November 15, 2014

English and Humanities Departments

Honors Program
Glendale Community College
6000 West Olive Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85302

To Whom It May Concern:

I am very pleased to have been asked to write this letter of recommendation on behalf
of Yvonne Lawson.
Ms. Lawson has been in two of my Honors classes in the last few semestersENH251
Mythology, and ENH 295 Banned Books and Censorship. These were very different
classes, but Ms. Lawson did very well in both. Mythology was primarily a fact-based
course; for example, students needed to know a variety of myth theories, the identities
of various deities, the geographical and chronological eras in which the deities belong,
and why certain symbols and rituals are appropriate in various situations. Beyond that,
the students were able to choose subjects for the two papers they were required to
write.
My Banned Books class was quite different. It was almost entirely devoted to critical
thinking about issues of challenging and censoring a really wide variety of texts. Ms.
Lawsons choice of topics and works for papers and creative projects ranged from
reading Shel Silverstein and Brown Bear, Brown Bear at our annual college Banned
Books reading to writing a very thorough and insightful paper on Mark Twains Eves
Diary, a refreshing change from taking a more traditional approach and discussing
Huckleberry Finn.
The reason that I have spent so much time explaining these courses is because I want
to emphasize how well Ms. Lawson managed two so different kinds of classes. I find
this even more impressive considering that Ms. Lawsons major was Business and she
was a very successful student in this context as well. Indeed, in 2013 she was honored
with an Outstanding Student Achievement award from the Business department.
Ms. Lawson was suddenly widowed just over six years ago, and in the face of that
tragedy, chose to return to college. Her success at GCC was not only been an
inspiration for her own children (two of whom I have also had in my classes), but her
cheerful attitude, very strong work ethic and willingness to help other students made her
a real asset in the classroomand indeed, Ms. Lawson was hoping to become a
teacher herself certainly a commendable and achievable goal.

Again, I am very pleased that Ms. Lawson asked me to write this recommendation;
whatever institution accepts Ms. Lawson into its program is sure to be enriched by her
contrubutions.
Should you have any questions or comments regarding Ms. Lawsons recommendation,
please do not hesitate to email me.
Very cordially yours,
Dr. Ruth C A Callahan
Glendale Community College (Retired)
ruth.callahan@gccaz.edu