January 8, 2018

Robert Waterman
El Capitan High School
100 Farmland
Merced, Ca 95348

To whom it may concern:

It is with great pleasure that I am writing this letter in support of Samantha Abarca. I have known
Samantha since the Fall 2016 when she was enrolled in my AP Chemistry class at El Capitan High
School. She immediately distinguished herself as the most enthusiastic and motivated student in my
class. This impression continued to grow over time as she completed the Chemistry course. In this course
she earned the top grade in the class.

Samantha is one of those students that teachers usually only dream about. She not only is motivated by
getting a good grade, she truly wants to understand the material completely. One example of this was
when she was in my AP Chemistry class, she missed a problem on a chapter test, and earned an A-
instead of the usual A. She took time to come get help and understand what she had missed. In my AP
Chemistry class, she was placed in a group with students that needed a lot of help. Samantha went out of
her way to assist these students and they all learned more as a result.

Samantha is a well rounded person. She has been a member of the CSF all 4 years and achieved
Academic Excellence in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She has been in band all 4 years and won an award for
Most Outstanding Freshman. She has been active in the community as well, volunteering over 340 hours
of her valuable time to Farmdale Classroom Help, Junior Olympics, Merco Marathon, Lights on
After-School, Zoo Boo and Livingston Kite Festival. In all of these activities she works well with others,
demonstrates strong leadership qualities and truly strives to do her best in everything she does.

In class, she is always willing to collaborate with others. She always has her work completed early and is
eager to check her solutions to complex problems. She is willing to help other students of all abilities to
understand difficult concepts. She has certainly boosted the level of knowledge and understanding in AP
Chemistry by assisting those in need. Samantha’s enthusiasm is contagious and helps others around her
achieve greatness.

I believe that Samantha will be a successful University student. She will be the first in her family to attend
a 4 year college. I will certainly miss her when she graduates this spring and moves on to conquer her
next challenge. Samantha is a dream student and a fantastic person. I give her my highest
recommendation.

Sincerely,

Robert Waterman
Teacher, El Capitan High School