[K.

ACADEMY
FOR MATH, ENGINEER]NG & SCIENCE

Nov 25, 2014

To whom it may concern,

I am very pleased to recommend Ana de Freitas to be admitted to any university and/or to be awarded any scholarship' I
teach physics at the Academy for Math, Engineering and Science, the high school that Ana now attends' She was one of the

best students in my physics class last year and l'm confident that she will be one of the best in your program too.
Ana is an outstanding student in important ways that don't show up on transcripts. ln fact, if I were to rank her in
comparison to the other students l've encountered during my eleven years of teaching, l'd put her in the top one percent in

the categories of resilience, determination, leadership, and concern for those around her.
Ana had a difficult time in junior high school for reasons which l'm not able to discuss here. However, she has now overcome
you
those issues so completely that when I first learned about her junior high experiences I found it hard to believe' When

your
are comparing Ana to other applicants who might have more impressive transcripts, please factor "student growth" into
evaluation. She started high school at a disadvantage but then grew so much during high school that she's now completely
overcome that disadvantage. lf she continues growing at this same rate during college, which I believe she will, then l'm
confident she will be

top student at your university'

The reason I rank Ana so highly for leadership and concern for those around her is that l've seen how well she handles herself
in group settings. When other students needed an after-school study group organized, Ana was the one who set it up and
she was the one who kept it going. When someone in the class who was new to the country needed special mentoring Ana

jumped in and did it without even being asked. When I didn't explain something clearly enough in class, Ana was the one who
would speak up and she would keep after me (in a good natured way) until everyone understood the concept. Frequently
Ana and other students would sit in my room during lunch time working on physics problems while they ate and I watched
with admiration as she lead the others to the solutions. She explained things clearly. She was always supportive and
encouraging. The other students really look up to Ana and respect her as a leader.
I also believe that Ana stands out from her peers in the areas of intellectual promise, creative thought, and productive
discussion. The comments she makes and questions she asks both during and after class have always been insightful. They

show that she truly wants to understand the material at a deep level. She's not just after a good grade. She really wants to
know how things work and why. Ana regularly comes up with creative approaches to problems and she works tenaciously
until the problems are solved, even when they require multiple steps and techniques that most people don't naturallythink

to try.
lf you have any questions about Ana, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Oo*fila.

Douglas Hendricks
Physics and Engineering Teacher

Academy for Math, Engineering and Science

dhendricks@ames-slc.org
80L-792-L42L

AN Eanrv

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