Department of Mathematics

201-732-6340
July 18, 2016

To Whom It May Concern:

Adam Parkinson has asked me to contribute a letter of recommendation to his portfolio. I am
delighted to do so.
I met Adam as an entering freshman when he enrolled in our mathematics course for
elementary school teacher candidates. I have taught that course for fifteen years and over that
span of time a handful of students stand out in my memory. Adam is one of those individuals.
Entering freshmen are generally not used to the reflective process we demand in college and
need to be coaxed to think creatively about material presented in lectures and assigned
readings. Not so, Adam. He was working in an afterschool program during his two semesters
with me and assisting children there with homework assignments. Adam would regularly come
to class with stories of the occurrence of our current topic within a childs homework
assignment. He shared the experiences of seeing the relevance of the material from our course
to that being taught in the schools. We would discuss ways to help a child develop conceptual
knowledge of mathematics and Adam would return to class and report the outcome of the
intervention.
Many times in a class there is one student who acts as a catalyst, sparking interest and
discussion, drawing out the more reticent students. Again, it was Adam who served as the
spark plug in our class. He is a natural leader without the bluster that sometimes
accompanies leadership. With his quiet respect, I witnessed Adam take a leadership role in
small group and whole group situations. His openness to new ideas and willingness to adjust
his perspective would serve to make Adam a thoughtful and productive team player on a faculty.
The mathematics course for pre-service teachers is a two semester course. At the end of the
academic year I suggested to Adam that he think about taking the additional nine credits of
mathematics required for middle school certification. He chose to do so and I had the pleasure
of teaching him for a third semester, this time with more challenging material in a course on
functions. He was up to the task. This was an upper-division course that met once a week and
required considerable work on the part of the student to complete the readings and assigned
problems and come to the lecture prepared to ask clarifying questions. Adams work ethic and
reflective thinking came through again in the class. Recently, he shared with me the fact that he
had passed the Middle School Mathematics Praxis exam.
It is clear that I think highly of Adam Parkinson and recommend him for employment without any
reservation. You will be hard-pressed to find a better candidate.
Yours truly,
Katherine Safford-Ramus, Ed.D.
Professor of Mathematics
2641 John F. Kennedy Boulevard | Jersey City, NJ 07306 | www.saintpeters.edu | (201) 761-6340
The Jesuit University of New Jersey