February 14, 2022

To Whom it May Concern,

It is a pleasure to write this letter of support for Mariah Hobbs, who is seeking a teaching
position in your district. I serve as Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of
Idaho and Ms. Hobbs has been a student of mine in multiple courses. I feel confident in
recommending Ms. Hobbs for a position in your district without hesitation. She is a strong
candidate who will be an asset to your school; I would not pass on the opportunity to hire her.

Without question, I am comfortable saying that Ms. Hobbs was in the top 5% of students
enrolled in my classes. She is intelligent and quite strong academically, exemplified by having
one of the top percentages of all students in the classes. Ms. Hobbs’ work was always of high-
quality and completed on-time. In class, she is a student who asks questions when she wants to
learn more about a topic. The semester in which Ms. Hobbs was enrolled in our special education
assessment course was Spring 2020, which was disrupted by the pandemic. Ms. Hobbs’ pivoted
beautifully to online instruction and continued to maintain her track record of high-quality work.

Ms. Hobbs’ is also dedicated to supporting school success for students with disabilities.
In February 2020, the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Convention was held in Portland,
Oregon. We were fortunate to secure funding to support conference attendance for a small group
of students. Ms. Hobbs submitted a strong application and was selected to attend. While at the
conference, Ms. Hobbs actively participated in sessions and was a true professional. Her
dedication to students with disabilities is also shown in her life outside of the University. She has
tutored a young adult with Autism, which has increased her knowledge of the field.

To enrich education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer
 Perhaps even more impressive than her academic skills are her soft skills. Ms. Hobbs was
a fantastic student who was an active participant in class. She is a strong communicator, hard
worker, eager learner, meets deadlines, works well with others, and has a wonderful personality.
Everything I have seen suggests that she will have the flexibility necessary to be successful in the
classroom. Ms. Hobbs generally possesses everything you would want to see in a future teacher.

Without any hesitation, I fully recommend Mariah Hobbs for any position you may have
in your district. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Dr. Andrew Scheef

To enrich education through diversity the University of Idaho is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer