Letter of Application to Marlborough School for Girls

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LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

Monica was subsequently accepted to the prestigious Marlborough School for Girls
in Hancock Park, Los Angeles on an approximately $14,000 full scholarship.

Richard James Geib
500 N. Rossmore #209
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(213) 382-1343

      Marlborough School
      Office of Admissions
      250 S. Rossmore Ave.
      Los Angeles, CA 90004

       To Whom it May Concern:

      Monica has been a student in my Spanish class for the last four months at Berendo Middle School in the Pico-Union area of Los Angeles. We are now at the end of the first semester and Monica has clearly emerged as my best student this year, perhaps the best student I have ever had. Here in this inner-city LAUSD school, I see many mediocre to worse students, and sometimes I feel very frustrated in my role as a teacher. However, if a student like Monica comes into my classroom every once in awhile I can at least feel a measure of satisfaction at the end of the school year. I had just last week written a note home to Monica's parents telling them what a special student their child was and encouraging them to perhaps find a school that could more fully accommodate her God-given talent. Within a space of two days, it was communicated to me that she was already applying to the Marlborough School and I was asked to write this letter of recommendation. I write this letter with great enthusiasm.

      Monica has the potential to do anything or go anywhere she wants in her life. I have seen many students come and go and Monica is something special in regards to both her mental gifts and her emotional maturity. She came to my class not only well prepared academically but endowed with the desire to excel and produce work that would truly be her best. She had an emotional maturity two or three years beyond her actual age and an intensity when it came to school work that was not equaled even by the other "A" students in my Spanish class. To say only that Monica is a straight "A" student who never missed a single day of class would be to understate the case. She took a pride in her work that was unparalleled and the breadth of her desire to learn and the wide scope of her mind were singular in their uniqueness. Monica wrote in her compositions to me of her hopes to go to France in order to experience the erudition of their culture, the importance of her family and her friends, and about a myriad of other important subjects. In the context of the other students in her class - some of whom could not write even a few coherent sentences in English or Spanish about anything larger than their immediate circumstances and surroundings - Monica wrote precociously about her dreams and feelings in a perfect Spanish and in beautiful penmanship. Monica is one of those rare fully-bilingual individuals whom can move fully and smoothly in both Latino and Anglo culture. I have no doubt she will one day end up as an adult who brings honor to both her Nicaraguan past and American future, an exemplary model of what is great and right about the United States and its immigrant heritage.

      I have at times felt remiss in my duty as a teacher to Monica. In the context of the other students in my Spanish class, I feel I have not really been able to teach to her level. The education gurus of today would have us think that a teacher should be able to teach to every student of every level in any given class - large disparities in talent, preparation, and desire to learn notwithstanding. Nevertheless, I have often thought that Monica would benefit from a more prestigious educational environment that would better suit her special needs. I have spoken to her about elite universities and their requirements, G.P.A.'s and Advanced Placement classes, etc. and was surprised not at all to see 13 year-old Monica one day reading a book whose title read "...how to master the S.A.T.!" I have bought her famous classics of English literature to read during vacation, but despite all this I cannot help escape the conviction that Monica could do so much more in a higher-level environment. Even among the other Berendo Academy honors students, Monica stands out as unique.

      In some ways I am disillusioned as an inner-city school teacher, but I still believe in the nobility of my calling and in the process through which a young person can achieve success through hard work, dedication, and interested teacher involvement. In this still passionate conviction, I see my best hopes in Monica and what the future may hold in front of her. It is with my highest regard and hopes for her future that I humbly submit to you this letter of recommendation for an outstanding young adult.

      Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.

                     Sincerely Yours,

                     Mr. Richard James Geib