1. To Whom It May Concern at Your Institution,
I am writing to strongly recommend Michael Weddington for hiring consideration with respect to your
opening of interest. I knew Michael for the two years as we worked under the same umbrella:
counseling services. The role I played at St. Anthony Jr. Sr. High School was personal counselor, working
with students with mental health/behavioral issues. In the time I had to work alongside Michael I gained
a good sense of his performance ability and had the opportunity to judge his character. He ended
employment end of June, 2010, due to medical and family priorities, but I have been in touch with
Michael periodically since his departure. Just an example of his character: he is so dedicated he
continues to follow up on how things are flowing at the school, how projects are turning out and how
students are doing.
Prior to his hiring, the college guidance counseling (academic) program was not up to par. Michael
turned things around by bringing stability, consistency and a professional outlook to guidance. He set
up a solid program in which many students found success in their acceptance to their desired college. I
would like to discuss the components that have led to such a successful program.
First off, Michael met one on one with each student, beginning with their junior year (some students
their sophomore year). He investigated and prodded students in order to gain insight in areas where
students excelled. Parents were also invited to add valid information. Michael introduced the Naviance
program to St. Anthony - a highly professional, complete evaluative program to help students learn
about their personality, learning style and so forth to narrow down possible majors for college. The
students and parents found great success using this particular program. In addition, teachers were able
to access information and learn how to best instruct each student.
One of Michael’s greatest strengths lies in statistics and other hard evidence data. Never before has the
school seen such thorough, descriptive statistics in terms of test scores, graduation rates and so forth. I
could ask Michael how many St. Anthony students have applied to Northwestern colleges and I could be
sure to get a figure right then and there. He does his homework and he shares his findings with the
remainder of staff and faculty. As a teacher, it is helpful to know what their student’s strengths are,
what subject overall seems to be the most challenging and where their students stand nationally
amongst other students. His communication skills are top rank and this quality will create much success
with Michael and those who will be working alongside him.
He is very confident in his ability to assist students with financial aid and scholarship opportunities. As
scholarships became available, it was sent to all students, faculty and staff so all knew about the various
opportunities. Coming from a small island community, college is not always pushed by student’s families
and/or community. Many students come from families who own their own business or who are
expected to take up the same trade as mom or dad. Michael had great ability to get those who would
not necessarily apply for college, to be interested in venturing out to explore college as a possibility.
When finances or other resources became limited, he worked hard to look for scholarships so as to
remove one less barrier to attending college.

2. Without getting into too much detail, Michael is very competent in the professional world. He has great
computer skills, grant writing experience, experience in collaborating with other community
professionals, running meetings and so forth. He can balance an outgoing, laid back personality with a
gung-ho, persistent and assertive approach.
I would like to conclude by saying that Michael is an extremely hard worker. We shared a program
together, called Guidance, where we provide an 80 minute class to all students each month on topics
such as health, emotions, drugs and alcohol, violence etc. Working with Michael was a pleasure, as he
was a great team player, always ready to support and help wherever needed. He is the type of co-
worker where if he does not know the answer or a way to help you, he will go out of his way to find out!
Whatever project or assignment he is connected to, he puts 110% into it. This is a quality that is not
found in everyone. Please understand that any company or institution would benefit greatly with
Michael on their team. I’d like to add that Michael is self-directed and will use his time wisely. He does
not need someone to push him or walk him through instructions. In fact, this last couple of months he
has been separated from St. Anthony and has been working on his own. During his free time, he chose
to focus his attention on his family and to work on entrepreneurial work; always looking for a way to
express his creativity and love for people.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Malorie Chong, MSW