1. Sheldon B. Lubar
School of Business
January 21, 2016
Re: Letter of Recommendation for Tim Vander Woude
Dr. G. Kevin Spellman, CFA
Senior Lecturer - Finance
Director, Investment Management Certificate Program
spellman@uwm.edu
1-608-334-2110
www.lubar.uwm.edu/IMCP
Dear Sir/Ma’am:
I am pleased to be writing this letter of recommendation on behalf of Tim Vander Woude, one of my former students. I
am very impressed with Tim. He was more than a good student of mine, he was one of the best or the best ever in the
course I taught him. I understand that he replicates this type of performance in all of his courses.
Tim may have earned the highest grade ever in my Intermediate Finance course. I have been teaching this course for six
to seven years at more than one university. Over that time, I may have had 600 to 700 students. The course covers
financial statement analysis, financing of capital, and valuation. It is challenging, as we analyze a real company all
semester to illustrate concepts. The final project involved recapitalizing the firm’s balance sheet and forecasting its results
(financial, cost of capital, and valuation) in a recession scenario. There were also two all-day exams.
Besides his grade, Tim stood out in several other areas. He had a constant thirst for knowledge. He was always ready for
class and willing to participate. He did not just want a good grade, he wanted to know everything. He would not stop until
he mastered all of the material. His attention to detail was impressive. He also knows how to concisely present material as
illustrated by what he submitted for the final project (a group project, but I expect Tim was a key player). I can only
imagine what he will be like on the job. He will likely be one of the hardest workers and producers.
In my former career as an investment manager of large portfolios, I oversaw a team of analysts. I would have been
pleased to have Tim on my team. I was so impressed with Tim that I tried to convince him to join the investment program
I direct. This program is extremely rigorous and for top students. I had him speak with a couple business professionals to
help him decide on where he wants to take his career. He decided against applying; however, I view this as a positive. He
knows what he does not want, and will pursue what he wants rigorously. He is a passionate learner, and will be
passionate about his career.
Finally, Tim seems like a nice guy. He should be excited about his performance, but he appears to be modest. To have
achieved his success in real estate – a client facing career – he must have been really good at client communications and
sales. Furthermore, he appears to work well in teams.
Tim has the whole package: he is intelligent, a hard worker, detailed oriented, a good communicator, and a nice guy.
Sincerely,