Gordon Hultberg

310S. 300E. #3
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801.560.4680

Re: Pankratz, Haley; Letter of Recommendation
To Whom It May Concern:
It has been my great pleasure to work with Haley at Intermountain Christian School for eight years.
During that time we have shared rides, meals, and teaching ideas. I cannot characterize Haley's
teaching apart from his generosity; it imbues his art, his teaching, and his relationships with
colleagues and especially students.
Haley created coffee mugs for other faculty members that were tailored to our passions. As drama and
English teacher, mine is a bit of a goblet with a comedy/tragedy motif. After a faculty meeting he is
prone to pass you a caricature or sketch he has made that is sure to make you smile.
When he hears an idea at an in-service he explores ways to put it into practice, to benefit his students
and improve the interdisciplinary aspects of the academic program. I was chair of a writing initiative
group, and Haley persisted in finding new ways to ask his students to Write To Learn, engaging me in
enthusiastic and ongoing conversations about students learning to think critically about art and ideas.
The payoff has been seeing his art students importing their critical thinking and enjoyment of art into
my English classes. Given the chance, they will create connections between an idea they have explored
in art and a book they are reading in class. My students actually initiate journal prompts requiring
that their peers apply the same thinking to texts as they do to art.
Haley's interest in students as individuals is something I need to highlight. While his group art shows
are stunning, I am certain it is owing to his engagement with each student and recognition of her or
his unique gift. He cultivates students such as Amy, who is skilled at drawing, by challenging her to
reach for new goals, and supporting and celebrating her work by entering it in state competition and
aiding in her preparation for such a show. Particularly, his work with David on a graphic novel for
independent study has been generous in the autonomy and direction he provides, with me as a
co-advisor on the literary aspects of the graphic novel genre. He continues to work closely with David
on other art projects as well. In all cases it is evident to me that whatever a student's capacity, Haley
supports, encourages, and celebrates success and achievement. He makes them love art.
I heartily recommend Haley Pankratz because I see him approaching his work as a teacher with great
care for the heart and soul of his students and his fellow workers. He continues to push himself and his
peers to consider the ways we might improve and overlap our pedagogy, so that student learning will
be a celebration of both the creative and the intellectual. He is a man of high integrity who deeply
cares for others.
Sincerely,

Gordon Hultberg