Some of her students and colleagues spent their spring break at the beach while others traveled with their families to various other vacation destinations. New Prague High School instructor Allison Olson spent a portion of her time away from the classroom learning how thousands of sailors work together aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier at sea.
Olson spent her spring break participating in the Navy Educators at Sea program. She spent 24 hours aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier stationed in San Diego. She and the other educators selected for the program got an up-close look at the operations of an aircraft carrier, from the captain’s chair to the flight deck to below deck to see the power plant of a nuclear-powered ship.
With many of its recruits from the East and West coast areas, welcoming educators from the Midwest aboard the Roosevelt gave the Navy the opportunity to provide information to teachers to take back to their students. Olson plans to use the experience to share with her students as learning opportunities. But first, there was the nerves associated with boarding a tilt-rotor osprey military transport aircraft for the trip out to sea to meet the Roosevelt.
“I was nervous,” she said. “But when life gives you opportunities, you can’t let anxiety stop you from things that are scary.”
Olson plans to use the experience to make her a better teacher. She believes in learning from real-life experiences, teaching in a way that doesn’t come from a textbook. She has seen the teamwork needed to launch an F-18 or an F-35 jet from the deck of an aircraft carrier and the skill of pilots and flight-deck crewmen landing a plane in the dark. She has felt the power of the jet shaking her to her core, she said.
“During the embark, I engaged with service members and officers, explored various sections of the ship, and gained significant insight into the diverse jobs available and the interdependence of the crew,” Olson said. “A particular highlight was the flight deck tour, where I was positioned approximately 15–20 feet from the launch points of F-18 and F-35 aircraft. This experience has provided me with...
To see more on this story pick up the April 16, 2026 print edition of The New Prague Times.