Ms. Tiffany's students frequently return to visit her. Some come back as Youth Leaders; some still play the violin; one even served her as her waitress at a restaurant. All have been impacted greatly by her influence.

"I'm trying to give kids something I didn't have," she explains. She more than anyone understands the power of a consistent, quality arts education. And her philosophy is not only understood, but actively encouraged, at the Institute of Music. Here, "you can actually have a program grow," as she puts it, compared to those in public schools, which have a much less stable shelf-life. This consistency allows her to feel more connected to her own students and engage with staff who genuinely support her. 

Initially, she was drawn to the violin becuase of its meticulous style of playing, and the fact that it was a rarer instrument to pick up. "It was just like something that you didn't see too many people playing, especially where I lived. So I wanted to try it. I wanted to be different," she says.

In her youth, Tiffany could never shake the feeling that she was always trying to catch up to her peers. Her school had trouble pinning down a stable orchestra teacher to the point where she once had four instructors in a single year. In college, she struggled with her first Intro to Music Theory Class at William Paterson University, where she concentrated in Strings. She lacked the same foundation as other students. The lack of funding and accessibility in her area made it difficult to progress in her craft. 

Daniel Quispe, an Institute student who has worked with Ms. Tiffany both as a student and youth leader for four years, was able to grow tremendously under her wing. "It was easier to grasp the fundamentals of violin with her. She explained it in a more fun way, and that's what I really enjoyed about her classes. Without Ms. Tiffany and her teaching style, it wouldn't be possible to play these really difficult pieces of music that I can play now."