\opening{Dear ###:}

I am writing to give you my strong recommendation that you consider
### for the eight-week pre-doc program at Educational Testing Service
(ETS) this summer.  ### is an unusual choice for the ETS pre-doc
program---his main interests do not lie in educational statistics and
measurement---but he is quite talented and could be a very productive
intern.

### is a mathematically talented fellow with solid training in
theoretical and applied Statistics.  He joined our program in Fall
###, earned an MS with us in Spring ###, and has since successfully
completed all of the course, project and exam requirements for the
PhD.  He is now working on his PhD dissertation with Prof. ### in our
department.

### was a student of mine in our MS-level statistical theory course in
###, and he has worked with me this past summer and fall helping ###
students develop their ### skills sufficiently to succeed in ###.  I
know from these experiences that ### is not only sharp and insightful,
but he is also very interested in teaching and more generally
communicating what he knows and understands to others.

Last summer for example our department hired him to lead, under my
supervision, a small study group that was ###.  Every one of the
students in that study group has been successful in ###, and part of
that success should be credited to ###'s study group. He continues to 
work with the ### Center, with the goal of being certified to teach 
entire classes on his own.

Related to his desire to teach and communicate well is a corresponding
realization that data analysis and applications are the {\em raisons
d'etre} for Statistics, and the enthusiasm with which he has attacked
teaching has carried over into a strong interest in developing a broad
background in applications.  This desire for breadth, to me, explains
his interest in the ETS predoc program.  I was quite surprised when
### came to me asking about your program---the match between his
dissertation work, described below, and ETS is not obvious---and I
spent some time trying to determine how serious he is about doing an
internship in the middle of dissertation work this summer.  I am
convinced that he is quite serious, and that he would devote his full
attention to a predoc project there, even to the point of delaying
completion of his dissertation here.

### doesn't have any particular background in educational research or
measurement---his dissertation work with Prof. ### is on ###---but I
believe he would attack problems at ETS with the same enthusiasm with
which he has attacked problems here at CMU.  As you may know,
Prof. ### is very interested in ###, and his work with Prof. ### has
lead ### naturally to select ###'s project at ETS as his first choice
for a summer project.

In sum, ### is a very talented, advanced student of statistics,
committed to developing himself as a teacher and as a ``real
statistician.''  He sees the ETS predoc program as a broadening
experience that can help him toward the latter goal.  You should give
### serious consideration for the program; he is a very unusual
candidate, but he is likely to be a very productive intern if
selected.

Please feel free to contact me using the information in the letterhead
if you have any questions or need additional information.

\closing{Sincerely yours,}