andrew abraham letter of recommendation

1. Christian response and witness, manifestations of faith, level of activity in church. *

o Not observed o Poor o Average o Above average o Exceptional

I was born and raised in the Lutheran school system. I am the youngest of 4. I have 3 children in the Lutheran school system. I consider myself a Christian before a Lutheran and have been a part of and led many outreach groups and classes with an emphasis in apologetics during college and adulthood. I have a love and passion for the lost. I tell you this to show that I am not a passive observer of a young man's "manifestations of faith" and "witness". I have also been an active observer of many young men and women in this category because of my involvement and place in the family birth order. I have never seen a more mature, compassionate, God Fearing, young man for his age than Andrew. I am not overstating this for the letter of recommendation. Much like the good news of the gospel, a good restaurant or vacation recommendation, I am excited, perhaps giddy to share with you the exceptional Christian love, maturity, work ethic, stamina, and impact that Andrew has had on my family as well as an entire high school and church congregation that I observed over the last few years. I worked Andrew like a dog. I worked him late at night, during finals week, early weekend mornings and tried to take every spare minute he had to offer. Spare minutes were a challenge because Andrew was in every honorable academic association or club, he was involved in band, youth group, and year round athletics. Through it all Andrew found time for me and my son. The one exception that was non-negotiable and stated upfront was his weekly volunteer church work and activity. He would get up earlier for us, he would work Saturdays or Sundays after church but never would he miss church attendance or his weekly volunteer church work. Youth group participation was also a priority. I could go on for hours. I would be happy to discuss on the phone or even take the time to meet if need be but I should probably move on with the rest of the survey.

2. General level of maturity, emotional stability, self-discipline, control under pressure *


Andrew stressed me out with all he was handling. Yet with his discipline, work ethic, control under pressure etc. he handled everything with extraordinary success. It was common for Andrew to come over to tutor my son at 9pm after a night that included national honors society meetings or student council meetings that he had to lead as president that was in addition to a late basketball practice.

Many times he had not showered or had dinner yet. He would have multiple AP tests the next day and he would still not cancel my sons tutoring session. It was common for me to come down after midnight on a school night or finals week and my underclassman son was texting Andrew and getting help on the phone. If Andrew was up that late studying it was well within his rights to blow the freshman off, not answer the phone, and/or claim he never got the call. But he always answered the call and helped despite his own pressure. I begged Andrew to log that time as I should at least pay him for his service. But he would not log the hours on the phone. Andrew was always pleasant never stressed never complained just kept plugging away. I was embarrassed of the time we were demanding of Andrew but loved the way he was mentoring, leading, and helping my son not only academically but socially and athletically as well. I would continually remind him that he needed to take care of himself first. I would hunt down his parents at sporting events to insure them that I was not slave driving him and that he could back off whenever necessary. They were stressed about his work ethic but stated that they wanted him to manage his own time and as long as he was succeeding they were not going to get involved. It seemed like the adults were scared and emotionally concerned about the pace and self-discipline of Andrew because we couldn't see how he could balance it all but Andrew was cool and collected and wildly successful despite all the pressure on his time.

3. Honesty, trustworthiness, sincerity, uprightness in character and action, integrity, straightforwardness *


Kids, parents, teachers, coaches alike don't all love and root for a successful kid like Andrew unless he is sincerely humble, honest, trustworthy and loving. We all love Andrew because he sincerely loves and respects his neighbor as himself. Sincere integrity is why he is respected as a leader by so many diverse ages and groups.

Self-confidence, ambition, healthy attitude toward self-abilities, inner motivation and drive *


See answer #2. You can't be as successful as Andrew in all categories unless you have inner motivation and drive. Andrew never tired, he didn't get enough sleep and he was one of the most highly motivated teens I have ever met. He was an inspiration to my son in all walks of life. Weather it was bruising his

body diving for loose balls in basketball, campaigning for the presidency of student council, pulling all night study sessions for school, youth group, or band competitions no one could out work Andrew. The result prove that!

Social acceptability, response from others, congeniality, ability to mix with others, tact *


With all the positive comments above included, one of Andrew’s most remarkable assets is his social acceptability. In all my years as a child and adult I have never experienced a child that is so well respected, and more importantly loved, with every category of kid and adult. No one was jealous of Andrew. He had what every kid wanted and what every parent wanted for their kid but because of his love, compassion and friendship and respect to all, everyone, even the less fortunate, rooted for him. When I think about it, and I recognize that I am generalizing here, I can't think of a child who was the leader and "the guy" of so many diverse groups. The jocks, the "bandos", the stoners, the nerds, the brains, the door knobs, all loved Andrew. He didn't just mix well. He was the guy in every group. One of many examples of this was in sports with the jocks. Andrew was an average athlete. He was not anywhere near the most talented. He gave up quite a bit in physical size. Yet his hustle and heart, his leadership and attitude, his encouragement and respect for the officials and opponents and teammates was extraordinary. Because of this the end of year awards were an Andrew Abraham ceremony. I could see a kid like this winning the favor of a coach but these awards were voted on by the kids. It’s common for children at this age to be self-absorbed with inflated egos and inflated confidence in their abilities. This attitude leads to being hyper critical of others in order to benefit self and achieve awards for self. Our teams were no different and yet these teammates voted Andrew for all the awards despite the fact that he was not the best athlete on the team. Andrew had a passion for sports but it wasn't his thing any more than band, school, student council, etc. where he experienced the same level of love, respect and success. It was remarkable. My opinion is that this is because Andrew sincerely "loved his neighbor as himself". Love conquers all and Andrew's love for others certainly gave him and exceptional acceptability socially.

Leadership ability, influence on others, ability to inspire others *


See answer 5. President of Student Council, leadership role in National Honors Society, hustle and heart in all sports that inspires more talented and lazier kids to work harder and give him the awards they might deserve, are all characteristics of Andrew. I would be happy to speak in detail to the specific examples of these characteristics. A sincere love for others that makes people want to love him back, root for him and follow him. He was a major influence on my son by his example of work ethic and hustle. More importantly his Christian walk and actions were often referenced and used as an example, (with my son), of the benefits of living a Godly life and following Gods rules instead of following your personal rights and selfish desires. He was a tremendous influence on my son and a welcomed help as a peer example to the benefits of living a Godly life. Please feel free to call me to discuss more detailed examples of Andrew's effective and Godly influence on others, especially my son.

Energy level, willingness to work hard, industry, work habits, acceptance of duties, initiative. *


Look no further than his resume. Band, 3 sport participant, student council president, leadership role in National Honors Society, Val Victorian, Tutor, Church Volunteer, Youth Group participant, Maximum AP course load, U of M student, etc. I can speak personally to him tutoring my son from 9p to 1030pm without dinner and a shower because he could not get to our house earlier because of extra-curricular activity. He would leave our house to go eat dinner and to start studying for multiple AP Tests. He would let my son know that because of his tests he would be up late and to not hesitate to call with questions. Extraordinary work ethic and drive! He also accepted and initiated more duties with the job I had for him than was ever expected. Sensational work ethic and energy level. All done without complaint.

Relation to authority, ability to accept supervision and guidance, teamwork, loyalty *


You will not find a person who is more loved by authority. Peers parents and authority all love Andrew. As an employer of Andrew he not only had an ability to accept supervision and guidance but he would do more than I asked and was loyal and responsible beyond his years.

Dependability, responsibility, reliability, faithfulness to duties, punctuality, conscientiousness *


Have not been able to find a replacement for Andrew who comes close to his dependability. This not only speaks to his character and moral integrity but it also speaks to his ability to perform and balance his life responsibilities around his work responsibilities. He get things done so that he never has to cancel. Was also faithful to his weekly church duties and would not compromise his church commitments for anything.

Understanding of and relationship with children and youth, sensitivity to persons in younger age group *


My son was a freshman when Andrew was a junior. His encouragement and connection with my son was extraordinary. He was sensitive to the changes and

pressures in a freshman's life and encouraged and reached out and helped when my son needed it most. Andrew showed no signs of being condescending and sympathized, encouraged, and connected with my son to help him better thrive. Personal appearance, neatness in person, overall professionalism *


You won't have any issues. Just tell him the expectation and he will happily conform and perform.

Reference for Camp Arcadia (page 3 of 3)Finally, please provide additional information that can help us determine if this applicant is the right match for Camp Arcadia. At the bottom of this form, please click "Submit" to send the information to the Camp management staff.

What do you see as the applicant's two major strengths?

Sincerely loving his neighbor as himself which allows him to be so well loved and respected. This creates a platform for him to lead and influence.

Work Ethic and Drive: He balances so much responsibility for someone his age, he never tires, and he gives everything he has in everything he does.

What do you see as the applicant's two major areas for improvement?

No one is perfect and Andrew of course has room for improvement. However, I am not confident enough in my writing to accurately articulate his needs for improvement. I would fear you reading into my comments in a way that would negatively and unjustly impact your view of Andrew. For this reason I am not going to comment.

How does this applicant deal with stressful or challenging situations?

Better than anyone his age. Never seen so many balls juggled so successfully. Read what is already been written and/or call me if more detail is needed.

Are you aware of any reason why this person should not work with children? If yes, please explain.

None!

Overall, how strongly do you recommend him or her for employment at Camp Arcadia? *

o Not recommended o Recommend with reservations o Recommend o Highly recommend

Shall we telephone you regarding this reference? o That is fine, but not necessary o Yes, I would like a call

Extraordinary. Can't imagine a better candidate for a Christian Camp. You should consider the fact that a recommendation like this was written by someone who is not a longtime family friend and whose impact was so significant in such a short period of time. It’s because I want to give back for all he has given me and my son. He will give you the same. He has done it for everyone else everywhere he has been. Why wouldn't he do it for you?

andrew abraham letter of recommendation

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