K,
This is a letter of reference I wrote about you seven years ago, on February 23, 2006. I don’t think I’ve ever let you read it before. I think you’re ready now…
Letter of Reference for Kerem Ozkan as Resident Advisor.
To whom it may concern,
I haven’t known Kerem Ozkan for very long, which may seem like a hindrance for me to accurately represent him. That’s the (maybe) bad news. The good news is, despite us having only one semester to know and learn about each other, Kerem proved most of my previous life hypotheses wrong by already developing a strong connection with me halfway through last semester. Kerem is complex but he’s also pretty straightforward. Despite his thorough web of nuances and idiosyncrasies, you can still define him…
Personality
He’s charismatic, he’s charming, I would even go as far to describe him as “cute.” And he’s friendly. Maybe too friendly. If Kerem were in a Greek tragedy, his tragic flaw might be being overly friendly. But to distinguish his friendliness, it is not a carefree, detached friendliness. It is a caring, determined friendliness. What I mean by this perhaps being a tragic flaw is that he is determined to make connections. (Of course this would all be my psychological inference of his personality but…) He is determined to care about people and to help people and to establish levels of trust and willingness to talk about their issues of concern; and in return, people care about Kerem, and help, trust, and appreciate listening to his own issues of concern. While these connections are established between Kerem and his friends mutually, I recognize that Kerem is the one to help ease the connection forward, comfortably for both parties. And the reason I might be/am spending a significant part of my initial description of Kerem on his desire and ability to create and keep connections is that I believe it distinguishes his personality from any I’ve met before. And I’m often jealous of it…
Motivation
Kerem is the only friend I have at New College who has successfully bridged a gap between Pei and Dortstein, and still actively promotes the intermingling of the two. Now, several of us have met and befriended people who we would not have known without him. He is very, very enthusiastic about getting first-years and other years to meet one another and eventually hang out together. I believe that the fact that Kerem has even made several upper-class friends (and now, is trying to share them with other people rather than keeping them to himself (like some other socially selfish first-years)) is a testament to both Kerem’s friendly uniqueness and his very motivated social life…
Cooperativeness
Kerem has worked with several different first-years to start up New College’s most popular band at the moment, No Face. He has been the most active one in the group to work with the Equipment TAs to stage their 4+ performances. Most notably though, I’ve been most impressed with his ability to cooperate with 2nd Court residents and the police extremely well in the face of his band’s noise complaints, and harsh criticism on the student forum. Kerem, more than anyone in the two bands receiving complaints, dealt with the matter very well, and responded to students’ complaints on the forum directly. He was the one who was able to negotiate a tentative band schedule, and talked to administration about getting a music room for bands to practice. (Last time I heard, I think they are getting one…?) I am not just writing it, but Kerem responds to criticism very well, and has worked very well in conflict…
Responsibility
In honesty, I can’t say certainly that Kerem is prompt or timely. It is not a problem for him, and I haven’t seen it impede his academic progress; and I would say his lateness in completing assignments is just as present in him as it is the average student. However, the good news is that, with certainty, I can say that Kerem is a very dependable person and friend outside of class. He is trusted by several of our friends, and trusted to a high degree. I trust Kerem, more than any other friend, to be around to talk when I need to, and to be able to talk about serious things. I have definitely shared big things with Kerem that I haven’t shared with anyone else. I am also certain that I am not the only one of his friends who trusts him this much…
Ability to deal with conflict
Most of what I can express about Kerem’s ability to handle conflict has been mentioned above— in his ability to seek connections with people to work on his personal concerns, his ability to handle criticism from a large audience, and his ability to cooperate with people to get tasks done. He also impressed me with the way he dealt with one instance of an off-campus visitor crying alone in his room. It’s a long story, but Kerem could explain it himself in person…
Sensitivity and openness
The key to why Kerem could be a great RA. Kerem is maybe the most understanding friend I have. Kerem is willing to, and wants to, understand how people feel. He has been very good at not judging me when I have irrational thoughts. I feel good about talking to him about my problems because he can understand the irrationality that can come with other people’s personal issues. Because of who he is, I have been able to talk to Kerem about my most sensitive issues concerning depression, relationships, sex, family problems, and self-esteem. Kerem has been very supportive of my own and other people’s feelings, and he has yet to rule out someone he doesn’t want to understand. Like most other New College students, Kerem is very open to other cultures and ideologies; but unlike most other students here, Kerem is just as open to other people’s problems, mistakes, and insecurities. What I guess I really mean is that Kerem loves people, on a general basis and an individual basis. And I can definitely, definitely tell you that when I think of Kerem, I think of him meeting people, working with people, and helping people. With the best of my intentions, and with an honest knowledge of Kerem, I will say that Kerem is the best person I know for this job.
Sincerely,
Paolo Roy
