advice on recommendation

[rebeccavich]

I'm writing a recommendation letter for a student who's both very talented and a stellar human being. The recommendation is for a study-abroad program, and one of the things they'd like me to address is the student's maturity and likelihood of unproblematic adaptation to living abroad. It so happens that this particular student was recently (a

Comments

[spin1978]

I agree that asking the student is a good idea. If you have a faculty member in your department you feel comfortable speaking with, you may want to run it by them (without mentioning names of course), especially if they have experience with sending students to this study abroad program. You may also want to check with your university ombuds office if they have any suggestions/guidelines. (I peaked at your userinfo - I've heard good and so-so things about your school's ombuds office, as I'm also a student there.)

If it were me, I would just be inclined to write something along the lines of "Student X handled her/his responsibilities in an adult and sensible manner after having a non-fender bender car accident earlier this academic year. S/he followed the required medical treatment and did not let it unduly interfere with the course. I was impressed by his/her maturity and level-headedness in my interaction with her/him." I would try to emphasize not that there was an accident and subsequent medical procedures, but rather that the student did an admirable job of keeping a level head and handling the fallout of his/her accident in the best way possible.

I can't imagine that mentioning the accident would have a negative effect on the student's chances, as it's an acute trauma, not a chronic disorder/problem that might require specific treatment during the study abroad program. But this is why I recommended asking around in paragraph 1, just to be sure.

BTW, I hope your student's medical condition continues to improve in the last part of his or her recovery.