Ridwan Chowdhury
2nd Year Civil Engineering Undergrad
Lassonde School of Engineering, York
4700 Keele St, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Monday,
February 1st, 2016
TO: Dr.
Riley Beddoe, PhD, Assistant Professor
FR: Ridwan
Chowdhury, 2nd Year Civil Undergrad
RE: Letter
of Reference, Jonathan Caceres
Dear Dr. Beddoe,
It is with great
confidence that I write this letter of reference to recommend Jonathan Caceres
for a summer research position at Lassonde School of Engineering. As a valued member of my civil engineering
design team, Mr. Caceres has contributed greatly in the preliminary design
process of a water main pipeline project at Glendon Campus at York University.
His accuracy and
information retention when conducting research independently on cathodic
protection methods via anodes was highly apparent when discussing technical
information with our client this past week. His teamwork has also been much
appreciated throughout the group as he is always available when needed and can
be relied upon in completing any assigned task. He is friendly, approachable,
and allows for a positive work environment, increasing our group’s morale. He
often battles through times of low motivation, but has proactively made changes
in his attitude by becoming more goal-oriented and improve his desire to take
initiative. Recently, he has decided to take responsibility for communicating
any and all team concerns to our assigned supervisor.
Mr. Caceres has also a
wealth of real world experience after achieving a 3-year diploma in Civil
Engineering Technology from Seneca College. His most recent position as a field
technician for Bridge Check Canada, an engineering consulting company
specializing in materials engineering and construction, has added to his
repertoire of technical experience and skills. He has displayed his ability to
grasp concepts quickly when assigned responsibilities in concrete testing as
well as bridge condition surveying.
In addition to his
work and ongoing pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, he also
uses his improving organizational and time management skills to schedule volunteering
in a leadership role as a soccer coach for children under the age of 14. Mr.
Caceres has displayed exemplary qualities in his professional and student life
and I can unreservedly recommend him for a summer research position at
Lassonde. He will be an asset to any employer.
If you have any further
questions regarding Mr. Caceres’ suitability to this position please do not
hesitate to contact me at ridman@my.yorku.ca.
Sincerely,
Ridwan
Chowdhury
Ridwan Chowdhury
Marked Rubric for Reference Letter
Reflection
Context:
For assignment 2 in ENG 2003, we were required to pick a partner in tutorial and conduct a mock interview, learning as much about their skills, experiences, and qualifications as possible. We were notified about this tutorial activity beforehand so that we could prepare some questions that would help the discussion. Using the notes and information of our partner gathered, we were to write a reference letter assuming our partner was applying to a summer lab position at York.
Reflection
_______________
I posted the marked rubric for this assignment to help reflect on what I did well and what I could improve for the future. The TA mentioned that I did not specify a clear relationship with Jonathan, with whom I was writing the letter for. I thought that mentioning that he was one of my group members in a recent Design project would suffice, however, the TA advised that it is crucial to note the exact length of my relationship with him.
I am still left wondering whether as the writer of this reference letter, if it is also a part of my job to look at the job description and mention things that correlate with his skills and experiences, and tailor it as if I was tailoring a resume or cover letter for my own job applications. On the other hand, should I just be focusing on my experiences with him and selling him through my interaction with him on a personal and professional level.
Overall, I learned a great deal about the questions that go into learning about someone’s experiences and skills, and that interviewers don’t exactly have the easiest job. Nevertheless, Jonathan made it fairly easy to make him look good as he had a plethora of experiences and abilities to describe in my letter of reference. I think this is an important concept to know because as a co-op student trying to secure my first work term, I require these communication skills for interviews and writing resumes and cover letters to be able to convince the employer that my potential is worth investing in.
