A recommendation from Dr. Spiegel who was the program director and professor in the Medical Laboratory Science program at Idaho State University.

1. Kathleen M Spiegel Ph.D MT(ASCP)
Professor Emerita
Idaho State University
Pocatello Idaho
83209
spiekath@isu.edu
April 16, 2015
Dear Selection Committee,
It is with great pride and pleasure that I am submitting this letter in support
of Panachon Lor for consideration in your scholarship program. I was the
originator and for 25 years the director of the Medical Laboratory Science
Program at Idaho State University. I am currently retired from both the
Biology Department and the MLS department at Idaho State University. I
had Panachon Lor in the MLS class finishing in August of 2014. He was
enrolled in several academic classes in that program as well as the
laboratory section and therefore I interacted with him on a regular basis
and communicated with the other faculty concerning student progress. I
will try to address each of your criteria in order.
Panachon is soft spoken and respectful of both faculty and students.
Within a very short time in the laboratory section in which I observed him,
he became a natural leader among his peers, many of whom were highly
competitive, but not always mature. He was always prepared, always
willing to participate and lead discussions, and was respected by all of his
classmates without being arrogant or pushy. He has a quiet maturity about
him which is a natural magnet for his peers.
Academically he was at the very top of the class of over 40 mixed senior
and graduate students in a highly competitive program. This status was
maintained in each of the more than ten classes that comprise the
program, including the clinical rotation at Portneuf Medical Center. He was
rated as one of the top students ever to go through that facility. They
would have hired him in a heartbeat but I advised him as did others to go
to ARUP or a similar nationally recognized laboratory if possible to get as
much experience as he could. Even as an undergraduate, he had some
specific goals and set high standards for himself and it was felt that he
could realize those goals faster with this kind of experience. To the best of
my knowledge he has performed above expectations at ARUP and is also
working at a second facility. We here at ISU also encouraged him to seek
graduate level education in business management or MPH programs but in

2. reality his would have been a cobbled together program and he deserves
better. There would have been no question of his admission here.
As are many of our students, Panachon was an out of state student and
his community during his time at ISU was fairly restricted to the campus
and to the professional group. He did participate in the ASCLS
professional community in several capacities and continues to serve on a
national committee.
Panachon has not wavered in his aim to become expert in and an asset to
the higher administrative functions of Health Care particularly in the
laboratory field. In my previous career as both a laboratory manager for a
large hospital chain, and a laboratory owner and director, I am absolutely
convinced that this is the type of individual that we need in those
administrative positions. He is technically superior, energetic, dedicated
and driven to succeed with a vision and goals. Were I in a position to hire,
not for a bench tech but for a person who would be capable of leading a
larger Health Care institution, I would not hesitate to hire him.
My major professor many years ago made a statement which I believe. In
academia, and I suspect in Health Care as a discipline, there is a
continuum of leaders, educators, etc., that make sure that there is a
transition and progress from generation to generation. His contention was
that as academicians, we have an obligation to guarantee that there will be
those who can carry on as we fade out. However, only 1 – 2% of all the
students who pass through our sphere of influence will go on to make the
level of contribution that is necessary. I believe that in the hundreds of
students who have come through my program and laboratories, Panachon
is among that 1-2% and every means to keep him going forward, and
making those contributions should be utilized.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information. Although
I am retired, and no longer maintain an office at the University, I can be
reached through this e-mail address for the future. spiekath@isu.edu.
Respectfully,
Kathleen M. Spiegel