Department of Communication Studies

February 22, 2016

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my distinct pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Theresa Kelly.

I have known Theresa since the fall of 2012, when she began writing for The Quad, West Chester
Universitys student news service. I serve as Faculty Advisor to The Quad, so I have witnessed
first hand how Theresas writing, editing and managing skills have rapidly developed at our fine
news service. Theresa quickly rose from the position of writer to staff writer, and then was
named Features Editor by the end of her second year. Theresa proved to be skillful and
conscientious in this role, carefully and consistently polishing the work of her writers with an
exceptional attention to detail.

Theresa was a personable team player in the newsroom, earning the admiration and respect of
her peers on The Quads editorial board. It thus came as no surprise that she would be chosen by
her fellow editors to serve as editor-in-chief at the end of her junior year. The editor-in-chief is
the highest executive position at The Quad, and Theresa accepted the challenges of leadership
with grace, determination and clarity of purpose. Under her direction, The Quad achieved new
levels of quality and efficiency. Her accomplishments were many, including the launching of a
new mobile application for distributing news content to tablets and phones, developing key
partnerships with other student media organizations on campus, fostering significant growth in
The Quads efforts to produce and distribute news videos, and forging a cooperative working
relationship with The Daily Local News, Chester Countys leading news service.

Theresas tenure as editor-in-chief ended mid-way through her senior year, as her academic
program required her to exclusively focus on student teaching during her last semester. Before
she left, Theresa did an excellent job training our current editor-in-chief in assuming her duties.
And Theresa couldnt quite say good-bye to The Quad: she continues to write a column every
week, highlighting the many worthwhile service opportunities in our area.

I am confident that Theresa Kelly has a bright future ahead of her, and I wish her all the best that
life has to bring. She has truly earned my highest recommendation.

Sincerely,




Philip A. Thompsen, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication Studies

512 Main Hall, West Chester, PA 19383 (610) 436-2500 communication.wcupa.edu