April 11, 2023

RE: Recommendation of Giorgio Varlaro for graduate school

To Ithaca College Division of Graduate and Professional Studies:

I’ve known the applicant, Giorgio Varlaro, for several years through his father George, and it is with great pleasure that I write this recommendation letter in his favor.

Giorgio, at this moment, is the Sports Editor of the Herkimer Evening Telegram. From what I understand, he covers eleven different school districts in the Herkimer County area. Whenever I see Giorgio in town, he always has his camera and pencil with him, ready to go to the next sporting event for the evening. His articles are terrific. In his coverage of the girls basketball team, his reports were exciting, interesting to read, and unbiased (a common challenge in the world of journalism). His interviews of the girls were unusually spot-on. Giorgio has the ability to show a picture with the language, then effectively expand and support his story with well-snapped photos. I’m sure that Ithaca will take the opportunity to see his articles and other writing. Although Giorgio has not been working for the telegram a long time, I am always impressed with the amount of information his stories provide, and we (local folks) haven’t seen the sports section up to this standard in a long time!

Giorgio is also a hard-working individual, in both occasional contact and by his history. When he worked at the now-defunct Grossman’s Store down the street, and was trained by my old friend Jerry (quite the perfectionist), Giorgio knew how to organize a place. When Jerry retired and some new manager came in with different standards, it was Giorgio who ran around the sales area keeping things nice, day after day, for months. While this may seem an unwarranted example for a graduate school applicant, ultimately it’s the hard-working, detail-oriented, motivated young professional who proves he’s something in our world. Ithaca would be fortunate to have such a graduate student launch into the professional world of journalism from their campus. We’re lucky to have someone like Giorgio here in our small community, a young gentlemen of caliber above and beyond the norm, with impressive knowledge and professionalism in the sporting industry. He will, undoubtedly, go very far.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me personally with any further questions.

Yours sincerely,

Ward V. Halverson

Ward V. Halverson, LCSW-R, M.Ed.

Child, Family, and Veteran Therapist

417 East German St.Herkimer, NY 13350