Felipe Sartor asked for a letter of recommendation for graduate school. The letter provides details of a capstone project Felipe completed for an upper level class taught by the author. The complex project involved improving shipping processes for a milk company with 120 pickup locations delivering to two production facilities using 18 trucks. Though an international student, Felipe led the three person team to success through his skills, persistence, and ability to address ambiguity and keep teammates motivated. The author recommends Felipe for graduate school based on his classroom performance, communication skills, research ability, and willingness to work well with others.

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04/26/2015
To Whom It May Concern,
Felipe Sartor asked if I would write a letter of recommendation for him. I am happy to write such
a letter, as Felipe would be a good graduate student. I have known Felipe for one year from an
advising and teaching perspective. He completed an upper level capstone undergraduate class
that I teach. The class requires that a large process improvement project using lean concepts and
discrete event simulation to test ideas be completed by a team of students working with a
sponsoring company. The project was to improve the shipping process for a large milk
processing company. There were120 pickup locations with each location having different needs
delivering to two production facilities using eighteen trucks. The project was complex and
ambiguous. In addition, there were only three students on the project, two international students
and one student from the United States. Felipe was the team member that made the project be
successful even though he was one of the foreign students. He learned how to use the modeling
software, he visited with the sponsor and myself, and he took the time to understand all aspects
of the class. Such a situation where an international student becomes the team leader in such
context creates stress and many students would have not done as well as Felipe. However, Felipe
is proactive, has a set of good skills, and persistent, such traits helped the team stay on track and
helped to address the ambiguity and develop a sound deliverable. He was also able to help the
other team members work through their frustrations and to keep them motivated and productive.
Felipe also listens well and follows direction well. His willingness to work well with people, his
portrayed written communication ability, and his research performance indicates to me that he
would do well in a graduate program.
In addition to the above traits, Felipe is always in class and is fun to work with. I recommend
Felipe for graduate school.
Respectfully,
Scott Metlen
Ph.D. Associate Professor
Department Head, College of Business and Economics, University of Idaho