letter of reference

To Whom it May Concern:

I am writing this letter as a character reference for William (Billy) Thomas, who is applying for admission to the Johnson School of Business at Cornell University.

I have known Bill for most of his life, serving as his landlord, supervisor and mentor, at times (and at times, all three at the same time - or so my inflated sense of self would like to think). I can vouch for his character and persistence against all odds, despite being told "you can't do that" many times in his life. He is creative in meeting his goals and kind in dealing with his friends and people he doesn't know and even those he doesn't like. He has the qualities of a good leader. And if all else fails, he has his sense of humor and spontaneity to get through the inevitable times when life doesn't go the way one wants. I will share a few examples of these traits.

As the middle child, he was a challenge to his parents; consistently breaking rules but using good logic to defend his position. This trait led him later to get a degree in philosophy and psychology, so he could argue his points more eloquently. He wrote convincing proposals to his unsuspecting and (he thought) naive parents, somehow getting them to believe that he needed to repeat his algebra class, instead of continuing with geometry, knowing all along it was an easy "A". He once showed me excerpts from this proposal. It began with:

I propose that I switch my math class from geometry to algebra. I want to do this so I can better understand geometry when I reach it next year and understand math after that. If I take Algebra again I can understand it because I will need it in order to be successful in geometry. The main reason I am floundering in geometry is because I didn't understand algebra so I faked it.

Unfortunately, he was not as good at convincing his dog to cover for him. The dog led his parents directly to where he was hiding behind the garage, trying to sneak in the house before they discovered he was not home where he should be. But, when caught in a lie, he readily admitted his guilt although resisted the punishment to follow. He admitted to future employers that he had been fired from two jobs -his honesty got him hired at a place where he remained employed for 4 years and became a manager.

His kind nature was apparent from the time he was a young lad. He always gave his money to homeless folks (believing that they really did need bus money to get back home) and to his friends who needed new Reebok shoes. He really did not want to spend much time with his grandparents, because he knew how bad he would feel when they died. He had a newspaper route, and when the paper was late, he would write notes apologizing to his customers. His service earned him $100 tips, which was twice as much as he earned in one paycheck. If that doesn't show good business sense, I don't know what does.

Perhaps one of his more stunning post high school moves was convincing high officials of the Mormon Church (ChurchofJesusChristofLatterDaySaints as it is known here in Utah) that he and several other friends should be allowed to visit his friend who was on a two year mission for this church in Nebraska. Usually this is unheard of. But the church officials had a revelation. He had to promise to receive one of the six lessons taught by the Mormon church from his friend. The church officials probably figured somehow they could convince him to get the other five lessons. Six lessons and you are eligible to become a Mormon and go on your own two year mission. He has resisted that temptation - or even avoided it altogether.

Bill and his friends lived at a residence known as "The Blue House" - called this for obvious reasons, but mostly because it was Blue. Many ping pong parties were held there and on one memorable night, having heard stories about the Blue house parties, the entire Phoenix Sun basketball team showed up and chipped in $50 for beer. To this day, he is proud of himself for not saying to Steve Nash "I'm your biggest fan"

Bill also is an athlete of sorts. He has run at least 5 marathons - mostly without training. After running his first, at the age of 14, his remarks at the finish line (it might not have been pretty, but he did finish) were, "You have no idea how far 26.2 miles is". His last marathon was the New York Marathon, which he ran on his 22nd birthday. It was at the moment when his IT band gave out that he realized perhaps he was beyond the age when he could run without training. So he won't be one of your average fat MBA grads who despite the brains and the Cornell education, looks like a ripe watermellen in his Armani suit.

Because of this and many other stories that would make my reference letter way too long to be believable, I can, without reservations, highly recommend that you welcome Billy with open arms, into you program. He rejected your rejection once and he can do it again! Unless of course, he accepts one of the many other offers he has received.

Sincerely, A friend of Bill

PS: For more incredible proof of his worthiness, check out http://admitmetothejohnsonschool.blogspot.com