This is a reference I wrote for my student who is going to apply for a graduate program. I am not native English speaker. I am wondering if anyone could suggest modifications to this reference.
My first encounter with Rong was while teaching Monetary Finance in spring semester of 2009. Then He took my Theory and Practice of International Finance class in the next semester. During this period, I met with him more than twice weekly. Now, we often talk over the telephone and send emails.
Among my students, he is not the most talented one, but the one most special. Unlike other students who concern about how to prove a theorem and the steps of proof of the theorem, he always asked some questions like does everybody agree the theorem? Is there anybody proposed something against this? And is there any phenomenon challenging this? He never made fetish of authority and keeps seeking something innovative. I think his sense of logical analysis makes him powerful in mastering complicated theories so that he can pay more attention to applications of theories. Whenever we studied a theory, he always asked how to use it and what it means in real markets.He always got real experience and data in practice.For example, when I taught options and futures, I arranged my students to make a presentation on the topic of options or futures. To prepare the presentation, he and his partner traded rebar futures in Shanghai Futures Exchange to get real data and made a wonderful presentation.
In addition, He was interested in exploring the nature of phenomenons and theories, such as the nature of money or financial derivatives and how investor psychology influence the performance of stock markets. I remember he wrote a paper "False Coin and Inflation in Ancient China" to explore the the relationship between false coin and inflation in ancient. It's interesting and creative, though the principle he used was simple.
As I know, in his university life he did different jobs in different lines of business that are quite separate, including IT, tourism, education&training and real estate. Rich experiences in different fields made him quite knowledgeable and experienced. The clear man also got many scintillas of the thought as to he have ability to get ideas that are different from those of other people. I think broad knowledge of various industries can support his future career. A job like fund manager might suit him, because it is necessary to be familiar with different industries for a fund manager.
I was very delighted when he told me about his decision to apply for master program in finance and take a job in finance field in the future. I think he suit to this industry.Although he majored International Economics and Trade, not financy, he has always been interested in finance and perform very well in the two finance courses I taught. Moreover, he has a set of philosophy system that is come from Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and some modern science. Maybe you have some students from China , but Chinese students who inherited wealth from real Chinese culture are very rare, even in China. I hope Rong can start his new adventure in your college and I believe he can infuse new blood into your college.
The essay is extremely personal and lists excellent qualities of the student. The fact that the English is not perfect is ok because you are not a native speaker, and admissions committees will certainly value your effort at writing a good recommendation!
