COCOA, Fla. — This week’s Everyday Hero leads by example with an open heart and a listening ear as she guides and mentors students so they can be set up for a successful life.

For Tammy McCoy, it is about “peeling back the onion.”

"You may have to pull back a few layers to get to that inner person and to engage," McCoy says.

And the people she is trying to reach are students at Cocoa's Endeavor Elementary School.

"I approach them in a respectful way, and they see that," she says. "And in return, they give me respect."

After retiring from the insurance business in 2008, she came back to her native Brevard County and began substitute teaching.

That led to volunteering and mentoring at Endeavour, which is a community partnership school.

Her goal each day is to make sure students and parents know about the resources available at the “hub,” which is a one-stop shop for learning, health care, counseling and even a frequent food pick-up site.

"Education is something that will take them to the end," McCoy says, who was the first of her family to go to college.

She says she is grateful for her parents' sacrifice and guidance, setting her up to succeed, which is why she is so passionate about passing those ideals on to her students.

"Someone saw that potential in me, and I feel it's only right to share that same idea with children coming on," she says.