Sabrin Mohamed winner of the 2023 Karen Thiffault Award for Enhancing the UTM Experience
Sabrin Mohamed, Assistant to the Chair in the Department of English & Drama, has received the UTM Principal’s Staff Award’s Karen Thiffault Award for Enhancing the UTM Experience.
“The department, quite simply, couldn't be the thriving, dynamic, welcoming place that it is without Sabrin,” her nominator says. “She is, without question, the finest staff member I’ve worked with at any institution.”
She is praised for understanding the culture and needs of the Department in a deep way, far beyond the strict demands of her job description.
Among Mohamed’s achievements are updating and maintaining the English & Drama Department website using Drupal (which she learned very quickly); this website is described by a supporter as one which “continues to provide an elegant and effective portal to the Department and thereby to enhance the U of T experience for students and faculty, and indeed for anyone interested in English & Drama at UTM.”
Another key achievement credited to Mohamed was streamlining the process of collecting and managing requests for extra TA hours; her innovative solution made this time-consuming task more efficient.
As students, faculty, and staff returned from the pandemic, Mohamed made the department’s physical spaces more welcoming by enhancing and decluttering the TA room, staff room, and students’ spaces. As one supporter puts it, "Sabrin’s productivity, devoted commitment to everyday goings-on in the department, and the positive interpersonal, community-minded energy that she brings to her work have been essential components of the UTM Department of English and Drama’s continued success during an extremely difficult period.”
The Karen Thiffault Award for Enhancing the UTM Experience is given to those who provide a high quality of service to their clients, create innovative opportunities, anticipate needs and potential problems, improve the value, efficiency, and sustainability of the services they provide and/or serve as a role model through positive interactions.