Kefaya Diab
A Student Letter by Alexx freshour
Alexx, a student who enrolled in my Professional Writing Skills course in Spring 2020 reached out to me indicating how that course influenced her career path and asking for a recommendation letter to support her pursuit of a graduate degree of Physician Assistant. Alexx granted me permission to publish her full email with her name.
Dear Dr. Diab,
I hope you and your family have remained healthy and well over the course of this past year. I want to begin by thanking you in advance for taking the time to read and consider my email. My name is Alexandra Freshour and I am a previous Professional Writing student of yours. In fact, I was a part of the Professional Writing course that you taught at this time last year that made the first transition to e-learning or, as some students like to call it now, “Zoom University”. During your course I had the opportunity to work with the Racial Justice Task Force of the Unitarian Universalist Church alongside my peers, Justin and Carlos, to formulate a proposal to encourage IU student interaction with the organization – but you might remember me best by my signature light pink hair. I am writing to ask if you would consider writing a letter of recommendation for me for my upcoming CASPA application to Physician Assistant schools.
Since graduating from IU, I have immersed myself in the healthcare field. I have worked at a senior living facility, received a certification in phlebotomy, spoken with a current PA about their profession, and have been offered a position as a plasma technician which I am set to start on March 8th. This year has been very important to me to not only validate my desired aspirations, but to also check in with myself: Is this the career I want to pursue? Am I cut out for the workload required to be qualified for this profession? Does this profession line up with my values? I am happy to say that I am more enthusiastic than ever about my decision to follow this career path.
Your course provided me with invaluable guidance to navigate the professional world after my undergraduate career. I often found myself reviewing old assignments or memos when responding to job inquiries over email or referring to the mock cover letter we fine-tuned during class when applying to jobs. Most importantly your course greatly expanded my knowledge and understanding pertaining to social, racial and gender inequity. I feel even more grateful that the research project topic chosen for my group allowed me to further investigate the issue and its current prevalence.
The focus your course had on accessibility has greatly influenced how I view current care in health settings. The quality of care, in most cases, is influenced by the individual’s race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Understanding what it is like to not be able to afford care because of income, but also understanding that, even then, the color of my skin influences the care I receive has fueled my desire even more to become a healthcare provider. Becoming a Physician Assistant will not immediately change the systemic bias that persists in primary care, but it will change the lives of my patients and it will make me a part of the discussion to address healthcare inequity.
I owe a lot of my ambitions to you which is why I highly value your recommendation. If this is something you would consider providing for me, I would be more than willing to meet via zoom to discuss it further. Again, I sincerely thank you for your consideration of this request as well as the time you sacrificed to read this email. I look forward to your response and I hope to hear from you soon.
Warm Regards,
Alexandra Freshour
I hope you and your family have remained healthy and well over the course of this past year. I want to begin by thanking you in advance for taking the time to read and consider my email. My name is Alexandra Freshour and I am a previous Professional Writing student of yours. In fact, I was a part of the Professional Writing course that you taught at this time last year that made the first transition to e-learning or, as some students like to call it now, “Zoom University”. During your course I had the opportunity to work with the Racial Justice Task Force of the Unitarian Universalist Church alongside my peers, Justin and Carlos, to formulate a proposal to encourage IU student interaction with the organization – but you might remember me best by my signature light pink hair. I am writing to ask if you would consider writing a letter of recommendation for me for my upcoming CASPA application to Physician Assistant schools.
Since graduating from IU, I have immersed myself in the healthcare field. I have worked at a senior living facility, received a certification in phlebotomy, spoken with a current PA about their profession, and have been offered a position as a plasma technician which I am set to start on March 8th. This year has been very important to me to not only validate my desired aspirations, but to also check in with myself: Is this the career I want to pursue? Am I cut out for the workload required to be qualified for this profession? Does this profession line up with my values? I am happy to say that I am more enthusiastic than ever about my decision to follow this career path.
Your course provided me with invaluable guidance to navigate the professional world after my undergraduate career. I often found myself reviewing old assignments or memos when responding to job inquiries over email or referring to the mock cover letter we fine-tuned during class when applying to jobs. Most importantly your course greatly expanded my knowledge and understanding pertaining to social, racial and gender inequity. I feel even more grateful that the research project topic chosen for my group allowed me to further investigate the issue and its current prevalence.
The focus your course had on accessibility has greatly influenced how I view current care in health settings. The quality of care, in most cases, is influenced by the individual’s race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Understanding what it is like to not be able to afford care because of income, but also understanding that, even then, the color of my skin influences the care I receive has fueled my desire even more to become a healthcare provider. Becoming a Physician Assistant will not immediately change the systemic bias that persists in primary care, but it will change the lives of my patients and it will make me a part of the discussion to address healthcare inequity.
I owe a lot of my ambitions to you which is why I highly value your recommendation. If this is something you would consider providing for me, I would be more than willing to meet via zoom to discuss it further. Again, I sincerely thank you for your consideration of this request as well as the time you sacrificed to read this email. I look forward to your response and I hope to hear from you soon.
Warm Regards,
Alexandra Freshour