A Conversation with Olivia Andrew

Who's Behind the Bulldog?

Today’s episode of Who’s Behind the Bulldog features Olivia Andrew. Olivia co-teaches Geographic Studies with Rachael Powell as well as Introduction to Business. She is also the head volleyball coach and coaches club volleyball on the side.

In our conversation, Olivia shares what led her to the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education Program at CU-Denver and how the hope of closing opportunity gaps and understanding the education system as part of this program helped shape her identity as a teacher. She opens up about how her exposure to culturally diverse literature opened her mind as a person of color who presents as white and how that changed her identity and worldviews. She talks about her strong connections to our students and how Arvada is where she really developed her own voice as an educator. She also shares about her learning experiences and parallels between coaching volleyball and classroom instruction, particularly in the arena of creating safe spaces and building relationships.