1. To whom it may concern:
My name is Charlie Weaver and I’m the President and Publisher of Emerald Media Group, the independent,
student­run media group at the University of Oregon. I’m writing to recommend Samantha Schwartz for a
position at your organization.
I’ve known Ms. Schwartz for a year and a half and have worked closely with her, specifically, this last year
during her tenure as the Emerald PhotoBooth director. The Emerald PhotoBooth is a stand alone­brand
within Emerald Media Group and it operates with a dedicated staff. PhotoBooth was developed as an
in­house promotional group tasked to engage students at different Emerald Media Group events.
It was quickly established that the PhotoBooth could become a revenue­generating brand for the Emerald
outside of its own internal events. In the three years the PhotoBooth team has existed, it’s become a
department that employs more than 15 students and generates $35,000 per year in alternative revenue for
the Emerald and continues to identify new opportunities for its growth.
Samantha immediately proved to be a strong leader and played a significant role in the decision to expand
the PhotoBooth operation this year. During her tenure, PhotoBooth grew its staff from about eight members
to the more than 15 students it currently employs. This expansion also led to the purchase of a second set of
equipment to meet the demand Samantha and her team was able to generate. Samantha and the group
continued to set milestones for the department throughout the year. This last spring, PhotoBooth booked a
record eight events in one week with four of those events taking place within 36 hours of one another — all
of which were overseen by Samantha.
In the last year, I was able to experience first hand how valuable Ms. Schwartz was to PhotoBooth and
Emerald Media Group. In that time, not only did I consistently experience Ms. Schwartz utilizing her
exceptional management skills to help students grow, but I also witnessed, and continued to witness, her
willingness to lead by example and be an active, well organized individual that collaborates with and
continually mentors the people she works with.
Specifically last winter, Samantha identified a dip in quality and professionalism from her team and
immediately reached out to me for advice on how to handle the situation. We both discussed and developed
an action plan that would address the situation in a way Samantha felt comfortable with that she could take
to her staff. The outcome of those discussions and collaboration resulted in a PhotoBooth team that
redoubled its efforts to offer a professional, high­quality service the team could be proud of.
It is for the above reasons (and many more too expansive to list) that I am recommending Ms. Schwartz for
a position within your organization. Please feel free to reach out directly to me with any questions you may
have. Thank you for your time and your consideration.
Sincerely,
Charlie Weaver
President and Publisher, Emerald Media Group | cweaver@dailyemerald.com | 541.346.5511 ext. 317