Realizing a Bigger Dream

Guest Writer: Len Olson, First Year Math Enrichment Tutor

I thought I would share with the world how a man who lived in a log cabin in Canada, became a President, and then joined AmeriCorps chose such an unconventional way to finally follow a dream to teach and work with kids.

As I entered college, I knew exactly what I wanted in life; to become a millionaire by age 35. How I was going to achieve that goal never entered my mind, but undaunted, I got married and then realized I better figure it out quickly. 

I decided I really wanted to go into teaching, so I started down that path in my education.  But as I got to the student teaching part of the curriculum it occurred to me that if I completed the program, I would also take a vow of poverty along with it. Thoroughly confused, I graduated with a degree in history, and after a few short-term ‘pay the mortgage jobs’ landed in the computer industry. 

With the goal of becoming a millionaire by age 35 still firmly in my mind, I started working in a warehouse pulling electronic components for $12,000 a year. I knew I was on my way. I had learned early in life, while spending summers living in a log cabin in Canada observing the hard lives that the people in the area lived, that my path to success lay in working smarter rather than working harder.

I began to work my way up the corporate ladder. My wife and I had kids, a mortgage, bills, and college savings, then, low and behold I was already 36. I was not a millionaire, and I realized I still thought often about becoming a teacher. I decided to go back to school to finish my teaching degree. I completed a semester catching up on classes that I needed, but I soon realized once again that I couldn’t earn enough to support my family in the way that I wanted. I continued working in the corporate world.

In 1996, after 15 years of moving up that corporate ladder and doing very well, I helped open an enterprise computing company in Minnesota, and in 10 years we had sales of 32 million dollars annually. I decide to sell out of that company and open another company specializing in virtualization software, enterprise storage, and servers. I was now President and CEO. I was financially set, so I sold the company and retired early. I thought then that I had realized my dream.

After a week of retirement, I was bored. My kids were off living their lives, and my wife was sure she didn’t need me messing up the house, spending our savings, or interrupting her hourly. She told me about AmeriCorps, and I realized that this program could be a way for me to fulfill an even bigger dream.

I became a Math Corps tutor at Southview Elementary School tutoring 4^th graders in Math. After two weeks I realized that this was a great move. People in the non-corporate world actually smile and say supportive things. Everyone was focused on the kids and their improvement. They were helpful, kind, fun, and engaging. No one demanded higher sales, more profits, or cutting assets to increase stock prices. No contracts, leases, payroll, or reviews, and best of all, I was having fun.

My initial apprehensions about my ability to teach diminished as I started receiving good feedback about my abilities. Even better, I was enjoying what I was doing. I’m glad I joined Math Corps, and I have decided to come back to serve for a second year!