Residential & Community Living

TB 335 UCen Road

Santa Barbara CA 93106-6010
www.ucsb.edu

Shannon Balram, Assistant Director

UCSB Residential & Community Living
805-827-3620 (ph.)
sbalram@ucsb.edu

To whom it may concern,

It is an honor to write this letter on behalf of José Gámez, who has been a
phenomenal professional this year at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB ). I have had the
pleasure of supervising José, and seeing firsthand the quality of his work and the
integrity in which he approaches student affairs. He has done excellent work this year,
and I would like to take the time to highlight a few of his professional contributions
and also a personal affirmation of his future in this profession.

The contributions José has made this year have been significant, helping our
department in Residential & Community Living (R&CL) achieve its mission of “providing
services and programs that develop intellectual competence, foster positive
collaborative engagement, and challenge individuals and communities to reach their
fullest potential.” In fulfilling our mission, José first leads from a deep conviction of
infusing social justice in his work as an educator in the residence hall. Utilizing our
department’s residential curriculum, he has worked with his team to imple ment a
variety of learning strategies (i.e. newsletters, active initiatives such as an identity tree
in the lobby, roommate agreements, a global bulletin board) aimed at helping
educate students on their identities as well as encouraging them to b e inclusive and
open to difference. He also seeks to embody and live out this conviction as a Resident
Director in how he interacts with others in his residence hall, showing respect and
awareness of cultural values that might shape a student’s experience . I have
remained impressed with how cultivates an inclusive approach to his work, in an effort
to have every student and even staff member he interacts with feel a deep sense of
belonging.

Additionally, José has agreed to serve as a professional chair for our Student
Leadership Development (SLD) training program for RAs. Due to the pandemic SLD has
needed some strategic and intentional leadership in helping reshape the program for
in-person training this upcoming September. José was willing to step into this role, and
has surpassed every expectation I have had for how he would lead and shape this

sbalram@ucsb.edu (805) 827-3620 www.ucsb.edu

 Residential & Community Living
TB 335 UCen Road
Santa Barbara CA 93106-6010
www.ucsb.edu

program under my direction. For example, José with his team are currently working to
create strong foundation of assessment for SLD, ensuring measurable outcomes to
drive future decisions about what sessions we will host and what is priority in our
student staff training. He has also additionally worked with his co-chair to create
helpful handouts that list projected calendars, essential theories we should consider in
our planning, and worked to update necessary files and master lists to ensure the
team had relevant and useful information. The work currently being done, gives me
deep confidence we will meet are targeted goals for SLD this year and speaks highly
of his professional commitment to assessment, developmental theory, and research as
to improve our practice as educators.

In short, I have full confidence in José as a professional in the work of Student

Affairs. The few examples listed above offer only a spec of his acumen for the work,
and in supervising him this year I have remained impressed and thankful for the work
he does regularly in R&CL at UCSB. José will repeatedly step in when leadership is
needed to serve others well and/or to help support the overall department. He is a
team player who lives out the larger mission and purpose of our work. Consistently! I
have seen him shift his schedule to help others on our team respond to student crisis
situations, willing to take on extra projects if it will benefit the department in its goals
for the year, and at times has worked past 5:00pm if it means ensuring students get the
support they need if he was the first to respond to a critical incident. José is not just an
educator, he is a leader in education. I am confident as he continues his work in
higher education, he will be entrusted to lead departments in Student Affairs because
of his character, integrity, and willingness to be a team player . I am excited for his
future, and confident whatever he commits to he will bring his strengths and talents
fully to serve as an asset in the role.

Respectfully,

Shannon Balram
Assistant Director, Residential & Community Living
Residence Life: UC Santa Barbara

sbalram@ucsb.edu (805) 827-3620 www.ucsb.edu