1. Sheldon B. Lubar School of
Business
Maria Goranova
Associate Professor
Lubar, Office S381
Milwaukee, WI
53201-0413
414 229-5429 phone
goranova@uwm.edu
January 20, 2017
Re: Timothy Vander Woude
Dear Sir/Madam,
This letter is to support Tim Vander Woude’s application. Tim was a student in my BA600
Management Analysis class that I taught in Fall 2016. In addition, I have informally
interacted with him in the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business. Tim is among the
brightest and hardest working undergraduate students I have known and I believe that he
will make us proud with his professional achievements in the future.
Tim has performed at a consistently high level in all of his classes achieving a cumulative
GPA of 4.0 and being on the Dean’s List for six semesters. He was able to achieve
outstanding performance in my class as well; he got the highest grade in a class of 46
students with a course score of 103.3%. Tim’s class participation contributed greatly to
other students’ learning and his written assignments/exams were very insightful,
professional, and well executed. He went above and beyond in his individual company
research report, presenting his research, analyses, and recommendations in an impressive
web site. His company research report was hands down the best in the class. Twice during
the semester, I utilize Jeopardy-like games to review the strategic management material –
Tim scored the highest amount of points on those too.
During my class, Tim also participated in a StratSim simulation where students manage
auto-manufacturing companies. He proved to be an invaluable team leader, instrumental

2. for the group’s ability to achieve a record-breaking performance. The average stock price
for a winning team is around $100. Tim’s simulation team finished the competition with a
stock price of $518.10. The second highest stock price in the class this semester was
$157.08. Tim’s leadership skills and ability to develop persuasive arguments and engage
with others would serve him well in his future career.
Tim has also worked hard to hone his skills and abilities by engaging in various
competitions, such as UWM Business Writing Award Challenge (1st
place), 2016 APICS
Great Lakes Regional Student Case Competition (1st
place), 2016 APICS World Finals
Student Case Competition (6th
place), and ERPsim competition, SAP University Alliance
(3rd
place). It was a pleasure having Tim in class, as he is not only committed to academic
excellence, but is also very intelligent, initiative taking, driven and motivated individual.
In conclusion, Tim has my strongest endorsement and I would be pleased to elaborate or
extend what I have said here. I can be reached at (414) 841-0693 or goranova@uwm.edu.
Best,
Maria L. Goranova, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Organizations and Strategic Management
Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
P.O. Box 742 Milwaukee, WI 53201
Ph: (414) 841-0693
Fax: (414) 229-6957
http://www4.uwm.edu/business/faculty/busfaculty/goranova.cfm