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Recommendation for Steven Gauntt

I have worked with Steven Gauntt as the dean of students at Sonoma Academy. ThoughSteven has been at SA for just two years, he will be fondly remembered for his warmth,energy, and love ofSpanish culture and language.

Steven has been a very positive presence in terms of school culture and as dean of students Icould count on him to come forward with contributions to student life. We have a weeklyCommunity Meeting that always begins with a Moment of Reflection and ends with aMoment of Gratitude, and Steven has contributed on both ends of this spectrum. Mostmemorably he showed a clip of the Icelandic rock band Sigur Ros and spoke about creativityand risk, typifying his offbeat and international perspective, The students have alwaysenjoyed his humor and have given his contributions an enthusiastic reception. Since I createthe agendas for these weekly meetings, I have always appreciated his willingness to comeforward and to create contributions that are both surprising and meaningful.

All SA teachers offer pass/fail "exploratory courses" and Steven's Spanish film exploratoryhas always had strong enrollment. He has also actively overseen Ultimate Frisbee. Our two-week Intersession falls in fanuary and Steven has also helped with programs such as rockclimbing and building things, In addition, he worked closely vrith his department to foundthe SA Chapter of the Spanish Honors Society and came up with its name-the Bartolom1 delas Casas Chapter. [Named for one of the first legal scholars to address the issue of "humanrights," and in the 16th century-i.e. well before such a concept or term even existed,)Lastly, steven also runs an eight-student advisory group that meets weekly.

Steven is clearly a life long learner both inside and outside of the classroom. In a facultydiscussion group this spring I remember him referring to himself as "a student" and thattruly resonated for me. Not only does he have his PhD in Spanish literature, but he is astudent of life and his many avocations. His study of yoga and meditation are a core part ofwho he is and I have appreciated the subtle way he integrates these passions into his workwith students. Steven is a world sojourner, spending the summer of '09 abroad inSantander, Spain at the Universidad Internacional Menend ez Pelayo, where he alsoinvestigated the site for future exchanges for Sonoma Academy.

Steven's zest for life and playful personality have added a lot to our school these last twoyears. He will be greatly missed and we will look forward to hearing about his futureadventures both inside and outside of a school community.4 (>,,;Ellie DwightDean of StudentsMay 5,2070

tr2500 Farmers LaneSanta Rosa, CA 95404Te\707.545.1770Fax 707.636.2474www.sonomaacademy.org

Monterey Instituteof International StudiesA Craduate School of Middlebury ColleBe

46o Pierce StreetMonterey, California 9394o USAwww.rniis.edu

January 5,2011

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I am writing this letter of recommendation on behalf of Dr. StevenGauntt's application for a scholarship to become an information assurance professional throughthe Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Information Systems Security Studies and Rssearch(CISR). I believe Dr. Gauntt's exceptional analytical ability, strong oral and writtencommunication skills, and honest work ethic would contribute significantly to this program.

Dr. Gauntt was a writing specialist at the Graduate Writing Center at the Monterey Institute ofInternational Studies for the academic year 2007-2008 when I was coordinator. I hired Dr.Gauntt on the basis of his academic and professional qualifications, and I was extremely pleasedwith his performance. This position entailed assisting a very diverse student body in improvingtheir writing skills. The student population included both native and non-native English-speaking students from the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin Americ4 and the MiddleEast, all studying for Master's degrees in International Policy Studies, International Business,Translation and Interpretation, or Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Somestudents were very sophisticated writers; others were struggling writers. The specialist's rolerequired being able to recognize the individual strengths and challenges each student faced incompleting a writing assignment, and finding ways to coach him to become a more proficientwriter. This was not an easy task by any means, considering that students' assignments covereda wide range of disciplinary genres, and students themselves had a wide range of linguisticproficiency and academic haining in their respective discipline.

Dr. Gauntt excelled in the position. He is both very smart and very personable * the idealcombination for any instructor - and students benefited tremendously from his guidance. Inhiring for this position, I was looking for a candidate with excellent communication skills andcultural sensitivity. I needed someone who could quickly gain credibility with students yet alsomake them feel very comfortable in a one-on-one instructional setting. The ideal candidatewould have sharp analytical skills and the ability to assimilate new knowledge quickly. I wasvery fortunate to have found Dr. Gauntt. From the feedback I received, the students appreciatedhis instruction tremendously and they went out of their way to let me know. As part of ourinternal evaluation process, we administer an anonymous survey to all students who use theGraduate Writing Center. We do not ask for specific feedback on any individual instructor'sperformance, but rather general feedback on the quality of instructional services the Centerprovides. However, as I recall, Dr. Gauntt was the only specialist mentioned by name in

Monterev Instituteof Inter iational StudiesA Craduate School o;f Middlebury ColleBe

46o Pierce StreetMonterey, Califotnia 93940 USAwww.rniis.edu

the survey, and the student commented that s/he was deeply appreciative of all his help. Anotherstudent sought out Dr. Gauntt's assistance on her own, choosing to work with him independentlyof the Writing Center. Moreover, I have referred two students to Dr. Gauntt for tutoring, and Iknow they have both been very pleased with his instruction.

It quickly became evident that Dr. Gauntt has a strong grasp of the grammatical structures of theEnglish language. From conversations I have had with him, I know he has studied foreignlanguages in addition to Spanish, and I think this speaks positively of him on at least twoaccounts: 1) he is a lifelong leamer with an inquiring mind who relishes new challenges; 2) hehas an aptitude for understanding the underlying structures of a system, a skill essential to manyfields. (In contrast, many individuals struggle with understanding the structure of their very ownlanguage.) I would imagine this ability to comprehend and articulate the systematic nature ofsomething seemingly un-systematic, such as the English language, would be an aptitude that Dr.Gauntt could also apply to the field of information assurance.

As his supervisor, I was also impressed with Dr. Gauntt's ability to analyze an unfamiliar text orgenre and quickly apply his newfound knowledge to helping students. This ability to quicklyassimilate, synthesize, and analyze new information, which comes from Dr. Gauntt's many yearsof formal academic training, would help him to excel rt any new challenge he undertakes. Eventhough Dr. Gauntt has a successful track record in his field, it impresses me that he wouldchallenge himself to hone a new set of competencies in an emerging field. His diverse skill set,coupled with his determination to excel at new challenges, would make him an asset to yourprogram. With full confidence, I offer my unqualified recommendation on his behalf. If I canprovide any further information about Dr. Gauntt's excellent qualifications, please do nothesitate to contact me at (831) 647-3599 or at lisa.leopold@rniis.edu.

Sincerely,

Lisa Leopold

Assistant Professor

English for Academic and Professional Purposes

Monterey Institute of International Studies