WHO SHOULD ASK FOR A RECOMMENDATION
If you are requesting a letter of recommendation, please follow the directions below. Please only request a letter if you have worked extensively with me. I want to write the strongest, most personal letter to support you, and I can do that only if we have collaborated on several projects. Strongest letters will be for Teaching Assistants, then students that completed an internship with me, and lastly students that have completed Study Abroad, Art in Miami, or Miami in Miami.
NOTE: Due to my summer travel schedule, it is not possible for me to complete recommendations between 01 April and 01 September.
FORMAT
Always select the online submission format for letters.
DEADLINE AND WHATSAPP
Please let me know the deadline the letter is due. Join the WhatsApp group “Bailly Letters” and keep me posted (ie harass me).
BAILLY CONTACT INFO
Please enter my contact info on the application, so I do not need to do it. Use my baillyj@fiu.edu
FIU Honors College, DM 233
11200 SW 8TH ST
Miami, FL 33199
e: baillyj@fiu.edu
t: 305.348.4100
WHY ARE YOU ASKING
Please include a brief statement as to why you are asking me in particular for a recommendation. Which projects or classes did you complete with me and when (be specific)? What academic experience/learning outcome stood out for you? Provide me with a specific experience or day. This is the most important-be specific to one academic experience and what it meant to you. Please send this from your FIU email account to my FIU email: baillyj@fiu.edu
Here is a perfect example from Maria Carla Robaina, who completed Italy study abroad and then served as TA for Miami in Miami. MC successfully got in to Law School.
Hi Bailly! I decided to ask you for a letter of recommendation for law school because out of all the professors I’ve ever had, you have been the most influential both when I took the Italia study abroad class in 2019, and when I was your TA for Miami in Miami in the thick of the COVID 19 pandemic. You taught us all to dive into a new culture with arms wide open and embrace all of its quirks. I think in a way, you taught us to travel… the right way, and I have never traveled the same again after that. The way I used to visit a new city was the same as most people: go to the touristy places. Now, I go to that tiny place on a tiny block, far from the beaten path, that serves the most authentic local dishes; now, I dig deeper into a city’s culture throughout the years and connect the dots found in its art, architecture, and religious influences. Every trip I have been on since going to Italia with you has been marked by the experiences I gained in your study abroad class.
Additionally, I fell back in love with art and architecture after Italia study abroad. I remember shedding a tear the day we went to the Pantheon because its greatness and symbolism deeply moved me. The pantheon was part of my Italia America project so, I was very excited to see it, and knowing how it was meant to be a peaceful ground for people from different backgrounds and beliefs to congregate, I was beyond mesmerized by it. In a way, it exemplified what I think is most beautiful about Miami, which is the fact that it’s a melting-pot city. Speaking of Miami, when I was your TA for Miami in Miami, my favorite thing to do was to work on the virtual tour for the Rubell Museum. The project was challenging but, true to form, it allowed me to learn new computer skills, and to make the best of the lockdown.
Unlike 99.9% of college professors, who teach theory and no real life skills, I learned to see and navigate the world on my own in your class. Even to this day, I was telling my family how you are inspiration. You are an artist, a professor, a father, but the best thing I’ve seen you do is LIVE. Always on the move, always seeing the best in a situation, and constantly exploring. You know just how to savor the simplest and best things in life, and I can only hope to become more like that. You witnessed my first steps in the transition into adulthood, and unknowingly planted some seeds of who I am today, which is why I wanted to you to write a letter of recommendation for the next phase of life.
Sincerely,
Carla / MC
JOHN BAILLY
FIU Honors College, DM 233
11200 SW 8TH ST
Miami, FL 33199
e: baillyj@fiu.edu
t: 305.348.4100
EDITOR AND LAST UPDATE
John William Bailly 12 March 2025
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