LuAnna Fisketjon doesn’t shy away from challenges.

While a high school student, didn’t try out for activities because she was afraid of failure. But at some point in her life, she decided trying and failing would be better than never trying at all.

The 2009-2010 school year presents her with a new challenge as principal of the Round Prairie Elementary School. Fisketjon is the school’s first full-time principal. Williston’s New Public School District 8 superintendent Greg McNary used to divide his time between Round Prairie and Garden Valley as the leader of the schools.

Fisketjon is thrilled to be hired at Round Prairie and is excited about the more hands-on opportunities a smaller school offers.

“I think we’re going to do great things there,” she said. She is a 1977 graduate of New Town High School and was an unruly child without much guidance from her family. The oldest of four siblings, Fisketjon often was expected to look out for them.

Fisketjon received plenty of guidance from her teachers, however, and even a high school secretary. She was once a reckless driver as a teen. The secretary sat her down one day and asked how she’d feel if a child ran out in front of her and she hit the child.

Having someone sit down with her and talk to her about the consequences of her actions opened Fisketjon’s eyes.

“I never had someone sit down and put it to me like that,” she said.

She had good teachers whom she considers role models, which set the stage for a job she‘d have later at Williston High School working with at-risk youth.

“I had teachers who had faith in me,” she said, adding she learned one particular phrase to be true: “There’s no bad kids, just bad decisions.”

After high school, Fisketjon went to college for a while and studied elementary education. She halted her studies for a while to work in the oil industry.

Changes in her life persuaded her to continue her college education. She earned a bachelor’s in education from Minot State University to teach physical science.

She taught an introductory course in chemistry at Williston State College for four years. Fisketjon had always enjoyed studying English, and through the state she earned her English equivalency to teach the subject.

Fisketjon then taught seventh-grade English at Williston Middle School for two years. Then she was hired at Williston High School in diversified occupations, where she led the school’s Jobs for America’s Graduates program and worked with at-risk students. She worked there for two years and decided she was ready for the challenge of administration.

“I saw that, to really make change, you need to be in a decision-making place,” she said.

She anticipates earning her master’s in education leadership in May through the University of North Dakota. She’s eager to meet her students.

“I look forward to the kids the most, forming these relationships,” Fisketjon said.

She and her husband, Dave, live in rural Williston. She has five children: Jonathan Aisenbrey, Shanna Johnson, Jacob Aisenberry, Jake Fisketjon and Paige Fisketjon. She also has three grandchildren and a Scottie dog named Rowdy.