ALUMNI
TINA TALIERCIO
else. “I’ve always been interested in planes, and always interested in flying.” Tina did an introductory flight at the airport in Fishers, and liked it so much that she signed up for lessons. “When I went out to
One of the fondest memories for Tina Taliercio (’05) is staring out
my on discovery flight, it was the most amazing thing ever.”
the window in Miss O’Malley’s grammar class. The action would prompt Miss O’Malley to print out pictures of cute dogs with
She got her private pilot’s license at Tom Wood Aviation and her
messages like “Pay attention, Tina!” and then tape them to her desk.
professional flight ratings through ATP Flight School. She became a flight instructor for several years before getting hired
“Tina was unique. She was her own person,”
as an Embraer 175 First Officer at SkyWest Airlines,
longtime Sycamore teacher, Mary O’Malley,
who contracts with airlines like United and flies
says. “She was comfortable being herself no
smaller planes for them, on shorter routes.
matter the circumstances. She was memorable because of her unique creative mind and keen
Transitioning to a new career, especially one like
sense of humor.”
becoming a pilot, requires learning a significant amount of new information, Taliercio believes her
“When I was in Middle School, I was very much
Sycamore experience made the process a lot easier.
kind of wrapped up in my own little world,” Taliercio admits. “Ms. O’Malley had a really
“You develop really good study habits (at Sycamore),
encouraging way to make me stay engaged in class. She liked to give
and (with becoming a pilot) there’s so much information that we
me little notes. It was all very positive and I think that that’s why
are expected to learn and to be able to understand. In training for
I came away with such a positive experience, where at a different
this airline, it was really useful because they really throw all this
school, it could have been totally different.”
stuff at you. I had already learned how to process information, how to actually interpret the information, and understand which is
________________________
important in the big picture.” ________________________
Taliercio graduated from University High School in 2009 and Kenyon College in 2013 with a degree in Philosophy. It was after college that she found herself still searching for the path to her
Taliercio says she didn’t know what she wanted to do for a career
professional passion. While seeking that which would make her
and was willing to wait for the answer to come to her. Her advice to
happiest, she worked in the western United States for a couple years.
Sycamore students who are headed to high school and to college, who may not have found their passion, is a message of patience. “I
“Originally, I went to college thinking I would study a creative
would tell students not to limit themselves. I didn’t really think that
writing or Spanish, and I didn’t end up doing either,” she says. “I
this path was available to me until I was in my twenties,” she says. “It
do still love to read, and I read a lot. After college, I started working
was just never something that occurred to me that I could go do. If
at the outdoor industry and doing physical stuff in California and
you think you have strengths and weaknesses, the strength could get
Wyoming. I worked for about a year in California for a company that
stronger, or the weakness can become a strength. There are a lot of
took middle school and high school kids climbing and canoeing.
options out there.”
There was a little bit of a ‘what should I do with my life’ moment
Taliercio currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and still has her
that Tina thinks “most people in their early twenties go through”
Caesar’s English and Word Within a Word books. n
so she came home and decided that she wanted to try something
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