Spit or Swallow

Had to write another one of those letters today. How'd I do?

In Re: Recommendation of Joe Student

I am very pleased to recommend Joe Student to you for selection for Law School. As a professor at Carnegie Mellon I had an opportunity to observe and experience Joe both academically and artistically. He was an outstanding student for me and will make a fantastic student for you.

Joe is a tremendously powerful thinker and possesses a formidable intellect. His compositions and positions are always firmly rooted in research. I was continually impressed by how solid his ideas were. Joe is a rare combination of both right brain and left brain aptitude. While here at CMU he excelled both as an artist and as a technician – and in a Herculean feat of time management also as a computer programmer. Typically, he is able to bring all these facets to bear on problems and projects focusing outstanding reasoning and analytical skills as well as unsurpassed composition and artistic abilities. Few people see the whole picture as well as Joe.

The making of theatre is all about collaboration. Joe always distinguished himself here as a valuable team member. He absorbed everything we were able to show him about how to work with other people. No matter how significant his role on a particular project, Joe could be depended on to both pull his own weight and make everyone around him that much better. As well as being a team member, Joe’s clear thinking and understanding of priorities and resources made him a first-rate team leader. On top of all of that, he is a very personable and genuine person; someone that is easy to work with and that people want to work with.

It should not come as a surprise at this point to hear that Joe is an extremely hard worker. People often refer to conservatory Drama school as “boot camp.” Joe marched through his time here impressively, combining both our design and production curriculums and adding a computer science program in his spare time. That path would not have been possible had he not been laser focused on his goals and determined to succeed. But focus and determination would not have been enough had he not also been simply indefatigable. His capacity for work is simply exhausting to contemplate.

Please consider this a highest-possible recommendation. Joe Student would make an excellent addition to any program.

I think I may have choked there a little.