In case you're wondering what this is about.
Greetings Board Members,
As a resident of Bonneville County – specifically the city
of Ammon – I’d like to be considered as a member of the Board of Trustees for
the College of Eastern Idaho.
First, a little about me. I’m a life-long resident of
Bonneville County. I graduated from Bonneville High School in 1990 and earned a
bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of
Idaho in 1997. I worked for various local newspapers until 2005, when I
accepted a job as a technical writer at the Idaho National Laboratory. In 2009,
I earned a master’s degree in English with an emphasis on technical writing
from Utah State University. I have worked at the Radioactive Waste Management
Complex for 11 years. For the past three years, I’ve also worked part-time as
an online adjunct faculty member at Brigham Young University-Idaho, teaching
English.
My wife and I have three children, attending Hillcrest High
School and Sandcreek Middle School. We also volunteer extensively with the
Grand Teton Council of the Boy Scouts of America, me as an assistant round
table commissioner and scoutmaster, my wife as round table commissioner and as
the council’s food coordinator.
I’m also a property tax payer in Bonneville County, and am
interested in seeing citizens get a good return on their investment in
education.
I’ve seen firsthand what it’s like trying to get an
education in Eastern Idaho, as a student, as a teacher, and as a parent.
I was lucky enough to find a technical writing master’s
program conducted entirely online by Utah State when I was looking to further
my education. Being able to take classes online meant I could still work
full-time to provide for my family – we’re a single-income household – while getting
the education I wanted. Online classes made that possible, but isn’t yet an
option for everyone in this area, no matter what technical advances have been
made.
As an online instructor at BYU-Idaho, I see a lot of
non-traditional students such as myself going back to school to earn degrees
that for whatever reason they were not able to earn earlier in their lifetime.
Again, online classes and inexpensive tuition are making their dreams come
true, and I believe the College of Eastern Idaho could do the same for many who
are not of the LDS faith or who want a live classroom experience closer to home.
As a parent, I’ve tried to navigate the many programs
offered to high school students to earn college credit. While the programs are
beneficial, they’re also a bit Byzantine. Of ten our questions on the program
are met with “I don’t knows” or shrugs from those in the schools who should be
able to help us sift through the bureaucracy. A local college would present
high schooloers – and those freshly graduated – with the opportunity to earn
college credit from folks whose business it is to help them do exactly that at
a low cost.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
1 comment:
Hi. I have never been invited to comment on someone's cover letter, so I don't know how my input on yours will sound. I think you did a good job stating your credentials and experience, and in reading your cover letter, I would be inclined to consider you for the position. You have some teaching experience, and I think that choosing teachers to be on the Board of Trustees is important for the selection of a president for the college. I am sure that there will be others of the community that will be selected, for example parents of high school and college age children that will be beneficial to the selection process, but having teachers on the Board is important, too, because teachers will be able to ask questions that other people might not think of asking. You have been around the teaching block a few times, and probably know what makes a good college president. I assume this will just be a temporary assignment, and I think that there are no accidents in life. You were meant to apply for the position, and Heavenly Father will help you through whatever transpires from here. If I were reviewing these cover letters, I would choose you as one of the candidates for the position.
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