24 March 1999
Dear National Teacher of the Year Selection Committee:
I have known Kelvin Chun very well for twelve years, and enthusiastically endorse him for your "National Teacher of the Year" award. I am now a systems engineer and software developer for the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California, and I owe a lot to his tremendously positive influence during my formative years.
I first became acquainted with Kelvin as a student in his Advanced Placement Computer Science course during my junior year at Pearl City High School. Kelvin's dedication to teaching could only be described as phenomenal. To my knowledge, he was the only teacher who voluntarily taught classes during all six class periods; in contrast, other teachers taught only four or five. He was consistently among the last teachers to leave the school grounds every day, devoting many after-school hours to assist his students with their programming assignments and to mentor them in their personal programming and science fair projects. He was also an active and enthusiastic advisor for our Computer Club, and remains a member of the Computer Club's alumni's close circle of friends to this day. While I know many teachers, I know of none who enjoy the exceptional level of respect and admiration Kelvin's students have for him.
Kelvin is superbly effective at teaching students with a broad range of ability within the same class. His students of lesser ability or self-motivation received plenty of individual attention, more motivated students were constantly challenged and inspired to explore, and all thought very highly of his energy and his ability to fully engage every student in the excitement of learning. Much later, as a graduate student teaching assistant, I sought to emulate Kelvin's inspiring passion for teaching in my own classrooms. I credit his effective teaching style and dedicated mentorship with fostering my love of computers, and I credit his relentless pursuit of personal improvement and lifelong learning with inspiring me to pursue these same goals in my life.
Furthermore, Kelvin was very active in the local Asian kite enthusiast community, and he introduced me and other students to the art of Asian kite making and the sport of kite flying on many weekends. More recently, he has applied his boundless energy to the pursuit of magic and balloon sculpture, and he continually delights in sharing his love of magic with his students.
His infectious enthusiasm for his extracurricular hobbies is inspirational, particularly since his dedication to developing innovative educational programs is equally exceptional. I am continually surprised by his amazing dedication to teaching, the strength of his vision, and the quality of his accomplishments; but, at the same time, I am not surprised, for I know from long experience that Kelvin is among that rare breed of born educators who seems to live only to foster the best in all whose lives he touches.
In short, Kelvin Chun has been the most influential teacher of my life, and should be an inspiration to all. It is my pleasure to endorse him for your "National Teacher of the Year" award.
Sincerely,
rnoguchi@alumni.princeton.edu