Oliva Canadine / Senior at Fort Lewis College / Art Education K-12

Olivia Canadine is a senior at Fort Lewis College and is the new student teacher for Britt Blasdell the Animas art teacher, she wants to become a teacher so that she can share her passion for art and help every student at animas develop an artistic aesthetic. She shared, “I am a lifelong learner. Being a teacher allows me to teach others and learn at the same time.”

Olivia visited Animas for the first time last year while completing some of her practicum hours for FLC’s Teacher Ed program. During this period of time she learned a lot about the community we uphold at Animas. She shared, “I really enjoyed the community here and the ideas that Britt had for class”.

After COVID she spent time teaching K-5th graders at Park Elementary. It was definitely an adjustment for her in the beginning because with little kids they need more supervision and supplies. When Olivia was teaching elementary school she had to be very precise with her lesson plans and even her timing, but since she has started student teaching at Animas she feels that there is way more flexibility with her lesson plans and she can be less particular about what she teaches.

she states, “It has been really nice coming to Animas and just being able to focus on the art and the projects plus the materials themselves instead of focusing on younger students' behaviors.”

Olivia is willing to also get input from students on art project ideas.

The impactful events in her career have gotten her where she is today. She became a student teacher in the beginning of COVID and she was working with K-5th graders from Monazuma Cortez county for the first time she expressed, “The classes were only 30 minutes and they were crazy!” She felt thrown into this situation because during COVID schools were very understaffed, there was nobody observing her and helping her make assignments. She did it all on her own. This was also hard for her because she could not even send students to the store to buy things.

Outside of school Olivia likes to spend time with her dog named Rex. She takes him outside most days to play frisbee, his favorite game. She shares, “It is always a nice time for me because it is basically my meditation.” When Olivia is not playing with her dog she is spending time making 3D art which is also something that she finds interest in.