Hello everyone. I'm new to the forms. I'm in college in the U.S. now but I hope to some time get to travel and experience the world. I got some overseas experience this past summer and here's my question about it:

I did a volunteer conservation program in New Zealand this past summer. I'm from the U.S. It ended in June. I'm a recreation and tourism major so this was a great thing for my resume, plus I had a blast! I met with my advisor the other day and we were talking about the New Zealand trip. She asked me if I got a reference letter. I had not.

It should have been obvious, but I didn't think of it. I plan on asking my employer and some of my professors and track coach for a letter at the end of either employment and college so I know I have awhile yet to ask for them.

Even though this happened in June, can I still ask for a reference letter? I got along well with my group letter in New Zealand. Some of the people were starting to defy her authority and give her a difficult time, but I wasn't one of them. I talked with her quite a bit too since she was interested in the U.S. and I of course interested in New Zealand. Alot of the other people there were from either New Zealand or Australia so she didn't learn much culturally from them. Plus I'm sure she remembers me. I'm a midwestern girl so I know how to swing an axe. I went to NZ in their winter season so we had to chop wood to heat the house. If it wasn't for me they'd of been awfully cold!

How do I go about doing this? Do I send a fax to the office organizer (I know her too) and ask her to forward the message to the group leader? I don't have the individual email of my group leader. I'm also not sure of her phone number either. We stayed in remote areas without phones and I really don't want to ring her cell phone from the U.S. and she's not really in the office much because she's out with the groups. What do I say after that? I've never asked anyone for a reference letter before. I basically want her to say something of the lines that I'm a good and capable worker, easy to get along with, and does what I'm asked to do while being respectful (probably most import in her case since have the group turned on her, yikes).I really could use this reference from another country's park program since I myself work for the National Park Service and would like to continue working for them after college.

Thanks for your help!