Olga Clawson

My journey in education began with my mother, who was literally my first teacher. I never went to preschool or early childhood education - my first formal schooling was in kindergarten. My mother taught me Spanish when I was very young and supported me through a medical setback when I needed surgery on one of my eyes. When we talked about my post-secondary goals, she asked what I wanted to do with my life, and I looked at her and said, 'be a teacher.' She was my motivator. I started at Hillsborough Community College, earning my associate's degree in education. Although I was always a high achiever in school, my parents never discussed going to an Ivy League school - they really valued me staying close to home and always being safe. After my AA, I went to University of South Florida in Tampa. My senior year at USF was incredibly challenging - my father was diagnosed with colon cancer, and I found out while sitting in a literacy teaching course. The irony was profound because I have always used stories, books, and literacy to overcome my own challenges. I almost dropped out because I felt like I wasn't able to be there for my dad when he needed me. He spent most of that year in a hospital bed or in his room sick. Almost every day, I had to wrestle with the question of why I shouldn't just give up. What kept me going was remembering the deep-rooted reason why my dad came to live in Florida - he wanted us to have a good education. He and my mother would always drill into my brothers and me: 'Just be safe and get your education.' Even though I had every reason to drop out, when I thought critically about that decision, I realized that deep down inside, his whole purpose for being here was so that I could get an education. It was a very important lesson and a full circle moment for me. Today, I am an entrepreneur working on finalizing my master's degree in education leadership. I founded AI Ed Tech Consulting Group, which is in the process of being finalized with the state. My key responsibilities include staying up to date with best practices in the educational field and making sure that whatever content I create for my own business reflects the values I want my past and future students to embrace, like academic integrity. At the heart of my business is understanding AI and how to use it with integrity. Right now, I implement my teaching background with my own children. Although I'm not registered as a homeschool mom, I still consider myself a teacher to my own children. I've had many struggles as a young adult - I struggled with communication, with identity, really understanding whether I should pursue a life of being a stay-at-home mom or pursue a career. I went through a divorce in 2020, and after that, my struggle became when I would be a wife again because I wanted to have that family and be able to check off all the boxes. I'm turning 40 this year, and I spent many years just kind of not really having any sense of direction. Once I got into this program in leadership, I started to really have to look within myself and make some important decisions about who I truly wanted to be.