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November!13,!2016!
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To!Whom!It!May!Concern,!!
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I!am!writing!to!wholeheartedly!recommend!Emily!Richards!for!an!internship!in!your!
organization.!!I!am!an!associate!professor!in!the!Department!of!Media,!Journalism!&!Film!at!
Miami!University.!!I!have!known!Emily!for!three!years!and!very!worked!closely!with!her!
during!the!2014N15!academic!year!when!she!served!on!the!Undergraduate!Assistant!team!I!
assembled!for!a!large!lecture!course!I!teach.!!Emily!is!an!exceptional!colleague!and!student—
mature!and!dependable.!She!is!also!highly!personable;!her!enthusiasm!and!professionalism!
made!it!joy!to!work!with!her.!!
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I!first!got!to!know!Emily!when!she!took!my!250Nstudent!Introduction!to!Media!course.!!It!is!
difficult!for!students!to!make!an!impression!in!such!a!setting,!but!Emily’s!performance!did.!
The!class!requires!students!to!take!responsibility!for!much!of!their!learning!(e.g.,!roughly!half!
of!each!exam!deals!with!textbook!material!never!covered!in!lecture.)!!Emily’s!success!
demonstrated!a!tremendous!degree!of!selfNmotivation!and!discipline.!She!can!clearly!
synthesize!new!information!on!her!own!and!apply!it!to!new!situations.!Emily’s!success!with!a!
complicated!semesterNlong!writing!assignment!also!proved!she!has!the!organizational!skills!
required!to!stay!on!top!of!numerous,!onNgoing!deadlines.!!
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I!was!delighted!when!Emily!applied!to!participate!in!the!Undergraduate!Assistant!leadership!
team!for!Intro!to!Media!in!2014.!Acceptance!into!the!program!is!highly!competitive!and!my!
expectations!of!the!UAs!are!very!high.!!Like!more!traditional!graduate!TAs,!my!UAs!help!
students!develop!class!skills,!facilitate!small!group!discussions!on!class!material,!and!help!
clarify!complex!class!concepts.!They!work!closely!with!me!to!establish!grading!criteria,!craft!
assignments,!and!design!lesson!plans!for!discussion!sections.!They!also!provide!their!mentees!
with!feedback!on!writing!assignments.!!
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As!a!UA,!Emily!was!stellar.!!She!excelled!at!navigating!a!very!difficult!interpersonal!
relationship—that!of!a!peer!mentor!who!needs!to!nurture!a!sense!of!camaraderie!among!the!
members!of!her!small!group!while!establishing!her!authority!with!students!who!are!often!her!
own!age.!Emily!always!approached!her!role!as!a!member!of!the!UA!leadership!team!with!
impeccable!professionalism,!always!arriving!to!our!meetings!early!and!fully!prepared.!!She!
repeatedly!volunteered!to!take!on!additional!responsibilities!and!never!shied!away!from!any!
task!I!asked!her!to!tackle.!The!quality!of!her!work!consistently!exceeded!my!high!standards.!!
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I!am!certain!Emily’s!application!will!speak!for!itself,!but!I!want!to!ensure!you!that!she!is!a!rare!
find.!!
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Sincerely,!!
Dr.!Ron!Becker,!Associate!Professor,!Department!of!Media,!Journalism,!and!Film!
Miami!University!!!!!513N529N3540!!!!!beckerrp@miamioh.edu!
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