Aces of Trades: Olivia Davis now does much more than just 'play school'
She came back to give back.
“Growing up, I was super creative and observant,” recalled Olivia Davis. “I always loved making up dances, activities, and games to play with my younger brother and the neighborhood kids. And I always loved playing school and getting to be the teacher. I will never forget teaching my little brother multiplication and division in our backyard before he had even made it to third grade.”
“I always loved playing school as a kid,” Davis added, “but never really had a strong interest in teaching once I grew older. While in college I found that I really enjoyed helping people and realized I could do this through coaching and mentoring the girls track team, which as a Harding High alum, is a very special program to me. I’ve always believed in giving back to the community and this was the perfect opportunity.”
Wearing a lot of hats at Harding High School
Today, Davis does several things at Harding High School. She’s the marketing career technical education program instructor, the varsity volleyball coach, the advisor of the Harding DECA Chapter, and she oversees the student-run coffee shop called the Harding Brew.
“There has always been talk of starting a school store at Harding,” Davis explained. “I remembered hearing about a coffee shop that once ran for staff at Harding and knew this would be a great place to start, especially if we could find some of the old equipment and get it back in use. After doing some digging, we were able to find an old espresso machine and some miscellaneous tools.”
“My year two marketing class wasted zero time writing the business plan,” she continued, “and within weeks we pitched our first proposal to Jen Musbach, the Harding principal at the time. With her feedback in mind, we took our proposal to the Harding staff meeting. For most of my students, this was the first time they ever had to present in front of a large group of people — teachers at that — and they absolutely aced it! The Harding Brew held a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Marion Area Chamber of Commerce March 31, 2023. We’ve been open and operating ever since.”
Davis' journey back to Harding High
Davis was born in Mansfield but moved to Marion when she was 4. She graduated from Marion Harding H.S. in 2015, then went to Tiffin University where she played volleyball and double majored in business marketing and art administration. After graduation, she moved home to Marion.
“After graduating in 2019, I did a lot of freelance marketing work while coaching track and field at Harding and filling in my long-term substitute role at Grant Middle School," she said. "The summer after my sub role ended, the marketing job at Harding opened and I was super excited to put my name in the hat.”
“I became a teacher in August 2020,” Davis added. “I had already been coaching in the district and was super excited for the opportunity to give back to the community and work with students/student-athletes in a more involved role.”
A tireless worker
Marcia Pitts is the college and career pathways supervisor at Harding High.
“Olivia is an excellent example of a committed educator,” assessed Pitts. “Last year, Olivia worked tirelessly to start Harding's first DECA chapter to give her students yet another way to grow as leaders and pursue their passions. Those who decide to go beyond the foundational courses get the opportunity to practice entrepreneurship through the student-run Harding Brew coffee shop. Olivia seeks to find engaging projects embedded with real-world connections. She loves our kids, our district, and our community!”
“The thing I love most about being an educator is getting to build community around learning in my classroom," Davis responded. "I don’t think I’d enjoy doing what I do anywhere else. I’m very grateful to be where I am and I’m hopeful to make an impact in someone’s life as my past coaches and teachers have for me.”
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at news@marionstar.com.
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Olivia Davis and her life-long love of teaching and coaching
