Aaron Olsen, also known as Mr. Olsen is a well-known and loved teacher by students. He has been working as a teacher here at Ida B. Wells since 2001 and has been coaching different sports for 25 years. He grew up in Portland and went to Capitol Hill Elementary, Jackson Middle School, and Ida B. Wells High School. When he was a student at Wells he played football and basketball. During college, he moved back to Portland and his football coach asked if Olsen wanted to coach with him. He got right into coaching, and started coaching different sports when he graduated from high school in 1991. When he was coaching and in graduate school he worked various jobs, like working at McMenamins and Shea Jose. Olsen is a Health Occupations (OCC) teacher. Health OCC is a way to promote the physical and mental well-being of people. Olsen has always liked helping people, which is why he said that if he was not a teacher he would want to be a firefighter. He said that he has always loved the idea of helping someone and still dreams of being a firefighter. When Olsen is not in school, he likes to do mountain sports and get outside. He loves the competition and the teamwork he gets out of it.

Written by Lily Petrie, Intro to Communications, Fall 2023