2. Robert L. Fox
719 Colonial Blvd.
Township of Washington, New Jersey 07676
(201) 893-2813
rlfox49@yahoo.com
February 12, 2020
Re: Justin G. Tsai, EMT
Washington Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps
Township of Washington, NJ 07676
To Whom It May Concern,
I have had the pleasure of working with Justin Tsai in our capacity as Emergency Medical
Technicians for the last three years. During that time I have seen the many positive traits that
make Justin an invaluable asset to our organization. During his relatively short tenure with the
WTVAC he has distinguished himself by rising from EMT to Lieutenant to Crew Chief. He is
selfless in devoting his time to the squad as evidenced in his willingness to cover his own and
other’s shifts in order to keep our ambulance in service to provide emergency medical care to
the citizens we serve. Justin is also our Recruitment Coordinator and under his leadership we
have seen our candidates for membership grow by significant numbers. This is a testament not
only to the long hours he puts in, but to his creativity in scheduling events that attract new
members.
As an adjunct to his recruiting efforts, Justin was also our Public Relations Coordinator, creating
invaluable positive exposure to the community that we serve. Another one of Justin’s projects
was building a bridge to our township’s girl scouts organization. As a result of this effort we
have done over 5 presentations to 150 young scouts ranging from age 4 through 12.
I have had the opportunity to work with Justin in both recruiting and on emergency ambulance
calls. His knowledge, demeanor and skills demonstrated during these calls is to be
commended. I have witnessed Justin minster to our patients’ needs in a calm, caring, expert
manner that many more experienced crew member do not possess. Whenever I ride with
Justin I have confidence that I am part of a team that is prepared for any situation.
I have also worked with Justin as an EMT at a summer camp, where he was employed for three
consecutive summers, in Northern New Jersey. The age group we worked with 8 – 16 years old.
I saw Justin’s affinity for working with these children and adolescents on a first hand basis. The
campers both enjoyed and respected Justin’s demeanor and his empathetic manner in treating
and interacting with them. As part of his responsibility, Justin communicated with the
children’s parents on a daily basis pertaining to situations both medically and emotionally that
arose with the campers.
As with most professions being a lifelong learner is essential. Justin is an example of someone
who takes this very seriously. He has traveled literally across the country to attend professional
3. development events to acquire knowledge that assures best practices are being utilized. He
has inspired me to do the same and I am thankful for that.
Justin’s competence and affable personality make him a valued member of our organization. I
feel that he would be an asset to any organization fortunate enough to have him in their
employ. If I can be of any further assistance concerning Mr. Tsai please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Fox, EMT
Lieutenant
Township of Washington Volunteer Ambulance Corps
4. TOWNSHIP OF UNION
IN THE COUNTY OF UNION
RECREATION DEPARTMENT
1120 Commerce Ave
Union, New Jersey 07083
(908)686-4200 Fax(908) 686-4114
www.uniontownship.com/recreation
_________________________________
Robert Cowper
Superintendent of Recreation
Suzette Cavadas
Commissioner
February 18, 2020
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Robert Cowper, I am the Superintendent of Recreation for the Township of
Union. Previously, I was the Assistant Recreation Director for the Borough of Paramus. I
am writing on behalf of Justin Tsai who I supervised while working in Paramus.
I first met Justin when he was in high school and applied to work at our summer camp
program. Justin worked in two capacities for our department over the span of four
summers (2014, 2016-2018). First, as a general camp counselor and then as an EMT
counselor. As a camp counselor, Justin was directly responsible for the supervision of a
group of ten children. As an EMT counselor, he was part of our program’s key staff and
was responsible for the safety and care of all children present at his camp site, typically
100-150 on a given day. The campers that Justin worked with during his time at Paramus
Recreation ranged from third grade to eighth grade (about 8-14 years old). In addition to
his task supervising the campers, Justin’s responsibilities also included communicating
with parents, especially about any accidents or injuries sustained at camp.
Justin was a reliable worker who I could trust to take on responsibility. He was prompt and
never a problem when it came to attendance. Justin was respectful and compassionate in
his dealings with co-workers, campers and their parents. During his time as an EMT
counselor, Justin encountered multiple situations that required him to assess the scene and
make a decision about the best course of treatment. As such, I believe Justin’s
preparedness, attention to detail and thoroughness were integral to his work for our
department as an EMT. These traits would make Justin a great candidate for your research
program.
If I can be of further assistance, please feel free to email me at
rcowper@uniontownship.com.
Sincerely,
Robert Cowper
6. Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
106 Somerset Street, 3rd
Floor
Gateway Building
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 848-932-4391
March 30, 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
It is my pleasure to write this letter of character reference in support of Justin G. Tsai, EMT.
Justin G. Tsai is an honor student in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences Honors program. He
is a certified emergency medical technician and his career goal is to become a nurse. At Rutgers,
Justin is among our highly achieving academic students. He cares deeply about helping others
and I observed that in a crisis you can rely on his steady thoughtful advice, nursing skills, and
strategic actions. The following incident illustrates his leadership skills even under duress.
For Spring break 2016, Justin participated in an educational field experience in Yucatan Mexico.
He was one of 15 students that went on this trip (along with our program dean and myself) to
learn about Mayan history and culture. He graciously volunteered to serve as our travel group's
designated stand-by EMT (and was the only active EMT among the group).
A few days into our trip, we were visiting a Mayan village out in the wilderness when one of the
students became very ill. We were completely off the grid, far from the nearest town/cell signal
and a 45 minute drive to the closes town. We could not call an ambulance. Our medical
supplies consisted of a basic first aid kit and we had no access to medical equipment to take the
student’s blood pressure. Justin helped us with the situation and without him the medical crisis
could have been worse. He reminded us that we had walked in 90 degree weather all day long
and that it was likely she was dehydrated.
Justin stayed focused on making sure she did go into shock and proceeded to obtain from her
“sample” history and OPQRST symptoms. We were giving her Gatorade to drink but she vomited
so Justin recommended that she stop drinking and later said that she should drink slowly and
only little gulps at a time. Noting that her skin tone was pale he recommended that we take her
to the nearest hospital. We were unable to do that so we asked Justin to stay by her while she
rested. He was calm, and thoughtful throughout the worse moments. He psychologically
comforted the student by giving her emotional support and assured her that he would stay with
her while the chaperones figured out the next steps.
He recommended that since we did not know if her symptoms were contagious that we not
allow the other students use the same restroom nor be in the space with her. We followed his
advice and isolated her from the other students and placed her in the same room with the dean
and chaperone. Prior to all of this, the student fell asleep (it was midnight) and Justin stayed up
with her. He is a kind, thoughtful person that under this situation he made sure to comfort the
student psychologically and just monitor her symptoms.
7. During the course of these events, Justin demonstrated his skills as a leader coordinating with
several individuals including the patient, Rutgers staff, site supervisors while advocating for the
best course of action for the patient; while bearing in mind university policy, the wishes of the
patient, the wishes of the chaperones/drivers, and awareness of the lack of resources.
After the student recovered 24 hours later Justin continued to provide first aid for other
students throughout the trip as other minor situations came up.
Our staff recognized Justin’s talent for working in a team as well as being able to initiate
assistance on his own. Clearly, he is well-trained and a well-qualified responder and is capable of
handling any critical matter as a first responder and healthcare professional no matter how
challenging.
I find him to be an extraordinary leader with high integrity, a passion for working in the health
care profession, and gifted in communicating his ideas and in an emergency has a calming effect
on all around him.
Please let me know if you need more information.
Sincerely,
Isabel Nazario
Associate Vice President