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April 2, 2014 Seattle University 901 12th Avenue P.O.

Box 222000 Seattle, WA 98122-1090 To whom it may concern: It is my pleasure to write this letter of professional promise for Chris Van Drimmelen. Chris has worked in the Department of Housing and Residence Life since April of 2013. He started off as an intern assisting with the deployment of our benchmarking survey. It was clear from the beginning that he is self-motivated and thrives on a good challenge, he has an ability to get things done, he is professionally curious and seeks out answers, he has an ability to quickly learn new things and use technology, and he enters into every experience with a contagious enthusiasm. We found his talents so useful that I turned his internship into a new graduate assistantship. Chris has had the opportunity to supervise the implementation and deployment of our benchmarking survey for housing for two academic years. He took the time to understand the instrument and implement changes so we could gather better data. Additionally, he discovered some of the limits of the instrument and implemented focus groups to give us a better understanding of the survey results. Chris is constantly looking for ways to improve existing practices. Chris is has an above average ability to learn new things and then move to the next step. In his position this year Chris served on our Student Leadership, Selection, and Training Committee. He took the lead in implementing an entirely online application and selection process. The online process and database greatly simplified the process for students and staff. He also has taken the lead in converting our staff manuals to the Canvas system that will allow our staff to easily access and utilize their manuals from their computer, tablet, or phone. In both processes our staff has enthusiastically embraced his work and it gave him the opportunity to demonstrate and instruct staff members on how to use the new tools. This summer, Chris took on the fairly thankless task of evaluating and responding to students who were appealing their damage charges to their rooms at closing. He reviewed several hundred appeals. He gave the students the ability to be heard, made changes where appropriate, and made contact with all students and parents regarding his decisions. Most years, about 10% of the appeals make their way back to me. I, thankfully, only had to review a few of the appeals this year thanks to Chris. This was a testament to his work that the vast
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY/HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE 901 12th Avenue P.O. Box 222000 Seattle, WA 98122-1090 www.seattleu.edu/student/housing Tel.: (206) 296-6305 Fax: (206) 296-2212 Email: housing@seattleu.edu

majority of persons found his decisions fair and chose accept his decisions. Another one of Chris strengths is his professional curiosity. Throughout his time with Housing & Residence Life, Chris has demonstrated a desire to continually learn and expand his skills and role in the department. Early on, he expressed an interest in learning about student conduct. Chris took the initiative to be trained in the Integrity Formation process and has since proven himself to be an extremely reliable and capable hearing officer, handling his own caseload as well as being quick to volunteer for Conduct Review Boards when the need arises. Furthermore, Chris is quick to assist anyone in the department who needs it. He consistently seeks out new things to do and never allows himself to become stagnant in his role. His knowledge of technology and social media as they apply to traditional student affairs business practices have been instrumental not only to his own projects, but to his colleagues as well. Chris is never too busy to assist the staff with our online survey system, provide guidance or advice around departmental use of iPads, talk through new ideas about delivering information electronically to students, or just about any other question thats been asked of him. Chris has also shown dedication to advancing the Student Affairs profession through professional development. Despite his busy graduate school schedule, he still found time to pitch, plan, and facilitate SATech Seattle, a regional conference focused around issues of technology in higher education. Chris showed remarkable leadership and proved adept at navigating the institutional processes required to get approval and funding for such an event. He brought together Seattle University and University of Washington to sponsor the conference, which attracted professionals from all over the Northwest. Overall, I have found Chris to be dedicated, disciplined, and effective student affairs professional who will go far in this field. He is able to work hard and meet deadlines but still maintain a sense of humor and enthusiasm. He accepts responsibility and is always willing to take on new tasks and projects. He identifies areas of professional growth and creates a plan to gain experience and skills in areas where he can improve. He has strong professional goals and values that consistently show through in his work. It has been a privilege to work with Chris over the past year, and I believe that any institution would be lucky to have him on their team. Sincerely, Timothy Albert Associate Director, Housing Operations & Services Seattle University Housing & Residence Life

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY/HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE 901 12th Avenue P.O. Box 222000 Seattle, WA 98122-1090 www.seattleu.edu/student/housing Tel.: (206) 296-6305 Fax: (206) 296-2212 Email: housing@seattleu.edu

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