Congratulations to our Grant County Chamber of Commerce Secondary Teacher of the Year Olivia Lewis!
Olivia Lewis is a remarkable source of inspiration for her students, peers, and administrators, as well as anyone who is struggling to overcome challenges. As a young student, Mrs. Lewis struggled with reading and writing and would eventually be diagnosed with dyslexia as a teenager. In college, she was told by her professor that she would never graduate with an undergraduate degree. Fortunately, she overcame her diagnosis and proved her professor wrong. Through her tenacity and strength she not only graduated with a bachelors in history, but she went on to earn not one but two master’s degrees. Within her first few years of teaching, Mrs. Lewis was recognized for being the 2015 best novice social studies teacher in Arkansas. The following year, she won the James Madison Memorial Fellowship, which is offered to only one teacher per state per year, to earn a master’s degree and the chance to spend the summer studying at Georgetown University.
Fellow teacher, Amber Forbush, said that even in her first year of teaching, Mrs. Lewis stood out above the rest. “She helps all of us strive to be better every day,” she said.
Mrs. Lewis says she has found nothing more rewarding than teaching because of the impact she makes on her students. “Everyone wants to make a difference in the world,” she said. “With teaching, I get to watch it happen right in front of me.”