Mia Fisher had a smile on her face and a diploma in her hand at UCSB’s graduation ceremonies in 2005. In her four years as a student and a Gaucho basketball player, she had made thousands of smiles light up in the Thunderdome. Now, a decade later, she has returned to her alma mater with that indelible smile of her own, along with hopes that she can again help put happy faces in the stands.
New head coach Bonnie Henrickson made a good impression on longtime Gaucho fans by hiring Fisher as an assistant coach last month. “Mia brings energy, passion, and people skills to the table,” Henrickson said. “She makes people feel comfortable instantly. I chuckle when I see her in action. It’s a gift.”
Fisher seemed destined for this development from the time she went out into the world from Santa Barbara. She played for eight years on professional teams in Belgium, Bosnia, France, and Turkey. “I made lifelong friends,” she said. “I majored in sociology, and I learned how to understand cultural norms. Meeting people face-to-face is different from watching TV.”