1. December 21, 2015
To whom it may concern,
I am writing this letter to recommend Austin Simundza as a candidate for a position with your organization.
I had the opportunity to teach him in Introduction to Marketing Management in Fall 2013 at Illinois State
University. He is an excellent student who has the ability to successfully complete tasks individually and/or
as a group, great communication skills, and valuable work experience in Marketing including sports
marketing. Furthermore, he has a strong passion for sports and great potential to understand and manage
the business of sports.
During Introduction to Marketing Management, Austin was always motivated to learn new things and
demonstrated his ability to quickly and accurately understand theoretical concepts in Marketing. In addition
to learning theoretical concepts, he was also excellent at applying knowledge from this course to real
business, which has been emphasized throughout the semester. His excellence in the application of
knowledge especially stood out when he participated in a marketing project with two other students to
assess current marketing strategies of a local pizza restaurant in Ottawa, IL, and make suggestions to
improve the business. Based on their thorough examination and Austin’s work experience as a part-time
worker in the restaurant, his team keenly analyzed current strategies and made feasible and actionable
suggestions. The results of the analyses and recommendations are delivered as a written paper and a final
oral presentation. Austin led the project team by coordinating the project activities and communicating
successfully with me. Throughout the project, I saw that he has true leadership skills which helped others
keep on the right track and that he took responsibility willingly, which led to better performance in
collaboration with others. Furthermore, his team did an excellent job in communicating the findings of the
team project in words as well as in writing.
As Austin and I have built up a good teacher-student relationship, he has explicitly expressed his interest in
sports marketing and talked about his future career. Reflecting his enthusiasm for sports
marketing/management, Austin worked as a Game-Day operations intern for the Illinois State University
Hockey Team during the fall 2014 season, and volunteered to coach a Little League baseball team in
Ottawa, IL, from April 2012 to July 2012. Through these valuable experiences in the sports management
setting, he not only came to better understand what sports managers/marketers should do but also
confirmed his true zeal for sports marketing.
Finally and most importantly, Austin is a delightful person who exudes warmth, a positive attitude, and,
professionalism. One of the most impressive things about him in addition to his academic achievement and
experiences in sports marketing is that he always has a smile on his face. I believe this positive mindset
leads to the good work ethic, proactivity, and professionalism that he has shown continuously. It is my fond
hope that you will give his application the full consideration it deserves. I could not recommend him more
strongly. I would be happy to speak with you if you need further information.
Sincerely,
Woojung Chang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Illinois State University