1. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STUDIES TEL: (858) 534-1680
9500 GILMAN DRIVE FAX: (858) 534-2462
LA JOLLA, CA 92093-0070 TTY: (858) 534-1586
URL: http://eds.ucsd.edu
January 30, 2016
Dear Internship Coordinator,
It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Ha Eun Jung. I have known Ha Eun as a student in the
Department of Education Studies (EDS) at the University of California, San Diego. Ha Eun was my student in in
EDS/SOCI 117: Language, Culture, and Education in the Fall quarter of 2015. This course examines the social,
linguistic, and cultural dimensions of teaching and learning, and their connections to educational outcomes and
academic identities. One of the major goals of the course is to contest deficit views of linguistically and culturally
marginalized communities of students. Ha Eun is currently my student in EDS 136/139: Introduction to Academic
Tutoring in Secondary Schools. This is a service-learning course that requires students to serve as mentors and
tutors in secondary schools with large populations of underserved students. From the first day of each class, Ha
Eun demonstrated great interest in learning about the sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects of education,
including the importance of empowering students, teachers, parents, and communities in general, to enact social
change. In class discussions, and in her writing assignments, Ha Eun is able to articulate her personal and
professional interest in serving the larger community through her scholarship, and through her future work as a
public school K-12 teacher.
Via EDS 136/139, Ha Eun is currently serving as a tutor at O’Farrell Charter School. This is a school located in a
low-income community in the city of San Diego. Ha Eun is working as a tutor with elementary as well as
secondary students, and has demonstrated strong commitment to supporting the academic goals of her host
teachers. Ha Eun does not view the field placement aspect of the class as a simple co-requisite, but actually
embraces her role by becoming a truly caring tutor and mentor. Ha Eun places a high value on serving the
community, and on providing equitable access to all students to quality educational opportunities. This course can
place great demands on students since it requires 40 hours of service-learning at a local public school in addition
to the rigorous academic work required by the course. Ha Eun’s self-motivation to learn and solid study habits
constitute great assets for her success in the course.
Because of her dedication and commitment to public service, and to working with underserved youth, Ha Eun
embodies the positive values required to be successful in a rigorous academic internship program. Ha Eun is not
only intellectually curious, but is also dedicated to serving marginalized communities. Ha Eun is a bright, talented,
and caring young scholar who aspires to serve her community by using her professional work as a vehicle to
improving the lives of people who have been institutionally and historically disenfranchised. I recommend Ha Eun
to be selected for an academic internship without hesitation. I have no doubt that Ha Eun’s solid commitment to
public service will contribute to achieving the goals and vision of the academic internship program.
Sincerely,
Luz Chung, Ed.D.
Lecturer, Department of Education Studies
University of California, San Diego