Tia Florence

“I knew I wanted to be an urban teacher and share the life lessons I was taught.”

Tia’s difficult childhood and teen years set the stage for the rest of her life. “My teachers kept me going,” she said. Education became an early escape from the troubles at home. By taking advanced courses, she managed to graduate from high school in three years. After what seemed like countless college visits with On Point’s Sam Rowser, she enrolled at SUNY Morrisville.

Tia now has degrees from Morrisville, Syracuse University and SUNY Oswego, where she earned a master’s in childhood education. She’s a fifth-grade teacher at Seymour Elementary in the Syracuse City School District, and she strives to provide support for her students, just as she was supported when she was in elementary school.

“When my students struggle, I tell them I’ve been there,” she said. “And when they have a problem, we work together to find a solution.”