This is an interview with Anna Olson originally from Boone, Iowa. She is now a political science and journalism senior at Iowa State University. She grew up in Boone and was known by many school administrators for her sparkly clothes and loud personality. She competed in dance from age 3-18. She states, “I gained confidence and made long-lasting friendships at dance”. After working through Franklin and the Boone middle school, she attended Boone High School and found her passion for journalism through the amazing Boone TV mentors and Julie Roosa from the DMACC journalism camp. She graduated from Boone high school in 2019.
Her parents are Sue and Donovan Olson. Her Mom works as a Development Assistant for Iowa State University Museums and her Dad works for ISU Extension as the Story County Regional Director. Her brother, Ryan Olson, works as a Finance and HR Professional at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and is actively involved in Democratic efforts in the area. Her grandparents and most of her family live in and near Boone County. She recognizes that her family has been extremely influential in her passion for politics, teaching her never to give up on what she believes and to advocate and be kind to those who need assistance. They also told her if she is going to have a loud voice, she might as well use it for good!
At ISU, she has been involved in the Iowa State Daily under the local, state, and national political beat; the First Amendment Club as Vice-President; Women in Prelaw Club as the former President; and working at several campus jobs. Outside of her college experience, she served as a press intern for the nonprofit Iowa Resource For International Service (IRIS); a legal intern for the employment law firm Fielder Law Firm; Legislative Intern for Representative Brian Meyer; Consumer Protection Intern for the former Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller; and most recently a press intern for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. As a recent Hugh S. Sidey scholarship winner, she will attend the White House Correspondence dinner in April as a White House Historical Association Honoree. She is looking forward to exploring The Washington Post’s newsroom and the White House Press Room and meeting journalists and professionals during her time in D.C.
Why interested in politics: From a young age, she participated in campaigning and parades for her dad, Donovan Olson, when he was a State Representative of District 48 from 2003-2011. She continued her interest in politics as an ISU Daily reporter, reporting on the Iowa caucus, interviewing, and reporting on Democratic candidates for President Tom Steyer, Andrew Yang, and Bernie Sanders. She was asked by the Boone County Democrats to run their social media page, which also gave her more information on grassroots organizing and local politics. She plans to continue her interest in politics because she is passionate about human rights, antitrust, and the environment. She will be attending law school to continue and pursue these passions.
Your experience with Amy: In the fall of 2022, Anna had the amazing opportunity to work as a press intern in U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office. She describes it as a great opportunity to learn more about politics and our nation’s capital by serving the first elected female senator from Minnesota. She researched news articles about Senator Klobuchar and MN delegates, attended and recorded information from committee meetings, prepared press releases and media advisories, and assisted in speech writing.
What you might like to do post law school: After attending law school, she hopes to be a practicing attorney focusing on public interest law. Her plan is to either open her own practice, or use her skills to become a political correspondent, or even run for office someday.
The Iowa Women’s Democratic Caucus wishes Anna well in her endeavors and knows she will be a rising star in our Party’s future.