When she walked into Oxford Falls Grammar in Year 7, Tia Olsson-Veal didn’t know anyone, but the course of her life changed when the school’s dance captain approached.
“I was always passionate about dance,” Tia recalls.
“But it wasn't until I moved to Oxford Falls that the passion really like took off. In year seven I joined not knowing anyone, but then this Year 12 dance captain came up and she was just so nice. At the time, she was like an adult to me, like she was a giant! But I decided, I want to be like that and make other kids feel welcome.
“Throughout my whole dance career at Oxford Falls, I put in every effort I could to get that Dance Captain position. It could also set me up to go and be a dance teacher, and help me understand how to talk to younger kids.”
“My dance teachers at the school both had been to ACPE (the Australian College of Physical Education) and they really encouraged me to come here, because it’s the only place in NSW where you can train to be a dance teacher as well as a PDHPE teacher in schools.
“I had a lot of drive to get into here. I knew where I was going, so I tried hard in the right subjects. My parents were really supportive.”
Tia enrolled in the Bachelor of Dance Education at ACPE – a unique four-year course that will qualify her as a teacher, providing a pathway into a career where she can move from being dancer to dance teacher.
“I was quite lucky, I always knew from a very young, that I wanted to be a dance teacher and do something that wasn't a desk job and where I could teach kids,” she said.
Heading off to start her degree on her own was daunting after being surrounded by family in her Northern Beaches community, but Tia forged ahead and within a day, had found a new second family at ACPE.
“Orientation day was the scariest thing in my life, because I had always gone to open days or school with my parents or my sister and would always be with someone I knew, but I didn’t know anyone else when I turned up, and when I walked in, I saw a girl in front of me and I was like, okay, just do it Tia,” she recalled
“Then I went up and was like ‘Hi, I’m Tia,” and she was like “Hi, I’m Chloe” and we’re still friends to this day.
“It’s good because everyone’s in the same boat as you, not knowing anyone, and especially going to a college like this, the first day was actually quite fun and the teachers were really understanding.
“Because ACPE is small, you get to know everyone really well. I know the ladies at the front desk really well and if I have a problem I go straight to them. And you can never get lost, really.”
Tia is committed to building a career in dance, aiming to work within the school system with an eye on potentially opening her own dance school one day.
“I think it's a really the best way to get into professional dance teaching and getting those jobs at high schools; getting the experience to teach – you learn things that you wouldn't elsewhere.
“Because I had such a good experience with my dance experience at Oxford Falls, I want other people to experience that. I want to share that because I was lucky enough to have it.”
