Lana‘i Letters of Support
Youth Leadership Summit 2013
June 5, 2013
Ms. Lisa Galloway, Science Teacher
Lana‘i High School
PO Box 630630
Lana‘i City, HI 96763
To whom it may concern,
I write with strong support for Lucy Gaceta, Daniel Forsythe and Caroline Stuck, three youth who are interested in pursuing sponsorship for their participation in the Sustainable Hawai‘i Youth Leadership Initiative this year and the Summit on Martha’s Vineyard this month. I believe each is very likely to succeed in the goals they set for themselves and will make an excellent candidate for the kind of young adults we hope will lead our island, state, country and world in the future.
I have taught Lucy in three science classes for the last three years: Biology, Anatomy anEnvironmental Science. Her mind works in unique ways and she consistently shows a keen interest in learning. While she does not always earn “A” grades on all her work, she is capable of this, and never fails to earn at least a “B” as a final course grade. She clearly investigates further the topics of interest to her on her own time. As well, Lucy has traveled with me and two other students to an Agriculture Conference on O‘ahu where her participation, maturity and friendliness benefitted us all. She also traveled there recently with a community group who visited the legislature to lobby against corporate interests that threaten our island’s environment and our community’s way of life.
I taught Daniel in two classes before he graduated last year: Biology and Plants and Animals in Hawai‘i. Daniel may be one of the few geniuses I have taught in my career of twenty plus years. Like his friend Lucy, he does not earn the highest grades on all assignments, but clearly shows he is capable. Likewise, he is a self-motivated learner, and has a questioning mind that leads him to study much, which he happily shares with others.
Daniel and Lucy work very well together, perhaps better as a pair than individually even, and they frequently involve themselves in community activities that benefit others, not just themselves. They regularly take part in programs in which they mentor younger students, and recently they both joined me in a peaceful, global protest on Maui in support of social and environmental justice: the March Against Monsanto.
Caroline is the youngest of these students and I have only known her for one year as her Biology teacher. However, she has impressed me by consistently earning “A” grades on all her work, which she achieves by completing assignments thoroughly and studying on her own. Her test scores always place her achievement well above that of most of her peers. I believe she will succeed at whatever she sets her mind to, and that she can get along well with other youth on extended trips. Like Lucy and Daniel, she is personable as well as bright and, similarly, all three are adept public speakers.
If you would like to contact me about any of these youths, please email me at mz.l.gee@gmail.com and, if you prefer a telephone call, provide the best time for me to call you back. Keep in mind I will be travelling from June 9th to July 5th, but should be able to check my email occasionally.
Sincerely,
Lisa Galloway, PhD
