Teacher awardee Liza Capacia is a sudoku master

Among the teacher awardees that will be honored by the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas Inc. (FACC) at the Asian Library this Saturday, May 20 is a sudoku trainor named Liza Capacia. 

Liza Capacia is from Nasugbu, Batangas province and she came here in North Carolina under the Educational Partners International LLC. 

Liza now teaches at South Mecklinburg High School. She is a Math 2 teacher specifically but her license covers teaching for grades 9 to 12 under the Charlotte Mecklinburg School.  

Liza would always remember travelling to the US alone by herself as well as the first time she traveled outside of the Philippines.

But she is happy now and more inspired after her family moved here in North Carolina a year after. 

She describes South Meck as one of the best high schools in North Carolina as published by the U.S News and World report  in April last year. 

One of her traits is being grateful which is why she would like to thank her husband's cousin and her college classmate Erwin Vizcarra who convinced her to apply for an EPI.

She admitted that this is her first out of the country job experience. “I am still in cloud nine,” Liza said. She had two memorable experiences here in Charlotte. 

One of the is teaching the students at South Meck how to dance the Philippine native dance of tinikling. 

Liza said her students didn't see anything like it and were intrigued by how it was performed.

Liza said it allowed her to tell them about the Philippines and its culture. 

She was surprised to learn that one of her students applied for an exchange student program to the Philippines. 

She also remembered with fondness the time when she was being observed by the school's assistant principal. 

Her mentor showed her the assistant school principal's text message which read thus: “ I am at Capacia's room, she is phenomenal. I want to fill up my department with many Capacias.”

She said it was flattering and it motivated her to work harder and give her best in teaching the students. A Sudoku (numbers puzzle) master, Liza has 16 years of teaching experience in her resume, of which 13 were spent at the Ramon Pascual Institute at Paranaque, her own alma mater. 

“Sudoku challenged and served me well. I bought a book and finished it myself, then a college school in the Philippines invited me to compete,” Liza said. 

Liza said her school landed third in a field of 20 private and public schools in a sudoku competition. This teacher loves to watch TV hosts Steve Harvey and Ellen Degeneres because she loves to laugh. 

In all her years teaching, Liza said she has never been late nor absent from work. This Saturday she would be joining other Pinoy teachers at the Asian Library in a simple ceremony hosted by the FACC as a tribute to Filipino educators./Susan Palmes-Dennis