Tina Tao

As the Coordinator of Retention and Academic Support, Tina develops strategies and programs to help students feel connected and committed to St. Lawrence. She coordinates efforts on supporting first-generation college students and introducing high-achieving first-year students to future opportunities on campus and beyond. She also provides one-on-one advising to students seeking help with course selection, metacognition (thinking about one's thinking), and a variety of other academic success skills. Her research looks at understanding the experience of underrepresented racially minoritized and first-generation college students taking introductory STEM courses in their first year and how belonging and persistence plays a part in retaining these students in the STEM fields. 

With a background in chemistry, she taught general and organic chemistry labs for a number of years before shifting to Academic Advising. She has taught and advised first-year students in the First Year Program at St. Lawrence. Tina did her undergraduate work at Gettysburg College, completed her master's at the University of Delaware, and earned her  Ed.D. at Northeastern University.