. “She is a force of nature when she gets behind something and that’s why I hired her last year.”

Fisher is currently lobbying to create a statewide board for students with disabilities that would connect and combine the respective resources of disability resource centers at each of the universities in Oregon.

Fisher also serves as a board member for the Student Alumni Relations Group and she said that, after conversations with Lindsay Desrochers, PSU vice-president of finance and administration, the group is focused on increasing the rate of students who graduate from PSU. Fisher is particularly focused on retaining students with disabilities, because she feels that Portland State is a great campus for such students.

“Portland State is a great home for students with disabilities, especially considering how well-developed the resources are for them,” Fisher said. “That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty of progress to be had, but it’s definitely a superb campus.”

Jesse Cornett, interim assistant to the president for government relations, said that he has worked with Fisher in the past and has helped her navigate the public affairs system of Portland State. Cornett said that he is constantly impressed with her enthusiasm for her work, and that he expects to work with Fisher on myriad issues regarding her State Board membership during her two-year term.

“Hannah is a great student with an eye towards civic affairs and public service,” Cornett said. “We need more of that on campus.”

A graduate of Grant High School in Northeast Portland, Fisher hosted a regional television show, “Teen Edition,” about teenagers and fashion in Portland, before she began attending PSU in 2006.

Fisher also worked at Buffalo Exchange, a local thrift store chain, in the summer before her freshman year.

Fisher said it was a twist of luck that got her involved with former student body president Courtney Morse.

“The show was very regional but it was a great experience,” Fisher said. “After that died, I just randomly walked into Morse’s office and applied for work, and the appointment to affairs director was what made me decide to go through with my PSU education.”

Fisher is currently enrolled for 14 credit hours and steadily approaching a degree in political science. When asked what plans she has for the future, Fisher was bashful.

“I don’t know where I’ll be in five years,” Fisher said. “I don’t even know where I’ll be at the end of this year. But I know I’ll situate myself to help people no matter what I do, and that sense of adventure is what makes it fun.”