The Season of Letters

Every year, there’s a stretch of time at SAVE that we’ve come to know well.

Deadlines start stacking up, our calendars fill with reminders, and Google Docs multiply faster than we can keep track of. And suddenly, we’re all writing letter after letter after letter of recommendation for our seniors.

As the Director of Programs, I get a front-row seat to the care our staff puts into this process. These aren’t rushed or generic. They’re thoughtful, detailed, and incredibly personal.

On paper, they’re “letters of recommendation,” but when we sit down to write them, we’re not thinking about formatting, we’re thinking about years.

Years of showing up to bi-weekly meetings.
Years of watching students grow up right in front of us.
Years of conversations about grades, goals, family, stress, wins, and everything in between.

“I always have to pause before I start writing,” one of our staff members told me recently. “Because I’m not just listing accomplishments…I’m thinking about who this student was when I first met them, and who they’ve become.”

We’re not summarizing students. We’re telling their stories.

The Students Behind the Pages

We find ourselves writing about students who have had to figure out how to exist in two very different worlds at once: navigating rigorous, often unfamiliar school environments while staying deeply connected to their home lives. And not just surviving it, but thriving in both. 

We write about students who don’t take education for granted. Students who have grown up understanding that school isn’t just something you do, it’s a pathway to something bigger. A way to change not just their own future, but their family’s too. 

“One of the hardest parts,” another staff member shared, “is deciding what to leave out. Because there’s always more I want them to know about this student.”

Why We Put So Much Into This

We’ll be honest, this process takes time, but no one on our team treats it like a task to check off.

“These letters matter,” one staff member said simply. “For some of our students, this is the difference between ‘maybe college’ and ‘college is happening.’”

We know what’s on the other side of these applications: scholarships that make college possible, programs that open doors, and opportunities that can genuinely change the trajectory of a student’s life.

So we slow down, we think carefully, and we write with intention, because by the time we’re writing these letters, these students aren’t just part of a program. We know their stories. We know their families. We’ve seen the challenges they’ve faced and the way they’ve pushed through them.

So when we say, “I give my highest recommendation,” it’s not just a line, it’s something we stand behind completely. “This is the easiest part to say,” one staff member told me. “Because I mean it every single time.”

-Lauren, Director of Programs & Operations