1. Vaiala Beach School
Eveni Carruthers Drive, Vailima
PO Box 619, Apia
SAMOA
Office: (+685) 20518
Staffroom: (+685) 22436
Email: vaiala@samoa.ws
www.vaialabeachschool.blogspot.com
07 November 2016
To whom it may concern
Re: Tanya Southgate
It is my pleasure to provide this reference for Tanya Southgate.
I met Tanya more than eleven years ago when she volunteered her time to Vaiala Beach School (VBS) which
is the prominent private school in Samoa. It was immediately apparent that Tanya’s extensive skills and in-
depth knowledge, work ethic, professionalism, positive ‘can-do’ attitude and personality would be a valuable
asset to my business. As a result Tanya was appointed Chief Administration Officer for my School and has
been so for the past eleven years.
Tanya joined VBS at a critical time as the school was growing at an alarming rate and the processes I had in
place were manual and not robust. Her computer skills meant that she quickly modernised all processes at the
School. She wrote the complete Human Resource Policy Manual, designed assessment and reporting
processes for the staff and introduced an automated accounting system to the school within the first few
months. Tanya’s business acumen and knowledge helped reveal significant hidden financial benefits for the
School and its ongoing development.
Tanya has outstanding public relations skills and communicates exceptionally well with all those she comes
into contact with, which is particularly important in this multi-cultural environment. Tanya has first class
skills at an executive level. She is approachable and often defuses potentially difficult situations through
effective communication. Tanya is both a leader and a team player. Tanya willingly takes on any challenge
thrown her way and is always working on ways to improve and streamline existing processes.
Tanya is extremely dedicated, honest, reliable, has an exceptional work ethic and is proactive. She has an
impressive ability to multi-task and consistently maintains the highest standards. Tanya effectively runs
Vaiala Beach School and I am able to take extended periods of leave knowing that my school is in very
reliable hands.
Tanya’s decision to return to New Zealand for family reasons is a great loss to Vaiala Beach School. I would
hire Tanya back in an instant and I am confident that that she will be an asset to any employer and I highly
recommend her to any endeavour she chooses to pursue.
Please feel free to contact me for any further information.
Yours sincerely
Lorraine Williams
Principal & Sole Director