All About Christina

245 Lakewood School Road

Salemburg, NC 28385

Dear Professor:

I am writing this letter of recommendation on behalf of Christina Tucker and as a fellow journalist and yearbook advisor since 1991. I started as a reporter in 1988 and three years later was employed at Christina's alma mater, Lakewood High School, Sampson County Schools, teaching English, newspaper journalism and yearbook journalism.

I taught at Lakewood for ten years before seeking employment at Clinton City Schools. When I came back to Lakewood in 2008 I found I was burdened with a debt of $1700 and a staff I didn't know. I relied on the references of teachers who I didn't know to establish a large yearbook staff. Frankly, that was the worst group of students I have ever had. I even had a fight in class if you can believe that. No one was willing to work and thought I was a reincarnation of the teacher I replaced, who let students do whatever they wanted in the social club called yearbook class.  Christina was the quiet girl in the corner who did not get involved in the class drama but completed everything I asked of her. I relied on one senior and two sophomores - one of whom was Christina - to complete most of the work. The other eight students did nothing and cared nothing for their annual. I got burned by the teacher references.

I had met Christina and her mother during a PTO night before school started that year. She was a tenth grade honors student. When they visited my classroom to meet me, I asked if she had completed her summer reading assignment. She was unaware that she was to complete an assignment over the summer in addition to writing several essays. When I told her that my hands were tied and that she needed to complete it in the next two days, she cried. However, when we tested the honors students that Friday, she had very high marks - much higher than the students who supposedly had all summer to finish the work.  She had read the book Nectar in a Sieve in two days and did an adequate job on her essays. After initially balking, she showed courage and did what had to be done. . That 15 year old impressed me.

I did not teach Christina English her junior year but luckily for me, she became my assistant yearbook editor. I would have made her my editor (the first time I have ever had a junior as an assistant editor) but the girl who shared her experiences during their sophomore year did as much work as Christina and sold more business ads. To defend Christina, she did not have reliable transportation, due to family circumstances, whereas the other student did. Christina was more talented and I felt bad, but yearbook is a combination of business and journalism so I rewarded the girl who sold more ads.

Finally, Christina became my editor her senior year. She was on my staff for three years and was a class leader throughout. As editor, her senior year she once again demonstrated talent and perseverance but also kept the other students in line. The staff answered to her rather than me, and I relied on her heavily. I miss her already although I saw her two months ago.

 Christina has extensive experience with digital photography and layout design. Since I started three years ago, we have used a different publishing program each year. We started with In-Design, then moved to Herff-Jones on-line yearbook program and are now using Josten's on-line program. Christina is quite adept with her computer skills and was teaching me tricks in a short time.

In addition to writing for the yearbook, she has also published several articles in our school newspaper The Lakewood Chronicle. And finally, besides journalistic writing, she is currently working on a novel and scored a "3" on the advanced placement literature exam. If you see Christina, she probably has a book in her hand; she loves to read, she loves to write.

I could go on and on about her talents with photography, design and writing but I think her character is what impresses me the most. When you meet her, you will agree. If you want to get the job done well, you can rely on Christina.

Sincerely,

Stephen E. Lucas

Lakewood High School

To Whom It May Concern:

Christina Tucker is currently a student worker in the Math Department here at ECU. Christina is a very bright and energetic young lady. She is always willing and eager to helpw out and will ask questions about things to be done. I believe Christina would be an excellent employee where ever she works.

Regards,
Sandy Godley, BA
Administrative Support Assistant
East Carolina University
Department of Mathematics
124 Austin Building
Student Plaza Drive
Greenville NC, 27858
Email: [email protected]