Bryan Bracey

University of South Dakota

Patterson Hall, Suite 132
414 East Clark St
Vermillion, SD. 57069

January 24, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter to offer, happily, my strong recommendation of Daniel Lajoie. I
have known Dan for a couple of years and I firmly believe that he would be a fine
addition to almost any environment that values creativity, dedication, open-mindedness
and intelligence.
During the Fall 2011 semester, Dan was a student in both my Professional Sports
Industry class and my Sport and New Media class in the Mark H. McCormack
Department of Sport Management at the University of Massachusetts. One thing about
Dan that immediately strikes you is the timeliness of his comments. Oftentimes, students
are either overly talkative or overly quiet in the classroom. Dan has a good balance in
which his contributions are never unnecessary or excessive but consistently poignant. He
is always insightful, clever and inquisitive. Talent aside, it is Dans drive that makes him
stand apart. Twice, in the past two years, Dan has reached out to me seeking feedback on
creative projects that he was working on, outside of school. These were not trivial
abstractions on which Dan wanted feedback but rather focused, disciplined research
projects that were intended to further Dans career academically and professionally. In
the first meeting, Dan took me through a professional PowerPoint presentation with
supporting evidence of his potential contributions to the field of TV and media which led
into an hour long conversation. In short, Dan has ambition and a desire to improve in any
way possible as it pertains to understanding and applying media research. Secondly, after
I left the University of Massachusetts for the University of South Dakota, Dan passed
along some additional research materials on which he had been working. I had departed
UMass and had no grading capabilities concerning Dan but he sought me out again due to
his pure interest in and commitment to an area of study. It is admirable and rare.
In the classroom itself, Dan did very well. He received an A- in the Professional Sport
Industry course and an A in the Sport and New Media Course. In working with him in
two courses, it became obvious that Dan is imaginative and artistic in the ways that he
engages the assigned work. In the New Media course, the students were charged with
creating an eight-minute podcast with a partner and I singled out Dans team, in class, as
an example of exceptional work. The podcast was well-conceived, well-constructed, and

particularly witty. Listening to 20 eight-minute podcasts can be tedious but his final
product stood out and was enjoyable. The podcast also demonstrated his strong ability to
work with others. Students often complain about partners and group work but those
complaints never regarded Dan. In fact, other students have only provided positive
remarks after teaming with Dan.
Dan is clearly highly motivated, a hard worker, and resourceful. His technical
assessments have always been outstanding and he communicates impressively in his
verbal contributions. Additionally, he welcomes constructive criticisms and feedback.
He regularly demonstrates openness to new information and willingness to apply the new
information to academic or professional pursuits. In many ways, Dan did an excellent
job of getting the most out of his undergraduate career and setting himself up for the long
run.
In closing, Dan, in my interactions with him privately and in class, has demonstrated all
the attributes of being an effective teammate, a tremendous listener, and a future star. He
was a pleasure to teach and I am certain that he is destined for greatness. I recommend
Dan highly, and without hesitation. If you would like further elaboration, please contact
me at bryan.bracey@usd.edu or feel free to call me on my cell phone at (917)776-6853.
Thank you for your consideration
Sincerely,

Bryan Bracey
Assistant Professor, Division of Kinesiology and Sport Science