Kaplan Aspect’s finest shortlisted for ‘Student of the Year’ Award

Karen van Mierlo de Souza, aged 27 from Brazil, is one of 20 students with a chance of winning the prestigious 2008 “NCFE Student of the Year Award”. By being selected from the 140 students nominated for the award, Karen is already a finalist in the London region, and we hope she can go further. The awards ceremony will take place on 12th November in Newcastle, at which the regional winners and overall student of the year will be announced.

After studying English at the Kaplan Aspect Covent Garden School, Karen went on to excel both at her NCFE Certificate in Customer Relations and in her job placement at Belgian restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien. Starting as a retail assistant at the St. Pancras branch, Karen’s hardworking and responsible approach was soon spotted by her managers. After only one month she was offered the position of retail supervisor, and soon was involved in selecting and hiring candidates for Le Pain Quotidien.

NCFE assessor Julita Greda had this to say about Karen:

“Karen is a reliable, trustworthy and punctual person and others can always count on her. Many customers know her by name and often ask for her while she is not on duty. In my opinion, Karen’s greatest strengths are her enthusiasm and can-do attitude, which really influence and motivate her colleagues and other students. She also achieved a perfect score for level of service in one of her customer relations assessments. Karen really is a superstar and it will be a great shame to see her go.”

To which Karen responded:

“I think helping people is one of the most rewarding things in the whole world – it comes from the heart and brings you such a good feeling. I am so happy to be shortlisted for the NCFE award and it reinforces my belief that when you are open to help others, a lot of good things come your way.”

We wish Karen the best of luck and hope that the grand prize of a trophy and £400 cheque go her way on the night!

For more information about the NCFE Student of The Year Award, click here.

Karen van Mierlo de Souza

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