1. To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to give my highest recommendation to Santos De La Paz, applicant for your
position. As director of the Cantú Center at UC Santa Cruz for the past 17 years, I have worked
with thousands of students. Some are works­in­progress; others are well on their way towards
greatness; and a small percentage are exceptional stand­outs: mature and accomplished well
beyond their years. Santos De La Paz is decidedly one of the latter. I have known and worked
informally with Santos for the past four years but it is in the past year that I have worked the
mostly closely with him as his supervisor and been witness to his many strengths. Our center lost
its second professional staff member last year, leaving me to administer the resource center with
student staff only. Santos' skills made it clear that he should be one of two lead interns. He has
proven himself capable of taking steadily increasing responsibility in a broad range of arenas: he
oversees many fiscal operations, he schedules and supervises fellow student interns, he writes
proposals and grants, he serves as the center's GALA Art Gallery curator, he facilitates staff
meetings, he co­moderates a People of Color support group, and oversees many administrative
functions. He is also a talented and resourceful designer and repair­person, beautifying our aging
building and keeping it in good repair!
Santos functions with a high degree of professionalism and maturity in all situations, even
challenging ones where I am apt to get flustered. He is genial and charming, connecting well
with all of the center's visitors. His oral and written communication skills are strong. He is highly
intelligent and has a steep learning curve; I have been able to give him brief instructions with the
confidence that he will master the assignment readily. I am impressed by how he knows when
and how to check in with me in situations where he needs consultation or where he determines
the director should weigh in. He exercises sound judgment around when to take initiative, seek
counsel and implement directives­­a capacity not often found in adults his age. It should also be
noted that Santos has performed in the capacity of lead intern 15­20 hours per week while also
taking a full course load.
I can, without reservations, give my highest recommendation to Santos De La Paz. I assure you
he will be an invaluable asset to whatever projects he is assigned.
If you have further questions about Santos De La Paz's qualifications, please do not hesitate to
email me at ​dabbott@ucsc.edu​ ​or call me at​ (831) 459­4385​.
Sincerely,
Deborah Abbott, M.A., L.M.F.T.
Director, Cantu Queer Center, UC Santa Cruz