TAMPA, Fla. — Orange Grove Middle Magnet School dance instructor Mandy Arroyo says she fell in love with dance while growing up in Tampa.

“So much like all the kids here, a lot of my friends started when they were two, little babies, but I came to it (dance) in middle school and it was amazing. Changed my life," Arroyo said.

Arroyo says she started dancing when she was 11 years old. 

“I am from Tampa born and raised," she said. "I went through all of the schools here, the performing arts schools, and it was amazing."

Arroyo has been teaching at Orange Grove for 12 years. Before that, she taught at Plant High School.

"Getting to share that with my students, helping encourage them, helping find their passion, helping them grow, really is what gives me all my good feels, and it’s why we do this job," she said.

Part of the job Arroyo loves the most is watching her students grow and learn new skills.

“Just seeing them fall in love with dance and become artists, because that’s really what it’s all about," she said. "It’s not just dancing. It’s that lifelong passion for arts."