My reference for Peter VanDerwater

To whom it may concern:

In your haste to grab a great new addition to your staff, you forgot to ask me for a reference for Peter VanDerwater, my colleague in Fletcher’s Office of Admissions.  No matter.  I’m sending you one anyway.

Peter has been our go-to guy for (among other things) the LLM program and online chats — both were new initiatives when he took them on — as well as any office activity that involves the creation of an acronym.  He’s thorough and attentive to detail in all that he does.  He’s a pleasure to work with — consistently putting 110% into his efforts — and he’s a complete professional.  But don’t let that fool you.  He also has a quiet ironic sense of humor that you can count on to make work more fun.

Peter is one of my favorite Fletcher people, and I’m more than a little sorry you have decided to pluck him out of our happy team here at Fletcher Admissions.  Finding his replacement will be no easy task.  Not only do we need an intrepid traveler, but we’ll want someone who can keep up Peter’s side of our conversations about restaurants, cooking (you might want to ask him about his moose chili), soccer, and live music, particularly of the swampy variety.

You may also know that your decision to encourage Peter to relocate means that Fletcher loses two staffers.  His wife, Leah, will leave the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.  That makes us doubly sad.  But I suppose I’m also glad that he has this new opportunity in front of him.  In fact, everyone on the staff is pretty excited for him.

I hope you have found this reference letter helpful, and I’m confident that you will be very happy with your decision.  Please remember to leave Peter plenty of time to visit!

Sincerely,

Jessica Daniels

If you’re one of the many applicants and students who have benefited from Peter’s Admissions years, feel free to leave him a farewell note in the comments.

Our last formal event with Peter will be at a wedding tomorrow night.  Roxana’s wedding to be precise.  Congratulations, Roxana!  Congratulations and good luck, Peter and Leah!