April 10, 2015

To Whom It May Concern,

Samantha Cumings was a student in four of my Instructional Reading courses at
Cornerstone University. As part of these courses, Samantha learned various literacy
assessment techniques along with ways to teach specific reading strategies to meet
individual students needs. I was continually impressed with Samanthas openness to
instruction. She had a strong desire to grow in her professionalism and was very
responsive to feedback.
As I observed Samantha tutoring a second grade student over a semester long practicum,
I noticed not only her strategic lesson plans that targeted the students learning needs, but
also the attentive and respectful way that she interacted with the student. It was apparent
that Samantha had a natural ability to build a relationship with him and she had been
intentional to create a warm and creative learning environment so that optimum learning
could occur.
From the first day that I had Samantha in class, I was impressed with the depth of her
overall character. She took learning seriously, turned in quality work, and worked
collaboratively with classmates. On a few occasions, I noticed that she volunteered for
the most challenging task that faced her learning team and then quietly put in the extra
effort to complete it.
Samanthas warm personality along with her authentic compassion for each student and
the students development made her stand out in my class. If I can be of further assistance
on behalf of Mrs. Cumings, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

Beth Vander Kolk

Assistant Professor of Education, Reading Specialist
Cornerstone University
1001 E. Beltline Ave. NE
beth.vanderkolk@cornerstone.edu
616.949.5300 ext. 1653