Mitch Griffin Professor of Marketing & Coordinator of International Business
Foster College of Business Administration Bradley University
1501 West Bradley Avenue Peoria, Illinois 61625
April 16, 2009
MBA Admissions Committee:
Mr. Joseph A. Schaefer recently asked if I would provide a letter of recommendation to accompany
his application to the MBA International Programme at Adolfo Ibáñez University. I have known
Mr. Schaefer for eight years, since his freshman year at Bradley University, and have had extensive interaction with him, both within and outside of the classroom. Thus, I feel that I am well suited to provide an accurate evaluation of Mr. Schaefer as a candidate for the MBA program at Adolfo Ibáñez University.
From every perspective, I am certain that Joe will be an exceptional graduate student and have a significant professional career. Joe is an extremely talented individual, possesses an outstanding record of academic achievement, and has a very strong work ethic. While I know yours is an extremely competitive program, I find it difficult to imagine many candidates with stronger credentials than Joe Schaefer. He is an extraordinary candidate and should receive your most serious consideration. Please allow me to elaborate on my perceptions of Mr. Schaefer.
I first met Mr. Schaefer as a freshman advisee. I was impressed immediately with his personality and maturity. Joe willingly accepts responsibility and displays a nice balance of independence of thought and willingness to listen to the advice of others. As a professor, I first had Joe in our undergraduate Marketing Presentations class in spring of 2002. He was great in this class! It was obvious he was well prepared and had a natural ability and charm in his presentation style. It was also obvious Joe found his niche – his ability to make formal and informal presentations, his ability to educate and persuade an audience. I witnessed this skill the next year in our Marketing Research class. This course requires students to conduct a research project for an
outside client, analyze that data, and then make a formal presentation to the client’s executive team. Joe’s performance in the class was exceptional and his presentation was outstanding.
Combined with Joe’s aptitude in oral presentations is the poise and professionalism he exhibits
as an individual. Joe differentiated himself from peers at Bradley through his professional
demeanor and maturity. Joe appeared to always have one foot in the academic world and one
foot in the professional world. While many students seem to believe they can acquire the image of “professional” once they begin their jobs, Joe demonstrated his professionalism day-in-day-out through classroom and extracurricular activities.
Since graduation, Mr. Schaefer has an enviable record of diverse success and accomplishment. I
believe his achievements are a combination of his natural talents, confidence, and incredible
work ethic. It is these same abilities that I think will make him successful in the MBA International Programme. While Joe will certainly bring a fresh perspective and boundless
energy into the MBA program that his cohorts will enjoy, he will undoubtedly benefit from the
program as well. He is eager to learn and strongly wishes to continue to develop. The exposure to more decision making models and to the operations and processes in other businesses and cultures will truly enhance Joe’s business acumen and managerial abilities. The MBA program will prepare him to be an effective manager, and I am certain his career will take him down that path.
Based on the factors I have mentioned thus far, it should be obvious that I recommend Mr.
Schaefer for admission to the MBA International Programme at Adolfo Ibáñez University. I believe that Joe has the desire, ability, maturity, and sense of commitment to successfully
complete the program and continue on to an extremely productive professional career. I would enjoy providing additional information to positively influence your evaluation of Mr. Joe
Schaefer.
Sincerely,
Mitch Griffin
Professor of Marketing