Taylor Olsen

Olsen’s creative teaching project, “Who Gets Remembered?,” is a student-led civic history project designed to help high school students understand how historical recognition shapes identity, opportunity and community values. Students in 9th through 12th grades will research local and national overlooked individuals and groups whose contributions improved society but were excluded from traditional narratives. Through primary-source research, oral history interviews and archival investigation, students will examine how factors such as race, gender, class and geography influence who is remembered and why. Students will transform their findings into public-facing exhibits and digital stories shared with the school and local community, encouraging dialogue about representation, service and civic responsibility. Olsen says this project will empower students to connect history to present-day citizenship, develop leadership skills and recognize their own capacity to create meaningful change. The Voya grant funds will be used to compensate a community expert, purchase presentation materials, mounting supplies, audio/visual equipment, digitization and research supplies.