February 13, 2020

Camp Walt Whitman

4 New King Street

White Plains, NY 10604

Dear Samuel Keif, Jed and Carolyn Dorfman: 

Subject: Application for Nutrition Position

I am a Nutrition major at the University of New England. I am writing today to apply for this position because my advisor encouraged me to look into it and I believe it would help prepare me for my future career in the field of nutrition. I believe I would be a strong candidate for this position because of my background in nutrition and foodservice and I am excited about the opportunity to implement safe and healthy meals for campers with food allergies.

I have worked in several restaurant settings as a server where I have handled requests by guests who have food allergies. I had to be sure to communicate these specific allergies to the chef directly and make sure they avoided these allergens and cross-contact. I am especially knowledgeable about Celiac disease because I have a gluten intolerance. I am certified in SERVSafe Allergens and aware of current MyPlate guidelines.

It is clear to me that Camp Walt Whitman would be a great place for me to spend my summer because I love working with kids and enjoy spending time outdoors. I am currently volunteering at an afterschool program working with 4th and 5th graders to educate them about health and wellness. I am also interning with Emily Estell of the Coastal Healthy Community Coalition to educate the community on nutrition.

If given this opportunity, I will be diligent in making sure each camper has everything on their plate they can eat and nothing they can’t because safety is a high priority to me. I always read food labels carefully and completely and I am confident that I will be able to work with kitchen staff to establish healthy meals for all the campers. If there is any additional training you would like me to have, I am happy to do so. 

Thank you kindly for your time and consideration. I can be reached at the phone number or email address below at your convenience. My resume is enclosed, and I will make sure to be in touch by February 28th.

Sincerely, 

Alaina Duchin

aduchin@une.edu 

(603) 707-####

Enclosed: Resume

Journal #11

I am pleased with how my cover letter for Camp Walt Whitman evolved from something with basic ideas into a detailed reflection of my interests and qualifications for this job. The hardest challenge for me was including the important details while staying within one page. After receiving feedback from my peers I tried to include better descriptions and showcase my writing abilities. I spent the weekend reading and rereading my cover letter trying to make it perfect and that made the process a little tedious. I believe that my letter comes off clear and confident while promoting my abilities related to the job description and highlighting my best personal qualities as well. I also made sure to add why this position would be beneficial for me and why I want to spend my summer there to express a desire for this job. I put my resume and this letter side-by-side and they both highlight the same main qualities of mine but the resume also includes important and more official details such as my education, work experience, and certifications. I think these documents will be enough to land me an interview for this job.

Journal #9

My peers offered me some good advice for my cover letter to Camp Walt Whitman for the Food Allergy Coordinator position. I thought my cover letter draft was pretty good to start off but my group made me notice some specific areas I could work on using the AIDA model. In my first paragraph, they suggested I introduce myself more and state how I heard of the job opportunity. I took this advice adding how I heard of it through my advisor and changed some of my wording around for my attention paragraph. In the second paragraph, I had some skills listed that they are looking for but I didn’t have specific examples, so I tried to integrate my work as a server and how I had experience with food allergies there. I have done my best to highlight my experience according to what the employer wants. My second and third paragraphs are both for the interest section, and my group suggested I may want to combine them for space. I personally think it looks better separated so I am going to keep it like that for now. Looking over AIDA guidelines again, I added more of my personal qualities to the desire paragraph to make me look like a promising applicant. I think my action paragraph is good and to the point. I am still doing small revisions because I want this letter to be perfect and I keep finding something every time I open it. I would like more people to read it to see what their thoughts are and if they would hire me.