1. Dear Admissions Committee:
Jack Sheahas askedme to write a lettersupportinghis application,andIam veryhappy
to do so.
Jack wasa studentinmyEnglish301 class.The classis a second-semestercomposition
course basedon readingsinliterature. Jackprovedtobe an excellentstudent,working
diligentlytoearnthe A he receivedinthe course. Duringlecture/discussions,Icould
count onJack to ask relevantquestionsandofferinsightful analysis;insmall group
discussions,he wasaspark ignitingvigorousexchangesof ideas.
One of Jack’smostadmirable qualitiesasastudentishisdeterminationtoimprove.
While Iurge studentsto come to myoffice hours,relativelyfew do.ButJack did—with
the intenttobecome a strongerwriterandliteraryanalyst.Through perseverance and
hard work,he improvednicely,earningA’sonhislaterproposalsandessays. I
emphasize thispointbecause manystudentswanttonagtheirwayto an A while others
are happyenoughwithaB. Jack was different.He wantedto learnhow toimprove his
writing,andthat’s exactly whathe did.
The followingsemesterI came to know Jack ina differentrole:studenttutor-in-training
at ARC’sWritingCenter.Thisuncompensatedtrainingrequires15 hoursof shadowing
an instructorwhoworksindividuallywithremedial writingstudents.Jackwasassigned
to shadowme as I workedone-on-one withstudents—usuallyabout10-15 minutes
each. Once again,I wasimpressedwithJackduringthese observationhoursbecausehe
was at all timesattentive andprofessional.AndJack’swinningsmileandsincerity
combinedtomake studentsfeel verycomfortablewithhim.I’mdelightedtosaythat
Jack washired at the endof histrainingperiod,andhe isa great additiontothe Writing
Centerstaff.
Whenapplicationsforcollegeadmissionare manyandavailabilityislimited,admission
officers mustconsiderwhatanapplicantbringstothe institution:integrity, inquiry,
ingenuity. Withthatin mind,IrecommendJackSheaas a mostworthyapplicant.Thank
you.
If I can be of furtherassistance,please contactme at nugentm@arc.losrios.edu
Sincerely,
Mary Lou Nugent
Professorof English