Forest City, Iowa - Ms. Kari Olson is getting a special surprise as she's honored with her Golden Apple Award.

"I am a little shocked and very honored,” says Olson, a Forest City middle school teacher.

After deciding to follow in her mother footsteps Ms. Olson has now been teaching for the past 15 years and is now a Golden Apple Award winner.

"My mom is a teacher, she was a teacher in Garner and I always told her, 'nope, no way I’m following in your footsteps,' but once I got to college things just changed and I realized, you know, that this is what I want to do."

And she has been making a lasting impact on her students, like Krystal Albertson, who nominated her.

“She’s been there through a lot with me and she's helped me and motivated me to get all of my work done, and I feel like she's very inspiring to young teens,” says Albertson.

It's that and helping students who may struggle with certain subjects.

“I personally don't like math at all, and I never really have, so I think that's where I have the most trouble with math and stuff and she made it so I actually like math,” says Albertson.

As for Ms. Olson, she says her ultimate goal is to be a change agent and help her students succeed.

“To build strong relationships with my students, I want them to know that I’m here for you, I care about them and I’m providing them with a great learning opportunity," she said.