Sofia Santiesteban
April 2011

Staff Spotlight

This past fall, Sofia Santiesteban was recognized with one of the Division’s Distinguished Performance Awards for Supervisor of the Year.

The Supervisor of the Year Award is designed to recognize an individual who demonstrates excellent supervisory skills. This individual is fair and ethical, and encourages the development of staff. This individual has the ability to listen to all points of view and is able to make fair decisions.

Sofia Santiesteban has served as the director for Pre-College and Upward Bound programs for the past 14 years. Her work is to prepare underserved youth in our community for college access. She is responsible for five programs, each of which involve partnerships between the University and local, state and federal agencies and/or foundations.

While much of Sofia’s attention is directed at the youth in our community, she is highly valued by her staff. One nominator wrote, “During the 14 years we have worked together she has never made any of her staff feel like you work for her, but instead we work with her for the program and the students in our programs. Sophia always encourages suggestions and input from her staff in her decision-making process. Sofia exemplifies integrity, hard work, intensity, and compassion while working with students and staff.”

We are proud to have Sofia Santiesteban as a member of The Student Affairs team!