“Matthew is a dedicated, highly efficient, organized, team-oriented professional with outstanding written and oral communication skills as well as a deep appreciation for community and those less fortunate. He has done a tremendous Job in helping SSPF increase its sponsorship opportunities and networking. We are grateful to have him on our Si Se Puede Team.” 
— Alberto Esparza, President & CEO of the Si Se Puede Foundation. Matthew Lewis reported directly to Esparza. This recommendation was written on LinkedIn on Oct. 11, 2012. 

“I highly recommend Matthew Lewis for his great achievements. He is a team player with a very positive attitude. He is tenacious and takes pride of whatever he does.” — Aida Davila, Material Handler, KELLYOCG Services, was a colleague of Lewis’s at Intel Corporation in Chandler, Ariz. The two work at Intel’s Ocotillo site as part of the PGV Link/LCE project. 

“Matt Lewis is one of the hardest working reporters that I came across while working at the Arizona Daily Wildcat. Immediately following his internship at the New York Times Student Journalism Institute, Lewis served as assistant news editor at the Daily Wildcat. For this position, he was not required to write any news stories, but Lewis found himself writing several news stories a month, often at the last minute when other reporters decided they couldn’t complete their assignments. He wasn’t getting any extra money for these news pieces, but he went above and beyond and sacrificed time and money to produce enough newspaper content. Lewis has a calm demeanor but never loses sight of his goals and duties, and he was liked by everyone on staff. Lewis always knew what kind of questions to ask news sources during interviews, so I found his feedback and suggestions to be extremely helpful. His thirst for reporting, love for communication, and warm heart will do him wonders in journalism.”
Laura Donovan, News reporter, Arizona Daily Wildcat, reported to Lewis at Arizona Daily Wildcat. (Sept. 17, 2010)

“Matt is a bulldog reporter, an enlightened editor and dedicated absolutely to good journalism. I’d recommend him highly.”
Mort Rosenblum, Professor of Practice,  former editor of the International Herald Tribune; special correspondent for The Associated Press; AP bureau chief in Africa, Southeast Asia, Argentina, and France, advised Lewis at the University of Arizona. (Nov. 16, 2011)

“Matt did outstanding work in my editing class at the University of Arizona. Not only did he quickly pick up the language skills and thought processes of an editor, but he had the sensibility and awareness of a writer. He has a powerful sense of curiosity and an enthusiasm that was the benchmark for the three semesters of students I taught at the UA. Name a student journalism group and Matt was either an officer or a member. His work ethic and desire to develop his skills also extended off campus. During one of his two stints as a reporting intern for The Arizona Daily Star, Matt wrote a penetrating profile of a Bosnian refugee who had opened a restaurant serving the best Bosnian sausage in Tucson. The story was picked up by The Associated Press and appeared in newspapers around the Southwest.”
Lew Serviss, former adjunct instructor of journalism at the University of Arizona, currently working as an editor at The New York Times, advised Lewis at the University of Arizona. (Nov. 19, 2011)

“Detailed is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Matt Lewis. His reporting work was meticulously researched and factual. I think that his work at the (Casa Grande) Dispatch was top notch and thoughtful.”
  Joe Pyritz, Public Information Officer, Pinal County Government, studied with Lewis at the UA and also worked with him as a public information officer for Pinal County. (Nov. 15, 2011)

“The 23 students (which includes Matt Lewis) who will be attending (the New York Times Student Institute – Tucson 2010) were competitively selected and are among the best and brightest aspiring journalists.”

“I can confirm that Matthew Lewis is of good character and a competent journalist. I have supervised him and can tell you that he is always eager to learn and a hard worker. He is a team player and easy to work with.”
Don Hecker, Training Editor/Staff Editor,  New York Times wrote in two separate correspondences.

“Just got your Kirkpatrick – Ruins story and it looks good.”
Larry Lockhart, News Editor, Casa Grande Dispatch wrote in an e-mail July 22, 2010.
Topic: Legislation to expand the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument was unanimously passed by the Natural Resources Committee on July 22.
For the full story click here.

“Great story.”
Donovan Kramer, Jr., Editor and Publisher, Casa Grande Valley Newspapers, Inc. wrote in an e-mail June 2011.
Topic: The Ak-Chin Indian Community seeks sovereignty for 1,000 acres of tribal land, a plan Maricopa officials say would isolate a portion of the city from the rest of the state and thwart expansion. For the full story click here.

“I would like to thank you for your commitment to journalism in your role as a mentor to the Diversity in Journalism Workshop for Arizona High School Students 2009. This work workshop, sponsored by Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, has been hosted at the University of Arizona Department of Journalism, now School of Journalism, since the 1980s. Its continued success is large in part of committed individuals such as yourself.

Thanks to your participation, 15 Arizona high school students were able to put together a bilingual 16-page workshop publication that dealt with many issues including the lives of the Iraqi refugee community, the rise in the popularity of 99-cent stores, and the effects of the University of Arizona’s budgetary issues on programs across campus.

Because of your help, we were also able to expand the curriculum of the workshop and reached into the multimedia realm of journalism. Students were able to put together photo, audio and video packages.

These stories are available at My High School Journalism, my.hsj.org.

Please keep this letter in your records as proof of your participation and as a token of our appreciation of your great work.”
John deDios, former Workshop Director wrote in a letter on July 25, 2009.

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