As recipient of the 2017 CNR Distinguished Teaching award, Sofia is being honored as a professor who has excelled in undergraduate teaching and who has made significant contributions to the teaching mission of the College of Natural Resources.  Following, are some of the stellar comments from students regarding Sofia's teaching:

"I can confidently say that without Sofia’s guidance and support as well as infectious enthusiasm for teaching and research that my undergraduate experience would not have come close to having the same level of impact on my life and overall growth. In fact, I would most likely be on a completely different career path, one that did not include plans for graduate school. Given the role that she has had on my own personal and professional development as both an undergraduate and graduate of UC Berkeley, I can not think of anyone more deserving of such an award........For me, it is really difficult to express in words the amount of inspiration and influence that Sofia has had on my own personal growth. I feel this letter in no way does Sofia’s efforts and influence any justice; however, it is clear that my interest in pursuing research can easily be traced back to Sofia."

"Professor Sofia is a teacher dedicated to helping us master the materials. I am in her EEP C118 course this semester. Besides the textbook, she used topics from our lives, making lectures more interesting and understandable. She always uploads lecture notes in advance, in case we would like to preview the materials ....... After every lecture, she posts all the notes on the board for people sitting in the back who may not be able to see the notes during the class. As a teacher, she is reliable....she is willing to teach step by step to understand one (piece of) material. Her office hour is always packed with our students. She cares about our students, she responds (to) our emails fast, even during the weekends. I really appreciate being her student."

"Sofia’s class was my first introduction to industrial organization. I knew little to nothing about the subject but had heard that it can be a bit of a dry topic. Sofia’s course was anything but dry. Her lectures were lively, fun, and full of ties to the real world. She conducted entertaining demos in class to illustrate concepts and assigned us projects where we were free to pursue topics that interested us and tie them into IO.  I went in with low expectations, and it quickly ended up being my favorite econ class I’d taken at Cal."

ARE is very pleased and happy for Sofia. !Congratulations!  

Sofia will be honored at the CNR commencement ceremony Sunday, May 14th, 7 pm at the Greek Theater.