January 20, 2014 To the portfolio committee: This letter serves to speak to the professional promise of Eden Tullis,

whom I have known as a colleague, peer, and dedicated advocate for students during our shared time as graduate students in the SDA program. I hope to do justice to this extremely talented, knowledgeable, motivated and committed young professional. When we first met at SDAs 2012 Preview Days, and connected at the start of our year, Eden and I connected over our choice of Seattle Universitys program over some of the more competitive, well-known student affairs programs we had been admitted to. Edens attraction for and belief in the Jesuit values of Seattle University and our program is apparent in the work she does on behalf of her own learning and her knowledge of students. Eden has been privileged with the gift of self-reflection and heightened awareness, which is a foundational value of the SDA program and helps her relate to her students. In witnessing Edens speaking and writing about her journey since moving to Seattle and beginning the program, it is clear that she has grown in confidence in her understandings of social justice and multicultural competence, knowledge of her own complex identities, and implementing initiatives that serve underrepresented students. For someone who experienced huge culture shock and exposure to new concepts and language around social justice, she has made leaps and bounds in her competency in these areas. Eden has also proven herself capable of strong and collaborative leadership when faced with challenging circumstances. While listening to her present about her internship experience with Cornish College of the Arts in orientation, the extent of her leadership and ability to think on her feet was apparent. She was challenged to create a comprehensive and developmental training for her orientation leaders in a brief two-day period, and also created a plan to address accessibility concerns when no blueprint existed. In successfully overcoming these challenges, Eden showed innovation and an ability to resolve dilemmas without all of the provided tools. She has proven to be highly successful in a variety of positional and institutional types, including community colleges, private universities, and arts universities. The wide array of opportunities that Eden has taken and continues to take speak highly of her well-rounded commitment to strengthening her academic, campus, and local communities. Eden embodies the Jesuit value of magis always striving for more in her self understanding, leadership, and growth. Whether it is an articulated value for her or not, Eden clearly believes in and lives out service determined to leave environments better off than how she inherited them. I have no doubt that, whatever steps Eden takes next in her personal and professional pathway, she will be highly successful and useful to the students and institutions she will serve. Student affairs needs more committed, reflective, collaborative, innovative, and talented professionals like Eden. Thank goodness we have her! Sincerely, Michal MJ Jones