It is my honor to take this opportunity to speak on behalf of Colin Stanley and to express my full support for his acceptance into a position with the Peace Corps.  I have gotten to know Colin very well in several capacities in the eight years that we have known each other.  He has repeatedly proven himself to me to be an extremely intelligent, committed, thoughtful, fun, and responsible individual.

From the perspective of a longtime academic partner, I would confidently recommend Colin for really any position.  He's exceptionally reliable, he's a great independent learner, he possesses an uncanny social intelligence, and he's a highly effective communicator, both verbally and in writing.  As a committed student myself, I repeatedly chose to collaborate on projects with Colin because he possessed these critical traits.    

From the perspective of a friend and traveling buddy, I could describe to you any number of Colin's positive characteristics (i.e. his unique charisma, his adventurous and friendly nature, his openness to other cultures and ways of life, and his passion for helping people).  But I believe he truly distinguishes himself with his talent to quickly learn new things and adapt to new environs.  When traveling with Colin, I was always impressed by how easily he can assimilate information.  Whether its a relatively close move (like Colorado), or abroad (like in SE Asia), Colin tends to naturally belong to his environment.

Like I said, I would be happy offer my recommendation for any opportunity Colin was pursuing. However, I honestly can't imagine a more perfect position for Colin to excel in than to work abroad with the Peace Corps.  Colin has a tremendous amount of potential and, given an opportunity to work independently on a project that benefits the people around him, Colin will absolutely succeed. I have travelled abroad many times myself, and I feel I understand the image and values that the Peace Corps wants its volunteers to project.  Colin is an intelligent, capable, experienced, optimistic, and genuine person; I beleive that no matter the locale in which he would be placed, Colin would fit in, be accepted, and prove a valuable contributer to the community.