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Merced High School

H o m e

o f

S c h o l a r s

a n d

205 West Olive Avenue, Merced CA 95348

C h a m p i o n s

(209) 385-6465

February 21, 2016

To Whom It May Concern;
It is a pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Alyssa Cantrell. I have known Alyssa for at least six years as a close family
friend. Alyssa has always impressed me with her academic abilities and her dedication to co-curricular and extracurricular
activities. Alyssa is a strong student, yet she is very humble. Her weighted GPA for 10-12 is 4.28. She has been in upper level,
honors/AP classes throughout high school. She is in the top 8% of her senior class of 290 students. She has been a CSF member
for five of the last seven semesters, a California scholarship institution that emphasizes high standards of scholarship and
community service for high school students. In addition to being an outstanding student academically, Alyssa has also been
involved in cheer, student clubs and volunteering.
Alyssa has been on the cheer squad all four years. Her high school squad also competes at a competitive level requiring more
hours of practice. She has served as a Cheer Captain the last three years demonstrating her ability to be a leader among her
peers. At the end of the season for competitive cheer, Alyssa transitions to Track and Field. She has done this for the last two years
and intends on doing it this year as well. Alyssa was a Link Crew member in her sophomore and junior years. This program is
designed to assist incoming freshman to acclimate to the high school experience. Alyssa is a positive role model for the
underclassmen at El Capitan High. Alyssa has been a member of the Dutch Club for three years. This club is a foreign exchange
club. Students from the Netherlands come to Merced for one week and stay with host families. Alyssa and her family have hosted
for three years. Alyssa was able to travel to Amsterdam and London as a result of this program. The experience left her wanting to
travel even more.
In addition to her service on campus, Alyssa has also been mentoring at a Cruickshank Middle School this year. She works with the
Friday Night Live Mentoring program sponsored by the Merced County Health Department Drug and Alcohol Prevention. This
program is designed to provide middle school youth with positive high school role models who encourage them to make good
choices as they prepare for the transition to high school.
Alyssa ultimately plans on pursuing a career in occupational therapy. She has applied at multiple universities including San
Francisco State, CSU Monterey Bay, UC Merced, UC San Diego, UC Davis, Dominican University of California, Concordia
University Irvine and Washington State University. She has received acceptance letters, but has not made a final decision.
Alyssa plays guitar and occasionally is asked to help lead worship at our church. She has her hands in many activities, yet still
manages to perform well in everything she does. This speaks volumes of her personality. I sincerely believe she has the motivation
and determination to be a successful college student. I personally have witnessed her go through some challenging situations in the
past four years, but she has always risen above her circumstances, persevered and stayed focused on her studies. Alyssa is
sincere and honest, operating with integrity in her personal as well as academic life. She has set goals for her future. She is a kind
and compassionate young lady. I believe she will succeed in her future as she pursues her education and future career. If you
have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,

Tammie L Meyer
Instructor ~Merced High School
tmeyer@muhsd.org

Every Bear Counts