mH U UNIVERSITY or UTAH “The Ofce for Sten ity and Divesty "DS Cenal Campus Dive, Ste BS St ake Cay, tah B42 9OT-SEL-81SY Fax OV-SBH-7T19 April 14, 2017 To whom it may concern, Itis with great excitement that I recommend Ms. Carol Castaneda for a teaching position. I have known Ms. Castaneda since Academic Year 2012-2013 when I met her in my capacity as an advisor for the student organization El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (MECHA). An active member of the Chicanx/Latinx community at the University of Utah, Ms. Castaneda became well known to me through her work in various organizations and as an officer for MECHA. She serve in various leadership roles including as serving as the Chair for the organization, which is its highest individual officer position in the organization, In her capacity as the MEChA Chair, Ms. Castaneda participated actively and had a thoughtful presence in our organization. Ms. Castaneda offered the insights she gleaned from her experiences as a campus leader and her academic scholarship, while maintaining an open, dialogical stance towards nal members and me. This combination of experience and openness greatly enriched our organization, As a matter of fact, my admiration for Ms. Castaneda is beyond words. She was the driving force in in creating a welcoming social justice environment for students within the organization. As the leader of the group, she tumed around an organization made up of 5-7 students and created one of the largest and most influential student groups on campus in the span of two and a half years. I believe the same practices she used to engage and retain student leaders will be translatable to her teaching. Furthermore, Ms. Castaneda’s accomplishments as a campus leader are numerous. She has gained extensive student leadership experience as a key member of various student led organization such as MEChA, Student Leaders in Diversity Empowerment, the Hispanic Business Student Association, Latinos in Action, among other endeavors. In academic year 2013-2014, Ms. Castaneda was a leading force in creating a successful foundation for MEChA’s largest events that included the MECHA High School Conference, the Chicanx/Latinx Graduation Ceremony, and fundraising enough funds to take over 20 individuals to Colorado for a national conference over 30 to Chicago. Ms. Castaneda followed that up by becoming chair of the organization in academic year 2014-2015 and expanding those events even further. However, although an important part, she received a great deal of support from other individuals. | mention this because one of the qualities I have been most impressed with Ms. Castaneda has been her ability to gain support from her peers. During her time as chair, MECHA had its most efficient run where it felt like a real collective of students coming. together and distributing roles and assignments. This is a rare quality few individuals possess and one which really surprised me because Ms. Castaneda is one of the most humble and soft spoken persons T know. Once again, I am excited to see how she will use these skills in the classroom to engage students and have them work together. Ms. Castaneda has also worked with programs like Upward Bound and Gear Up that provide guidance and mentorship for underrepresented, low-income, and/or first generation high school students. She has also worked as a peer mentor for the Diversity Scholars program which works with first year college students from similar student demographics. Her commitment to promoting, encouraging, and creating pathways for working class, historically underrepresented students inmm UNIVERSITY SF UTAH ‘The Office for Student Equity and Diversity OS Gna ne Se STE VOR HE 6S ST FTE THD pursuit of higher education is impressive and matched by few undergraduates with whom I have ‘worked with, Ms. Castaneda consistently advocates for equity across the lines of race and culture, and, more broadly, for social justice. As her advisor, I have especially been impressed by Ms. Castaneda’s efforts to combine her community involvement with her academics. As a first-generation college student from West Valley, who has dedicated a great deal of time to preparing high school students for the University of Utah and motivating them to attend college, Ms. Castaneda demonstrates her commitment to extending and maintaining educational pipelines for students in our area. I admire Ms. Castaneda’s tenacity and her commitment to the numerous endeavors to which she applies herself. In particular, she consistently demonstrated her dedication to her fellow Chicanx/Latinx students, as well as the broader Chicanx/Latinx community of our region. Ms. Castaneda’s commitment serves as a model for other students at a time when many choose the path of apathy. Lastly, Ms. Castaneda is extremely dedicated to working with youth as you can see from her level of engagement in outreaching efforts during her undergraduate career. She is passionate to translate these skills into the classroom. With her Spanish teaching major, she hopes to provide a culturally relevant education for Latinx students that can connect them to their ancestral and cultural roots, while motivating them to pursue higher education. I am excited to see Ms. Castaneda to move into her new role, and also to see the influence she has on youth. For those reasons, I highly recommend Ms. Carol Castaneda. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to further discuss Ms. Cstaneda’s work, I can be reached by phone at (801) 585-1538 or via email at rudy.medina@utah.edu, Sincerely, hey Meda, M.Ed First-Year Experience & Chicanx/Latinx Program Coordinator Office for Student Equity and Diver