Laura Nicosia, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, English

Director English Education
Montclair State University
Past-President New Jersey Council of Teachers of English
New Jersey State Representative ALAN
nicosiala@mail.montclair.edu
March 2016
To whom it may concern:
It is my pleasure to recommend Jaclyn Welsh, a past undergraduate student
in several of my upper-level English classes, including Young Adult Literature
and Pursuits of Englishas a candidate for a teaching position in your
department. Miss Welsh is a bright and rising disciplinary professional and a
fine student of literature. Your school district will benefit from her energetic
presence and active participation.
I have come to know Jaclyn as the type of student who possesses a passion
for challenging herself rather than taking what would perhaps be the easy
path. I remember her impromptu writing from the admission process for the
teacher education program at Montclair State University. She was a
sophomore and in her essay she talked about how having an ineffective
English teacher in her high school helped her decide to become an educator,
herself. She took what many students would have written off as an easy year
and rose above the experience in a reflective manner. I recognized then that
Jaclyn would be the kind of student who learns from both good and bad
experiences. She would certainly grow to become a fine English educator.
In our Pursuits of English class, the English Departments introduction to
using literary theory, she took risks and challenged herself to think outside
the box. Rather than simply writing her final paper on her favorite novel (The
Great Gatsby) using comfortable theoretical lenses, she chose rather to
explore a challenging and unfamiliar text, Bodega Dreams, and applied a
theoretical lens that had challenged her during the semesterFoucault. Her
paper, A Foucauldian Vision of Bodega Dreams, really showed her
wrangling with difficult topics of oppression, panoptic surveillance and social
class. While there were minor mechanical and formatting flaws, the paper
earned an A- for its content. I told her to be proud of her achievement. Her
smile was infectious.

For Young Adult Literature, Jaclyn applied her knowledge of canonical

literature to understanding contemporary Young Adult texts. She made
connections, explored American motifs, and thought in pedagogical ways
about how ELA educators might bridge what students want to read with
those texts they have to read from school curricular lists.
Miss Welsh will gladly and passionately work toward what I hope is a terminal
position in your district. As an educator, she will collaborate with colleagues
and actively participate in whatever community she finds herself.
While Jaclyn is not the most vocal student in class, it is likely that she will be
the shining face in the crowdglowing with epiphanies and making
connections.
Feel free to contact me with any questions about her, but I am sure that you
will see that she is a passionate, gifted and promising English Language Arts
educator who will quickly become an integral part of the faculty in your
school. You should not let this candidate walk away. You and your students
will grow to adore and appreciate her as part of your learning community.
Yours,

Laura Nicosia