Africa

It is finally official! I am one of only a few people who get to go to Namibia Africa to help restore the government historical archives that are currently deteriorating. The archives contain much of the countries history and culture.

I consider it a great honor to be accepted and know that not only will it be a good experience but it will be a great resume builder as well. I am also excited because I will be getting 12 credits of school in about one fifth of a normal semester.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Namibia as I was it is where they filmed "The Gods Must Be Crazy"

If you are interested this is a copy of my application letter-

To whom it may concern:

I would like to officially make known my interest in participating in the humanitarian project that will be taking place in Namibia this coming summer. After learning more about the opportunities and goals of the project, I am confident that my skills and my passion for this field of work are a perfect match for what you require.

It is my understanding that this opportunity will only be offered to a select few students who are willing to go above and beyond their regular schoolwork. And, that you will be needing responsible students who have good people skills and are respectful of other cultures. I am also aware that you will only be accepting those who have specific skills in audio restoration.

I feel that I should be considered a front runner among the candidates for this opportunity. I have shown in the past that I am willing to go above and beyond in my education. In the last year I have participated in the Skills USA competition and as a result represented UVU with two award winning radio commercials. I was an advisor at UVU's podcast booth during the Blog World New Media Expo in Las Vegas 2009. I was the winner of the Woodbury School of Business video competition. And, I am currently starting my own business in which I will be restoring old media formats as well as creating short promotional videos.

I have proven in the past that I am a responsible person and I know that UVU can trust me to represent the school with honor. I am currently responsible for the well being of my wife and three children and am mindful of what it means to be accountable to others. I am a senior in the program and have more life experience than the average student.

My abilities in respectfully living with different cultures were proven when I served for two years in South Korea. My experience there taught me many things about accepting customs that were new to me. I learned as a guest how to be respectful to the traditions of those around me and how to adapt to a new culture. I also have very seasoned people skills. I spent just under a year acting as the customer care supervisor at NorthStar Alarm Services. My department was responsible to calmly deal with often irate customers. It was my job as supervisor was to speak to the most outraged of them and work through their concerns. On more than one occasion my superiors were contacted by customers wishing to commend me for treating them with respect.

I am currently enrolled for Advanced Topics in Audio Restoration and have already started my research for the required paper. The topic I have chosen for this paper is the method in which deteriorating audio tape can be restored through a careful baking method. I am not sure what media format is most common in Namibian archives but it is more than likely that knowledge in this topic will be useful.

I would be very honored by any consideration the department would give me for this opportunity. Not only would this be an excellent addition to a resume, it would help substantially in my restoration business. If accepted, I would be very excited to prove to the school that they chose the best possible person to represent them in Namibia.

Thank you for your time,

Richard Lee