1. Department of Psychology
516 High Street
Bellingham, Washington 98225-9172
(360) 650-3187
Kristi.Lemm@wwu.edu
Active Minds Changing Lives
July 15, 2015
To Whom it May Concern:
I am writing to provide an enthusiastic recommendation for Ashton Macaulay. I have known Ashton for
almost two years as his MS thesis advisor and graduate course instructor. Ashton distinguished himself among his
peers in the MS program in Experimental Psychology at WWU, maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout the program
and completing all of his degree requirements within a two-year window. He achieved this by setting ambitious but
realistic goals for himself and consistently following through with the work needed to achieve his goals.
As Ashton’s thesis advisor, I gave him a great deal of freedom in choosing his research topic. He became
interested in academic dishonesty (as a research topic, not a personal choice!). Because I did not have any expertise
in this area, Ashton needed to take the lead in conducting a literature review and planning a study. I was impressed
with Ashton’s ability to work independently, while also being responsive to constructive feedback. I enjoyed my
weekly meetings with Ashton because he showed up to every meeting prepared and he was always excited to
discuss what he had done as well as his upcoming tasks. Ashton also responded well to adversity. He was initially
somewhat shaken when members of his thesis committee expressed concerns about aspects of his thesis at his
proposal meeting. He responded by bucking down and doing the necessary work to meet and exceed all of their
expectations, and his final thesis defense meeting went off without a hitch. Ashton presented results from his
research projects at a major national Psychology conference and also gave an excellent talk at our departmental
research showcase.
As coordinator of the Teaching Assistants, I am in charge of assigning graduate students to TA positions
and evaluating their performance. Based on the strength of his statistical skills, I assigned Ashton in his first year
as a TA for Psych 301, which is the first required undergraduate stats/methods course in our rigorous three-course
sequence. In addition to regular grading responsibilities, Ashton led a section of 25 students (under the faculty
instructor’s supervision) and provided feedback on multiple drafts of research proposals and papers. Ashton’s
performance in two sections of 301 was excellent. The most difficult TA assignment in our program is Psych 303,
the final course in the undergraduate sequence, in which students are required to propose and conduct an
independent research study and write up the results, all in a 10-week quarter. The TAs are responsible for reading
and approving study proposals, advising students on their projects, and editing multiple drafts of research papers. I
reserve these assignments for my very best graduate students, and I had no hesitation assigning Ashton to be a TA
for 303 every quarter during his second year. The feedback from his faculty supervisors was uniformly positive.
Also importantly, the rigors of TA responsibilities did not keep Ashton from completing his own coursework and
research in a timely manner.
I feel fortunate to have had Ashton as a student in my program and in my lab. He is enthusiastic, intelligent,
and hard-working. He is also easy to get along with, and he is clearly well-respected by his peers and other faculty
members. I am confident that he would be a great addition to your organization. If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Kristi Lemm
Associate Professor of Psychology