Linfield Professor Rewarded for her Outstanding Service to the College.By: Alyssa Townsend Linfield College wouldnt be the very well recognized institution it is without the people who work hard every day to better its programs and students, among these supporters is recent Edith Green Distinguished Professor Award winner Deborah Olsen. The Edith Green Distinguished Professor Award is awarded to one outstanding professor every year since its founding in 1980. Since being at the college in 1992 Professor Olsen has held many positions necessary to the wellbeing of Linfield including former history professor, competitive scholarship advisor, and previous director of academic advising. Olsen is also known and praised for her role as supervisor on the Linfield Colloquium program. All incoming freshmen go through Colloquium to help assimilate into the college lifestyle, at the same time making friends and learning about the plethora of opportunities available to Linfield students. Colloquium helps students have cohorts that are in the same boat as them said Liz Atkinson. Atkinson is a Chemistry professor as well as a colloquium advisor who has previously worked with Professor Olsen.Deborah Olsen was an incredible individual to work with. She helped design colloquium, in an effort to help with freshmen with retention and transition from high school to college. It gives them a sense of belonging and makes Linfield home. She organized Colloquium from the very beginning and it has now transitioned into the great program it is today, said Liz Atkinson.Students have been known to hold off taking a history class until they were able to take it from Professor Olsen. Many of my students thought she was a wonderful instructor and very dynamic professor commented Atkinson. As a competitive scholarship advisor Olsen helped many Linfield students apply and win the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Atkinson remarked on Professor Olsens role in Linfields competitive scholarship program, She took on a ten person job alone with the Fulbright Scholarship. She did a lot of one on one mentoring and made Linfield an extremely strong competitor with these scholarships because of her work. Even though Olsen is no longer a competitive scholarship advisor, she has established a scholarship to help the students of Linfield even in her absence. The Deborah M. Olsen Public Service Internship provides students with the opportunity to expand their education into practical use in the real world. By learning outside the classroom students are preparing themselves for their future competitive field of choice.Linfield wont be the same without such an influential woman, but after 20 years Professor Olsen is on to new ventures starting with her current trip to Croatia.