Letter of Recommendation for Marsela Barnabas

24 August 2010

I first met Ms. Marsela Barnabas during the summer of 2006 when she was an Upward Bound high school exchange student in my geometry class on the island of Kosrae. Ms. Barnabas' home island is the island of Pohnpei, 566 kilometers to the east-northeast of Kosrae. Here in Micronesia going on exchange means flying across vast stretches of the Pacific ocean to another island and living amidst a foreign culture that speaks a mutually unintelligible foreign language. Ms. Barnabas adapted rapidly to the new environment and excelled in her courses in Kosrae. She was active participant in my course and was quick to learn new material. Ms. Barnabas always impressed me with her insights into the course material. She completed the geometry course with a grade of "A".

After entering the College of Micronesia-FSM, Ms. Barnabas became a student in my MS 100 College Algebra course during the summer of 2008. MS 100 College Algebra is one of the more academically challenging courses in the college. Ms. Barnabas was ranked number one out of 27 students, an extraordinarily impressive performance in the course. She showed a strong sense of self-discipline, focus, and a drive to excel during the intense summer course.

During the fall of 2009 Ms. Marsela Barnabas joined my SC 130 Physical Science course. In SC 130 the students produce a laboratory report each week using both spreadsheet and word processing software. The laboratories are designed around physical science systems that obey mathematical relationships. The students have to seek out these relationships and then write up a formal report on their findings. The class is intellectually demanding and requires strong self-discipline on the part of the student in order to succeed in the course.

Ms. Barnabas more than succeeded in the course, attaining second rank academically out of a class of 32 and a grade of "A," a very strong performance in this course. She completed the required laboratory assignments along with the quizzes and tests. She showed tremendous self-discipline in his ability to complete a formal laboratory report on a weekly basis.

During laboratory exercises Ms. Barnabas was a natural team leader, assisting her laboratory partners in understanding the laboratory task at hand. She continued to show the insight and inquisitiveness I had seen in the summer of 2006.

No matter the difficulty or challenge of the task, Ms. Barnabas rose to the occasion. The final laboratory introduced the concept of site swap mathematics and juggling patterns. Ms. Barnabas worked at the task until she was able to, in a single period, achieve a "3" pattern in site swap juggling three balls in a cascade pattern.

In the spring of 2010, Ms. Barnabas was a student in my SC/SS 115 Ethnobotany course. The course is challenging for students from a number perspectives that set the course apart from other classes. The course includes hikes into steep terrain,¹ cultivating culturally important plants,² in-class presentations by the students,³ and observing culturally significant ceremonies.⁴ None of these were traditional "chalk-and-talk" college classroom situations.

The course also challenged the students to learn both scientific botanic taxonomy as well as their own cultures names and uses of plants. This is difficult for all students. Some students have strong academic backgrounds and excel in scientific botany; these students, however, tend to be weaker in their knowledge of local names and uses of plants. Other students grow up immersed in their traditional cultures and knowledge systems; these students, however, tend to struggle to learn the unfamiliar Latin-filled world of botanic taxonomy. Ms. Barnabas succeeded in mastering both scientific botany and traditional culture and knowledge systems. Ms. Barnabas was the third ranked student in the course spring 2010 and obtained a grade of "A+."

Ms. Barnabas is not only a formidable academic force and a student leader, she is also an active lead participant in and clearly proud of her traditional culture. In a culture where there is a value to blending in, Ms. Barnabas chose to dance the lead row in the college founding day celebration of traditional culture in spring of 2009. She performed superbly, mastering both the dance steps and the ancient chants required of a master dancer.

Ms. Barnabas is a self-motivated self-starter who quickly grasps the task to be done and then not only accomplishes the task but demonstrates mastery of the skill set involved.

Ms. Barnabas has a warm, friendly, outgoing personality. Her smile always lights up a room when she enters, she is possessed of a natural charisma coupled with a sensitivity to the needs of others. She has a natural ability to work with peers and instructors alike. Ms. Barnabas shows the same engaging eagerness to learn whether in an air conditioned computer laboratory, out under the rain on a muddy slog into the forest, or in a traditional social situation.

I know that Ms. Barnabas will continue to succeed and to lead in whatever field or career she chooses to pursue, whatever future studies she may decide to undertake or task for which she might be hired. Ms. Barnabas will be an asset to any program in which she is enrolled, to any employer who employs her.

Dana Lee Ling
Professor
Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
dleeling@comfsm.fm

¹ Seedless vascular plant hike
² Working in the ethnobotanical garden
³ Student presentations
⁴ Traditional Pohnpeian kava ceremony