References

To whom it may concern,

It is my pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Rachel Beach. Rachel and I began working together on the renovation of the West Virginia state museum for the West Virginia Division of Culture and History (WVDCH) in 2006. As the contracted Project Manager of this project it was good to have organized documentation and drawings to review as I became familiar with the history and scope of this project. I can credit Rachel for the above mentioned, as she was then employed to join the Museum Team for WVDCH with the job responsibility of interpreting design documents and drawings for this group consisting of the administration, museum director, curators and historians.

Rachel’s background in commercial design was evident in her knowledge of the type of project, work and management of her responsibilities. It was clear that she had experience with seeing all the elements of design in her drawings, visual aids and contributions in meetings.

To sum it up, the museum was successfully completed on time and under budget.

It was a pleasure to work with Rachel and am pleased to recommend her for any facilities staff for employment.

Sincerely,

Jim Hunt

I had the pleasure of working with Rachel for five years on the West Virginia State Museum renovation project. The museum was a massive undertaking, costing $16 million. During this time, we completely overhauled a museum space consisting of 23,000 square feet. I served as the project’s creative director.

Rachel’s initial job was to revise the design drawings in AutoCAD based on daily changes we were making to the exhibits. However, due to Rachel’s experience and eye for detail, she soon began catching a variety of problems that needed to be addressed: inadequate egress and other fire-code issues, lighting challenges, spaces not large enough for the intended exhibits, accessibility issues, etc. She also responded quickly to a fire marshal issue that required us to redesign one-third of the museum from scratch. She and I worked together and completely redesigned that part of the museum, including approximately 10 exhibit spaces, in a matter of weeks. In this exercise, she demonstrated a remarkable eye for design/space and creativity. Several of the exhibits in this overhauled area became the most attractive and popular spaces in the entire museum. None of this would have been possible without Rachel. She not only saved the museum what could have potentially cost $1 million in external design costs, but she did it in a way that made the exhibits come alive.

She also is one of the hardest workers I have ever been around. She often volunteered to work 12+ hours a day—frequently the first one in the office and the last to leave—and worked many weekends. In addition, she is one of the most pleasant and sweetest people I’ve ever worked with. If she is accepted into your program, her talents and creativity will shine. Again, I cannot recommend Rachel more highly.

In this letter, I picked out just a few of the wonderful things Rachel brought to the museum project. A full list would run for pages. Feel free to contact me at 304-549-2962 or stan.bumgardner@gmail.com if you would like to discuss her work further.

Sincerely,

Stan Bumgardner

To whom it may concern:

I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Rachel Beach. Rachel worked with me as a part of the State Museum Renovation Project at The West Virginia Division of Culture and History. She began here as a Project Technician and continued to serve with increasing skill in that capacity. Her duties involved CAD 2D Drafting and 3D electronic modeling using AutoCAD 2009 and Autodesk 3ds MAX. Also, she participated in print and specification review in a highly complex project. This required frequent interaction with the Agency Project team, Architects, Suppliers, and Contractors. 

During Rachel's service with us I admired her for her many valuable qualities, and regarded her with evermore respect. Very goal oriented as well as a team player, Rachel was always punctual, yet easygoing. She was keenly devoted to her work, but being a real people person, she was also enjoyable to be around. Rachel demonstrated from early in her tenure that she understood the nature of the project. She was well organized and thrived under adversity. These qualities were of great use since the renovation was on a fast track. She was quite aware of the bottom line, and had a knack for details. Rachel was driven in equal measure by both quality and efficiency.

In closing, let me say I have no hesitation in recommending Rachel Beach for any position pertaining to Facility Management. 

I feel confident she would be an asset to your organization.

Sincerely,

Mark W. Lynch

Rachel has been a colleague at Pierpont Community and Technical College for five years. During a major move of Applied Design to our present site, her Interior designs skills were on display. You need to come for a visit and see the interiors designed for our presidential office spaces and classrooms. They are ample proof of her academic and technical competence to complete a Master’s degree with excellence.

Rachel is highly motivated to further her education and design skills while the current Interior Design Instructor at Pierpont. She is prepared for the demands of graduate school and will bring energy, enthusiasm and commitment to her projects. Rachel is a valued colleague of our college whom we have learned we can rely on, regardless of the difficulty of the project or the novelty of the challenge. Her combination of intelligence, commitment, perseverance, creativity, and compassionate character will, without a doubt, make her a valuable student of the Graduate School. I encourage you to, please, look with favor upon her application to “our” WVU Graduate School. You will never regret her acceptance, and Pierpont’s students, colleagues and community will greatly benefit.

Sincerely,

Fonda Whanger Hawley, School of Human Services

Applied Design Adjunct Faculty since 2004

120 Locust Avenue, Room 137 Education Building      Fairmont, WV 26554