Bassem Hraki is recommended for an engineering position in the chemical process industries. He impressed his professor with his academic ability and commitment to learning, ranking in the top 11% of his class. He displays qualities like being engaged, asking good questions, and striving to understand materials. Bassem also works as an undergraduate research assistant and is taking an advanced chemical engineering course. In addition to strong technical skills, Bassem has good interpersonal and communication skills through demonstrated empathy, oral and written abilities, and being part of social groups. His bilingualism would also be an asset for international operations. The professor strongly urges considering Bassem and feels he would be an excellent addition to any engineering organization.

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January 31, 2010
Subject: Recommendation of Bassem Hraki as an engineer in the chemical process industries
It is my great pleasure to recommend Mr. Bassem Hraki as an engineer in the chemical process
industries (CPI). I have known Bassem since he took my course entitled “Introduction to Chemical
Processes-CHE 2410” in the fall of 2008. During that course, he impressed me a great deal with his
academic ability and commitment to learning.
CHE 2410 is a gateway course to chemical engineering, and separates the adults from the children.
Bassem was definitely an adult in this class, ranking 11th
in the course. This puts him in a very elite
group, for the class consisted of 68 students. Bassem stood out in the course from day 1 as one of the
most engaged students. He asked many good questions, and seemed very determined to understand
the material. His homework was among the neatest of any submitted. Bassem continues to display
these qualities in my course "Mass Transfer Operations-CHE 3341", which he is taking in the spring of
2010. A further example of his commitment to learning is his work as an undergraduate research
assistant in the Department of Chemistry. These qualities will serve him well as an engineer.
There is no question in my mind that Bassem is capable of high academic achievement. However, the
requirements in today's socially interactive workplace require that the engineer not only have
command of the technical content, but should have good interpersonal and communication skills. I
believe Bassem has these skills in addition to great academic ability. From very early on in my
acquaintance with him, Bassem has demonstrated great empathy with others as well as excellent
ability to communicate both orally and in writing. The oral report he submitted for an energy
efficiency project was extremely well written. Bassem is bilingual in Arabic and English. This would
be a significant asset to a company with operations in the Middle East. With regard to interpersonal
skills in general, Bassem seems always to be in the middle of a group of students who work, study,
and play together. This likewise bodes well for his future as an engineer.
The chemical engineering profession will be the better for having Bassem among its ranks. I feel he
would be an excellent addition to any engineering organization, and I myself would work with him
anytime. Therefore I strongly urge you to consider Bassem’s application very seriously. Please feel free
to contact me if you should require additional information.
Sincerely,
Theodore F. Wiesner Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor
Ted.Wiesner@ttu.edu