Dartmouth Peer Recommendation

My name is Mark Chan, and I have known Ike for the past 10 years. Although we’ve been
going to the same school for nearly a decade, our friendship only really blossomed during
the COVID pandemic. As it turned out, our houses were in the same neighborhood. During
online school, we had the chance to hang out everyday, and I got to know him very well.

Ike is like a rock. This is a weird metaphor to use, but he’s one of, if not the most dependable
guys I know. If you ask him to help you out, he’s going to see it through to the end. If he
confide in him a secret, you better believe its going to the grave. We also take the same
higher-level maths class, and both love racket sports – I’m on the school tennis team, while
he’s on the school badminton team. Since we have a lot in common, it’s always refreshing to
have someone to bounce ideas with. We motivate each other to do our best – I’m the
pessimistic voice of reason, while he’s the optimistic voice of belief.

Sometimes when my mother is mad at me, Ike can sense it. This is probably because he’s an
older brother of two, while I am an only child. Growing up, he had to take care of his
younger siblings, so he had to mature very early. Sometimes, I wish I had my own siblings to
take care, so I could have learned to be responsible and mature from an early age like Ike.

Ike is a good friend – a very kind one. I say this because even though he’s introverted by
nature, Ike picks up friends easily. I feel that lke is a direct and genuine person. He doesn’t
beat around the bush when he needs help, or when I ask for criticism on my school work.
Sometimes, he can be brutally honest which can be quite annoying. However, I value his
brutal honesty more often than not, as you know that you can always rely on him to be fair.

During the pandemic, Ike founded the Bangkok Youth Giving Tree, an organization which
helps the people in our communities. We managed to raise over 170,000 baht to buy
transparent masks for the deaf children at the Deaf Thai Foundation, and made lemonade
and iced mocca for the medical workers at various local hospitals. We even met Princess
Maha Chakri Sirindhron at Dusit Palace together, for our work in the Giving Tree.

I am glad to have Ike as a friend and I appreciate his friendship. I think he’d really fit in at
Dartmouth because he values close friendships and a tight knit community. Even though we
probably end up at different universities, our bond of friendship will remain strong. I look
forward to meeting him in Hanover, which is only about 3 hours away from Boston. I’m an
aspiring MIT applicant myself you know! With any luck, Ike will end up fostering good ties
between Dartmouth and MIT, helping to create a lasting friendship between our two
universities.
We share a common interest in racket sports – I’m in the
Tennis team, while he’s in the Badminton team. However, we
always make sure to play golf together – our dads even tag
along, as they love golf too.

Honestly speaking, I didn’t really become friends with Ike until

tenth grade. I had my own friends, and he had his own friends,
so we never really interacted until the COVID pandemic. That
was when I discovered that he lived two minutes down the
street, after coming across him munching on some noodles.
Turns out, What defines Ike most in my opinion is how he
wears his feelings on his sleeve. He’s the most genuine guy I’ve
ever met, and loves to make new friends. I think its amazing
how he never stops smiling, always has a positive attitude in
the face of adversity, and can laugh off basically anything. Let
me share an anecdote.
There was this bully in tenth grade
I’m honestly surprised we didn’t become friends sooner.
Anyways, point is, If he’s sad, you can tell immediately. If he’s
happy, his cheery persona brightens up the room.
My name is mark.
Ike? He’s tough to describe. Before tenth grade,