1. U N I V E R S I T Y of H O U S T O N
L. A. Witt Voice: 713-743-3253
126 Heyne Building Fax: (713) 743-8588
Houston, Texas 77204-5022 Email: witt@uh.edu
December 15, 2014
Colleagues:
With this letter, I write to recommend Ashley Moreno for employment.
Ashley earned an A as a student in my industrial and organizational psychology class several
years ago, and we have had subsequent conversations about her career interests. Moreover,
she served me as an optician when I visited her place of employment – Lenscrafters in the
Houston Galleria – about a year ago. Hence, I am familiar her in-class performance, career
interests, and work performance (from a customer perspective). Based on these experiences, I
offer the following:
 Ashley will be graduating from the University of Houston this month with a
Bachelor’s degree in psychology. She attained a grade point average (GPA) of 3.2.
 Ashley’s work ethic reflects considerable maturity and conscientiousness. Attaining a
GPA of 3.2 is impressive in itself. However, unlike many undergraduate students,
Ashley attained this GPA while taking 15 hours of coursework a semester and
working in a job for 30 hours a week. Also unlike many undergraduate students, she
was financially independent from her family, paying for her apartment, utilities, and
car. I understand that she has been working since the age of 15.
 Ashley’s engagement in the community reflects her character and professionalism. She
has been involved in community outreach primarily through her church, including
programs targeting residents in low-income neighborhoods in Houston – a backpack
giveaway, a distribution of 150 Easter baskets, and programs that help residents deal
with drug problems, domestic violence, and bullying. She also has prepared food for
over 100 homeless men, women, and children in the Austin area.
 Ashley has a set of competencies that is uncommon for persons of her age.
o Her work experience has permitted her to develop sales, customer service, and
leadership skills.
o She has excellent interpersonal skills. I observed that her fellow students and
co-workers seemed to respect and like her. I base this on: (a) I expect students
to participate in class discussions; Ashley is among the top 5% of those who
did so effectively (in terms of my assessment of content, frequency of
participation, style of delivery, and student non-verbal responses to her
comments); and (b) I spent a lot of time at Lenscrafters waiting for glasses and
returning for adjustments, so I had plenty of opportunities to observe in-store
dynamics.
o Ashley is bilingual (fluency in English and Spanish).
o In her coursework, Ashley studied statistics, research methodologies, and other
courses that helped her develop analytical and problem-solving skills.
o Ashley comes across as professional, other-oriented, proactive, focused, and
conscientious. I see her as an other-oriented team player who is likely to get
along effectively with people at all levels.
Based on my experience as a former human resources director (HRD) in a very large financial
services corporation and as a professor with exposure to thousands of university students in

2. 2
and outside of the USA, I am delighted to report that Ashley’s academic preparation, real-
world work experience (in retail), character (integrity and other-orientation), and interpersonal
skills uniquely position her well for a career in human resources. She comes across as
emotionally stable/resilient, mature, and fair-minded. Moreover, is someone folks in previous
generations would describe as being “a smart cookie;” indeed, she is among the top 2%
students whom I have instructed at the University of Houston. In sum, I suspect that she
would be a low-maintenance, high-performing employee. I would certainly recommend her to
my HRD friends and recommend her to you without reservations. I ask that you give her
application serious consideration.
Sincerely,
L. A. Witt, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology and Management
Director, Industrial-Organizational Psychology PhD Program