November 1st, 2019

To Whom It May Concern,

I have had the immense pleasure of getting to know Jake Bradbury during his final high school English courses. He
is a deeply intelligent, thoughtful, and driven student. I have always admired Jake’s ability to hone in on tasks and
self-regulate; setting goals, putting himself in environments that are conducive to work, and asking for help, insight, and
commentary when needed. This combined with his easy-going temperament and deep empathy make him a superb student
and admirable human being.
In his work examining literary and real-world dystopias in English 3A, Jake continually sought out hard to answer
questions and examined literary dystopian fiction with a lens of current, relevant human experience. He tackled two final
projects for that unit, a dystopian short story and media project. Each assignment demonstrated a keen understanding of not
only the components of dystopian literature and story structure, but the underlying themes of oppression, indoctrination, and
dehumanization that that genre examines. His story, set in a near-future Pacific Northwest, examined the psychological
effects on military or police personnel sent by a dystopian government to exterminate “enemies of the state.” His deeply
human narrative skillfully wove together pathos and dystopian commentary. Jake followed that up with a short musical
piece that he produced layering music together to establish an eerie, unnerving, slightly industrial take on dystopian themes
of governmental oppression and societal complacency.
Jake, for the aforementioned projects, and frankly all of his work in junior-level English, needs little to no
prompting to generate original ideas and analysis. His is a mind tuned-in to big ideas and their reverberations through
everyday life, individual human experience, and artistic pursuits. This does not mean that Jake blythly pursues his ideas in a
vacuum. Not at all. Jake is entirely willing to ask for help, outside perspective, and eagerly desires critique and suggestions.
Conversing with Jake about revisions or ideas that he is fleshing out is a practice of mutual engagement. He questions and
he implements what advice works and eschews what does not. Simply put, Jake Bradury is an autonomous thinker who
knows the value of discussion and input.
These traits will serve Jake well in all future pursuits. He is more than ready to attend college, balancing work, life,
and education, and continue to engage in his own artistic interests. On top of it all, Jake has a big heart. This empathy is
critical when engaging in interpersonal/work relationships, as well as in continuing to be an exemplary human. I know full
well that Jake Bradbury will achieve great things and do so with immense compassion and intelligence. It is with great pride
that I recommend Jake for any future academic or employment opportunities.

Sincerely,

Christian S. Rees
English Facilitator
Gonzalo Garza Independence High School
512-414-8647
christian.rees@austinisd.org

CHRISTIAN REES, English Facilitator, Gonzalo Garza Independence High School

1600 Chicon Street, Austin, TX. 78702 ♦ Phone: 512-414-8647 ♦ ​christian.rees@austinisd.org