Re: Kristin Neff

Nancy Seligmann Siena Heights University 1247 East Siena Heights Drive Adrian, Michigan, 49221 Cell Phone: 734-645-3427 February 7, 2012

To Whom It May Concern: This letter is in reference to Kristin Neff, who asked me to write her a letter of support. It is my pleasure to do so, as she is an outstanding teacher and an engaging and earnest communicator. Interestingly, I first met Ms. Neff when she was our realtor for a house we were selling in 2005. My positive impression of her was instantaneous. She was thoroughin that she explained everything clearly to usand she made suggestions to us about presenting our home to the public. She kept in touch with us throughout the process. I could not have wished for a better realtor in poor economic times, when real estate was hard to sell. As you can see from Ms. Neffs rsum, she was good at what she did in real estate and had four million dollars worth of sales in 2007. I tell you all of thiswhich seems to have little to do with her abilities as a teacherto let you know that when Ms. Neff decided to work on a Masters degree in English Studies for Teachers, I was more than happy to hire her as an adjunct instructor at Siena Heights because I was very familiar with her excellent communications skills. As it turned out, students at Siena Heights agree with my perception of Ms. Neff. Although this generationat least in my recent experiencesparsely metes out compliments, as the former chair of the English Department, I saw evaluations that were in high praise of Ms. Neff. As well, several students took the time to personally let me know that they were appreciative of Ms. Neff. The first year Ms. Neff taught for us, one of her students was in a serious car accident. For many months his ability to work and read academically was impaired, but Ms. Neff spent many hours with him, including during the summer, when she wasnt teaching. It is rare when an adjunct instructor wants to put in this amount of timewithout being paid.

Re: Kristin Neff

As you can see from her rsum, Ms. Neff has been working on a graduate degree at Eastern Michigan University. Although I am aware that an entry-level teaching job in high school does not require a masters degree, Ms. Neff is able to keep abreast of recent theories and methods in the teaching of English and reading of literature, as a result of her studies at Eastern Michigan University. I highly recommend Kristin Neff. I hope you will see her strengths, and the knowledge that she will offer a high school English program. Sincerely,

Nancy Seligmann Professor of English and retiring Chair of the Department