Troy L. Cox, PhD

Research Professor, Second Language Studies

Director of Proficiency Services and Research

BYU Center for Language Studies

📧 [email protected]

July 2026

Letter of Recommendation — Shantona Mir

"She doesn't wait for permission to reach further than expected — and when she gets there, she has the substance to back it up."

I've been surprised by Shantona more times than I'm entirely comfortable admitting for someone who is supposed to be her advisor.

The first time was a text message. She asked if she could come talk with me, and when she sat down she was almost apologetic about it: she'd submitted a proposal to the Language Testing Research Colloquium (LTRC), the field's premier research conference, and it had been accepted. She wanted to know what she should do now. She hadn't asked my permission first, and she seemed to think that needed explaining. I was thrilled — this was a student reaching for something I hadn't prompted, hadn't seen coming, and hadn't been asked to bless in advance. A few months later I was in Montreal, watching her present those findings to a room of researchers who'd been doing this work since before she was born. I was there as her mentor. Mostly what I did was watch.

The second time was her portfolio prospectus. I expected something competent — she is, after all, finishing an MA in TESOL and has never given me reason to doubt her — and got back one of the stronger planning documents I've reviewed from a master's student: primary-source research into three countries' job markets, real institutional data, and a four-part professional plan that holds together as a single argument rather than four separate wish lists.

Here's the thing about Shantona: she's quick, funny, and always good for a laugh, the kind of person who makes a room more fun the moment she's in it. That same directness, I think, is also why people notice the wit before they notice the substance — it's easy to underestimate how much she's actually capable of until the work lands on your desk. I've made that mistake myself, more than once, and been corrected every time.

So I'll say this plainly. Whatever comes her way next — a teaching position, a research opportunity, a doctoral program — she's worth taking seriously, and she's earned the benefit of the doubt from anyone deciding whether to bet on her. She doesn't wait for permission to reach further than expected. And when she gets there, she has the substance to back it up.

— Troy L. Cox, PhD