Natalia Fishman, librarian and member of programming, Morton Grove Public Library

Morton Grove, IL
Ms. Fishman was my supervisor for both my jobs at the Morton Grove Public
Library. I showed movies regularly and taught an improvisational acting class for
kids ages 5 and up. I worked in the library teaching acting as a volunteer from the
end of 8th grade until I came to Loyola. I will be starting my class again in the fall,
going back to the suburbs once a month. Ms. Fishman could best attest to my
strong work ethic. I was always early, ready to go, and did my best to go above and
beyond the library standards. She could also attest to my strong skills in working
with the kids. A lot of the kids who come to my class are learning English or are
growing up with a learning disability. We use improvisational acting as a way to
teach the kids how to respond in social interactions and get comfortable being
present in groups and using their voice. Natalia could verify how much more
confident in themselves the kids became after attending the class for a while.
Kim Smith, owner, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Northfield, IL
Kim Smith was my boss for three years as I worked at the Rocky Mountain
Chocolate Factory almost all through high school. I was one of only a few people
working there so I had a great deal of freedom and a lot of shifts alone. Kim could
best attest to my responsibility, keeping up the store by myself and handling large
orders. Every year around Halloween we get an order for 5,000 caramel apples and
it takes about a month to make all the caramel for them. I handled a lot of
customers, store repairs, cleaning, and creating new things. I made a lot of new
store products some which we still sell a year after Ive left. Kim could also attest to
my community building skills. The store is in a strip mall and I would bring trays of
cut up caramel apples that werent pretty enough to sell or had loose sticks to all of
the other stores for their employees. A lot of the stores came to Kim wanting to do
promotions or events together and I made a lot of friends too.
Rachel Marro, director of Snowball retreat, Response Center Skokie, IL
Rachel Marro was my supervisor for half a year while I volunteered as a teen
leader for the annual Snowball retreat. Its a weekend retreat for high school
students from all over Chicagoland to get together, meet people from different
backgrounds, and work on building community. We had participants from Highland
Park all the way to inner city schools. It was a big task to complete, sort of like a
mini version of summer scholars, so I think Rachel could best attest to my initiative.
I always made ure to be early to meetings, help with activities, and start planning
the theme and organize everything. I applied to be a teen director and ended up
being one of three people chosen for it. We were responsible for about 200 campers
for 3 days, cleaning up an entire campgrounds, and giving everyone the best
experience possible. Rachel could attest to how I went above and beyond, trying to
get to know the campers and my fellow teen leaders.
Michael Meinhardt, professor of writing, Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL

Professor Michael Meinhardt was my UCWR professor last fall and will be my
professional writing professor this fall. He also works with me on developing my
creative short stories and trying to get them published. I think professor Meinhardt
could best attest to my passion and determination. I came to Loyola as a creative
writing and film double major because I wanted to follow a dream Id had since I
was 3 years old. I want to be a published writer more than anything at this point I
my life and I am putting in the work to get there. Writing new stories, making edits,
and actively seeking out way to develop my craft is difficult. Its time away from my
classes, sleep, and my social life but I do it because I love writing. Professor
Meinhardt has seen me grow as a writer over the last year showing my
determination to constantly improve and never give up.
Kate McFeely, GRA, Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
Kate McFeely has been my GRA for the duration of the summer scholars
program. She has seen me try and become what I believed a leader should be and
grow both personally and professionally over this program. I think Kate could best
attest to how I tried to further develop the skills I had coming this summer and do
my best to fully open up to the experience. I tried my best with every challenge that
came to me, never trying to hide from the students or my co-workers. I tried to
encourage self-care for all the CCs and do my part to make the environment
welcoming for everyone who has been a part of summer scholars. I think Kate could
best attest to how Im willing to learn and be a part of a team without jumping in
like I already know everything.