Amanda Martinez Resident Director 1032 W Sheridan Rd | Chicago,
Illinois 60660 p (773) 508-3338 [email protected]
March 24, 2015
To whom it may concern,
It is with excitement and pleasure that I write this letter of
recommendation for Jonathan Merrill. I
have worked with Jonathan for the past 2 years at Loyola
University of Chicago in the Department of
Residence Life. It is with great confidence that I say that
Jonathan has been one of the most
impressive graduate students that I have ever worked with and
know that he will go on to do amazing
things in our field.
Jonathan has shown a great ability to not only work within
ambiguity and change but also embrace the
challenges thrown at him with grace and positivity. In Jonathans
first year he was given the challenge
of not only being co-supervised by two very different Resident
Directors but also tasked with helping
bring online a new residence hall and build a foundation for
future staffs to utilize in running the
building. He never shied away from handling a difficult issue
and as his supervisor I was constantly
impressed with his ability to reach out and find projects that
he could take over and not only complete
but complete with the highest of quality. During his second
year, Jonathan demonstrated an even
greater ability to handle change and ambiguity when he suddenly
had to adjust to a new supervisor
after his old one changed positions. Jonathan responded with
taking on more responsibility, including
running an entire building by himself, to help support the
resident director who was asked to take over
the area.
One area that always made Jonathan stand out to me is his innate
ability to push his students to grow
and develop in terms of social justice and diversity. Jonathan
constantly showed intentionality when
having one on one meetings with his students and pushed them out
of their comfort zone to learn more
about themselves and the world around them. I would constantly
see Jonathan making notes on how
he could have these developmental conversations in the future
and how to broach the subject in a way
that would connect to the student. Speaking with a student that
Jonathan supervised previously, she
stated that the meetings when he would challenge her to go
deeper in her reflection of her identities
and other social justice issues were the meetings she valued
most. Jonathan has also shown
phenomenal growth in his ability to balance a students needs
with accountability. During judicial and
disciplinary meetings, Jonathan ensures that a student not only
is held accountable for their actions but
also has the support they need to avoid actions in the future
and grow from the process.
Finally, I have always appreciated Jonathans enthusiastic and
welcoming personality. He brings so
much fun and energy in to any staff that he joins and does so in
an authentic way. A person leaves a
conversation with Jonathan knowing that he has truly listened to
them and has a genuine interest in
what they have to say. Overall, I can say with certainty that
Jonathan is going to move on to his next
venture with great success and any department that he joins is
extremely lucky to have him on their
team.
Sincerely,
Amanda Martinez Resident Director Campion Hall Loyola University
Chicago, Department of Residence Life
