December 17, 2018

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you in my position as the Director of the Center for Excellence in STEM Education at Central
Michigan University (CMU). One of the opportunities I have in my positon is working with a group of
undergraduate teacher education candidates called STEM Education Scholars. Each of the students in this
group, applied for and was accepted into a position with the group based on their GPA, SAT scores and
interest in math and/or science education. I have worked with Mark Davis as a member of the STEM
Education Scholar group since August 2014.

In order to remain in good standing with the Scholar program, Mark is responsible for participating in six
events each semester to meet three pillars in STEM education: teaching, learning and community.
However, Mark has gone well beyond these requirements. Mark has regularly volunteered more hours than
is required, he also served as Vice President of the STEM Education Scholar e-board and led a group of
Scholars who attended and created a presentation for the CMU Connections that Count Leadership
Conference. Additionally, although Mark does not have the most traditional STEM majors (history and
math), he consistently makes a point of finding ways in which these topics can support one another. Not all
teacher education candidates are as capable of integrating multiple subjects effectively.

Finally, I would like to share two things that I appreciate about Mark and demonstrate his strengths with
children. Mark is very thoughtful with the students he works with and he uses this strength to help children
know that not only is he listening to them, but he is also going to come back with a very appropriate
question to help them engage. Mark also knows his content well and is prepared when he works with
students. These traits will serve Mark well in his own classroom as they do now in ours.

For all of the above reasons, I recommend Mark Davis for the middle school position. Feel free to contact
me if you require additional information.

Sincerely,

Julie Cunningham
Director, Center for Excellence in STEM Education
Central Michigan University, EHS 134C
cunni2ja@cmich.edu; 989-774-3056