At the end of the semester, Vanguard sent her a brief, generic letter of recommendation that said only, “Ms. Martinez performed duties as required.” The “real, client‑facing work” she’d hoped for never materialized; she’d been reduced to data entry, often working late into the night to meet impossible deadlines.
Chloe applied and was accepted. The professor, Dr. Alvarez, ran a study on decision‑making under stress. The work was intellectually stimulating, the hours were reasonable, and the team welcomed her ideas. For the first time in months, she felt her contributions mattered. At the end of the semester, Vanguard sent