SAM Certified Trainer – Exceptional Service Award 2020

Teacher Sofia joined S.A.M San Mateo in January 2018 during its pre-opening phase. Since then, Teacher Sofia has demonstrated unusually meritorious performance and exceptional service to the Center and its customers and to the S.A.M brand as a whole. If there ever is a “perfect” employee, Teacher Sofia would be it. In her more than two years as a Certified S.A.M Trainer, she has never reported late for work. She comes to the Center 30 to 45 minutes before the classes start. She comes prepared for the lessons for the day, taking the time to review the topics and the appropriate anchor activities for each student. She is not content with the given CPA activities in the worksheets, but continues to research and come up with other activities. This is one of the reasons why she keeps her students engaged and motivated to learn. Her students could also feel Teacher Sofia’s genuine love and concern for each one of them, and they reciprocate this love to Teacher Sofia. These are examples of feedback and praises we received from the students and the parents:
“You’re doing a great job, Teacher Sofia. You’re very patient and sincere.”
“I love you, Teacher Sofia.”
“You’re the best teacher.”
“You’re my favourite teacher.”
“Teacher Sofia taught me well.”
“My son/daughter loves Math now because of Teacher Sofia.”
“My daughter is very comfortable with you.”
“She likes Teacher Sofia.”
“Thank you for being patient.”
“I entrust my daughter to you.”

In Teacher Sofia’s almost three years stay with S.A.M San Mateo, the Center has never received any complaint/negative feedback against her. This is testament to Teacher Sofia’s consistent outstanding performance and service.

Teacher Sofia also exhibits excellent leadership competencies. The Center Owner had frequently been out of town or out of the country in 2019, but Teacher Sofia stepped up and took charge of the Center. The Center’s operations went smoothly even in the absence of the owner, thanks to Teacher Sofia’s management skills and genuine concern for the Center. Her promotion to Assistant Center Manager/S.A.M Certified Trainer was definitely well-deserved. At present, she continues to co-manage the Center effectively.

When the health crisis hit the country and the Center had to immediately transition to online learning, Teacher Sofia’s creativity and innovative spirit helped the Center cope. She initiated systems and procedures to help the Center Owner and the other teachers in the transition. These include the use of google sheets to track and monitor attendance and progress of students and training her co-teachers in the use of Zoom. To this day, she continues to selflessly share her ideas in making the online classes fun and engaging. She is always eager to share her work, thoughts and ideas not just to the Center but to the whole S.A.M organization.

Teacher Sofia’s dedication is beyond question. In April, the area where she resides lost power for several days. So as not to miss her classes, she went to her uncle’s house to conduct the online classes there, but still taking the necessary health protocols. A few days ago, she suffered a fracture in her left foot. A few hours after the accident and still in too much pain, she was conducting her online classes. Her love for the students and S.A.M propel her to continue delivering excellent service.

Teacher Sofia is one of S.A.M’s most valuable team member and her desire to grow and contribute to the organization’s success has to be recognized.