Hidden Gems: Meet Therese Vogel of Tiffin Academy of Hair Design

Today we’d like to introduce you to Therese Vogel.

Hi Therese, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I always knew that I wanted to be a hairstylist as I was growing up. When I was in high school my guidance counselor told me I was too smart to pick this career, I should go to a 4 year college and really get a good job. That just made me more determined to be successful at what I wanted to do. I am from a big family so I always promised myself that I would have all the things my parents couldn’t afford to give to 9 children.
After high school I attended the Tiffin Academy of Hair Design and got my cosmetology license. I worked in a salon for about 2 years before I got a phone call from the school asking me if I wanted to come teach. I took that opportunity and began working my way up the ladder. I went form teaching full time to eventually running the school for my boss when he was not in. In 2001 I was able to purchase the school when my boss was ready to retire.
During my 40 years of working at the Tiffin Academy I have had a lot of amazing experiences. For about 10 years I traveled around to other cosmetology schools that are accredited under the same accreditor as my school. I was a peer evaluator for new schools or schools going through the renewal process. Later I was elected by the other schools around the country to serve on the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences board of commissioners. I served a total of 6 years. The last 2 of those years I was the board president.
In 2023 I was appointed by Governor DeWine to serve as the private school member of the Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber board. I am still an active member of that board.
Today I continue to run the day to day operations of the Tiffin Academy.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life is always full of ups and downs. My biggest struggle when starting out was more with my confidence than anything else. I spent a lot of time second guessing myself and my decisions in the early years.
Being a working mom also brought a lot of challenges trying to juggle my family and my business.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Tiffin Academy is a nationally accredited school of cosmetology. The school has been in the same location in downtown Tiffin since the 1960’s. We train future salon professionals for careers in cosmetology and nails. We typically have around 40 students enrolled at time. It takes them about a year to obtain the required amount of training hours to be able to test to receive their license to practice.
We currently offer 2 programs of training. The Cosmetology program is 1500 hours of training and prepares the student to perform any services allowed in salons. We also have a manicuring program that is 300 hours in training and prepares the student to work as a nail tech.
We have successful students working all over the state making people look and feel better!

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I would not be the person I am or have been able to accomplish the things I have without my family. My husband and 3 sons put up with a lot while I was building my business!
The previous owner of the school saw potential in me that I wasn’t sure I had and gave me the opportunity to buy the school from him.
I have been blessed with some really great employees through the years that really make things work smoothly.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Tiffinacademy.com