December 10, 2016

Thomas Butler
NOVA Academy, Early College High School
500 West Santa Ana Blvd
Santa Ana CA 92701
(714) 569-0948 ext. 2303

To the Dwight Byrdie Scholarship Committee,

I have known Daniel Magana as a student at my school since his freshman year, and as
a student in my class since his sophomore year, and it is with great pleasure that I am able to
write him this letter of recommendation, and with sincere regret that this is the last year that I will
be able to count him as one of my students.
Daniel is one of the rare students that not only jumps into to high school wholeheartedly,
makes himself a part of the school and the culture, but will leave a vacuum when he leaves. It
is students like Daniel that make a high school year successful to at least as a great a degree
as the teachers, the administrators, and the support staff.
Lets begin outside of the classroom. Daniel is a student in Associated Student Body
(ASB)/Leadership (his third consecutive year as a student leader). Daniel is a natural leader
both in and out of the classroom. He is gregarious, kind, and thoughtful. He is always willing to
pitch in and lend a hand, and is able to successfully encourage others to do the same. At the
time of this writing, Daniel helped to plan and organize a week of spirit events at the school, for
which he set up and ran the soundboard and multimedia platforms, a school dance, while also
helping to run the school store.
While all of the outside of the classroom work is being done, Daniel is also succeeding
within the classroom. A student in my Advanced Placement Language and Composition
course, Daniel is currently earning an A in my class, as well as all his other classes. At the time
of this writing, he is ranked fourth in his class, and may still rise higher before the year is
through.
I will be truly sad to see Daniel leave in the Spring, but of course also happy and proud
of the success that he has been able to achieve here and the success that he is sure to achieve
in the future. I hope that he will be selected as a recipient of this scholarship. It will be a smart
investment.

Sincerely,

Thomas Butler
NOVA Academy ECHS