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28 January 2XXX

Truman Scholarship Selection CommitteeWillamette University

900 State Street

Salem, Oregon 9!0"

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&&&&&&&&&&&is a gem' She is one o( the most conscientious an) har) *or+ing stu)ents

have ever taught in *hat is no* a rather long career, an) she has proven to -e one o( the

most creative an) synthetic un)ergra)uate thin+ers have encountere). She is also an

e/ceptionally engaging, interesting an) *arm person *ith tremen)ous strength o(character an) integrity. am )elighte) an) prou) to -e a-le to *rite this letter recom

men)ing &&&&&&&&&&& (or the Truman Scholarship. There are (e* stu)ents *oul) *ant

to recommen) to you *ith as much con(i)ence an) enthusiasm.

have +no*n &&&&&&&& (or almost three years. She *as enrolle) in my section o( our

core program (or (irst year stu)ents )uring her (irst semester at Willamette University.The secon) semester she (elt she nee)e) greater challenges an) as+e) to enroll in my 100

level seminar on historiography an) philosophy o( history, a course *here she *oul) -e

surroun)e) -y senior history maors. She )i) very *ell in the course an) this as a secon)semester (reshman' 3ast year she *as a stu)ent in my course on t*entieth century

$uropean intellectual history. 4n) serve as her aca)emic a)visor.

&&&&&&&&&&&& has )emonstrate) in my courses that she is un)aunte) -y )i((icult an))eman)ing rea)ing material 5in the t*entieth century course, (or e/ample, te/ts -y 6reu),

$instein, Sartre, )e 7eauvoir, 4ren)t, ei)egger, 6anon an) 6oucault, an) she is a-le torea) closely an) *ith goo) comprehension. She -rings her un)erstan)ing to class as a*ellprepare) an) *ellorgani:e) participant in )iscussion. She is a )iligent stu)ent *ho

thin+s (or hersel(. Though she is not ver-ally aggressive an) )oes not )ominate, *hen

she o((ers comments they are al*ays timely an) germane an) contri-ute to the (or*ar)movement o( the class; an) she as+s goo)

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?erhaps most important o( all, she *rites *ell. er prose is clear, tight an) (ree (rom

grammatical error, an) her papers in my courses 5*hich range) (rom a -rie( (our pages to

a lengthier t*elve pages an) to still longer t*enty pages *ere *ell organi:e), coherent,an) )emonstrate) her a-ility to (ormulate a thesis an) sustain an argument. n all cases,

they re(lecte) -oth her control o( the $nglish language an) her mastery o( the course

materials. The (irst o( the t*o t*elve page papers she su-mitte) in the t*entieth centurycourse insight(ully e/amine) ho* the *or+ o( 6reu) an) $instein serve) to un)ermine

the intellectual an) ethical tra)ition o( the eighteenth century $nlightenment. 4s she

care(ully e/plore) the intellectual crisis that resulte) an) that *as re(lecte) in the*ritings o( Sartre an) ei)egger, she empathetically o-serve) their struggle, an) that o(

)e 7eauvoir an) 4ren)t, to (in) an) a((irm an ethical position a citi:en o( the t*entieth

century might have ta+en up. The secon) paper grapple) *ith three o( the t*entieth

century=s most potent menaces to the values o( the *estern tra)ition @ totalitarianism, theviolence o( )ecoloni:ation, an) postmo)ernism. ere again, she appropriate) the te/ts

*e rea) to her o*n un)erstan)ing an) pro)uce) a *ell*ritten an) perceptive analysis.

The conclusions o( her t*o papers echoe) each other. The (irst en)e) *ith% Ahuman

agency an) (ree *ill remain capa-le o( creating immense -eauty or unimagina-le)estruction, an) the po*er to )eci)e *hich principle *ill )ictate human li(e is entirely

*ithin the imagination o( the in)ivi)ual.B 4n) conclu)ing the secon), she suggeste) thatthe legacy o( the t*entieth century is in part Athe recognition o( *hat in)ivi)ual an)

cultural complacency can allo*.ope (or the -etterment o( the human con)ition )oes

not lie in the pursuit o( an a-stract i)eal -ut in communication an) in)ivi)ualengagement.B er *or+ as a stu)ent an) as a young historian has helpe) to shape an)

illuminate her commitment as a (uture Truman scholar an) lea)er in our society.

4t Willamette University, the istory an) ?olitics )epartments have reputations (or -eingthe most )i((icult maors in the umanities, an) every year, *ithout (ail, a small num-er

o( particularly motivate) an) talente) stu)ents ta+e on the challenge o( maoring in -oth

)isciplines. Dost o( these )ou-le maors have gone on to top gra)uate schools or o-s inWashington E.C., an) it is clear that &&&&&&&&&&& is on the same traectory as this

e/ceptional group. shoul) ma+e it clear that this intense group o( stu)ents is a

particularly ?aci(ic Forth*est -unch; that is, not careerist an) internally competitive, -utintellectually curious an) politically engage). 4s a stu)ent, &&&&&&&& *or+s very har),

as note) a-ove, an) she has learne) )iscipline, goo) time management, an)

concentration in large part -ecause she is a stu)entGathlete an) her *or+ sho*s it.

She is also one o( the most re(lective an) thought(ul stu)ents have ever ha) in class, an)i( it is not (ully clear (rom my comments a-ove, let me simply assert that she has an

a-ility many young persons )o not seem to possess, the a-ility to ruminate. She

un)erstan)s the meaning o( the phrase, Athe li(e o( the min),B an) she values it highly.&&&&&&&&&&&&& These mar+s are consistent *ith her overall accumulate) gra)e point

average *hich am con(i)ent is an accurate re(lection o( her intellectual an) aca)emic

a-ilities. er un)ergra)uate e)ucation has -een *i)e ranging as a li-eral e)ucation oughtto -e, -ut it also has allo*e) her to )evelop a soli) (oun)ation in her t*o maors. She has

-een )riven in her pursuit o( e)ucation -y intellectual curiosity, not -y gra)e

consciousness. She is maturing

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