Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian 1/3/2015 Adrienne L. Smith Smithsonian Institution National Museum of the American Indian 4" Street and Independence Avenue SW. Washington, DC 20013 ‘To Whom It May Concern: 1am writing to recommend Courtney Lastiyano for the Amerind Risk Management Corporation Annual Scholarship Fund. As the manager of the imagiNATIONS Activity Center at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), I had the pleasure of working with and overseeing, Courtney for the 12 weeks she interned with our museum, She exceeded our expectations not only with her love of learning and teaching, but also by demonstrating a level of commitment necessary to succeed as an educator ina museum. She is responsible, hardworking, self-motivating, and a skilled ‘communicator with teachers and families. Courtney's main duties included providing operational and interpretive support to floor staff, as well as assisting in developing an educational program according to the standards of the NMAI’s Education Department. She showed an amazing capacity to fulfill her responsibilities in both of these assignments. When working with visitors, particularly teachers and children, she was professional, patient, and with compassion and understanding was able to adjust content to complement their knowledge. The educational program that Courtney developed was a children’s workshop called Corhusk Dragonflies, which sought to educate how corn is important to Native American history and traditions and that the cultivation of corn requires specific scientific knowledge. Her research was very thorough and organized and she designed the program to adapt to and engage all ages. Visitors, especially children, enjoyed learning how corn is important to them and the many ways corn can be used. Courtney’s work left a lasting impact on the museum and places her on our list of outstanding interns, encourage you to consider her for this scholarship and | wholeheartedly support her application, Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about Courtney's background or qualifications. Sincerely, douone fl Smell Adrienne L. Smith imagiNATIONS Activity Center Manager