Community Service Reference

[neversayalways]

Hi everyone, I hope your interview prep is going well for those who got interviews this year.

 

I was going to use a community service reference from my time as a first responder at my university, but the issue is that the director was a student (though not a friend). Would it still be appropriate to use this reference or should I try to get a (likely weaker) reference from someone else?

[Bambi]

If there is a faculty member on the food chain of the organization, it is better to use him.It is not uncommon for a person higher up the food chain to sign a letter prepared by someone who knows you. Otherwise, to bolster the credibility of this Director/student, he should state his credentials, e.g., howlong in this position and how manystudentsunder his supervision. I would go with the strongest LOR. Good luck. 

[OwnerOfTheTARDIS]

I personally don't see an issue with the reference being a student, so long as they weren't a friend. If they were director of the organization, that gives them authority over you and this is not an academic reference so their education credentials don't matter.

 

To paint a contrasting scenario that might help you, consider how many people go back to school for degree completion. If you were a long time hospital volunteer and coincidentally the director of the hospital volunteer program was taking a couple of courses to complete a degree or obtain a masters, would that be an issue? I think not. However, this is just my opinion. 

 

When evaluating the activities where you could get a reference, I would consider the following points: How many people were involved as volunteers with this organization? What level of leadership organization was there (was there a board of directors, executive council, etc)? How many people could this reference compare you to when evaluating your contribution? How well does the potential reference know you? These type of questions will hopefully help you clarify in your own mind what kind of reference this individual can write. 

 

Ultimately, just do what feels best. 

[neversayalways]

Thanks for the advice! I have definitely used this letter for other schools, but I'm a bit worried/paranoid based on the text given to us to determine what is an appropriate referee for UBC (ie that peers/fellow students are not appropriate):

 

"The community service referee should be someone who has supervised or managed you in a volunteer position after high school and who can respond to questions of the type provided on the reference form. The referee should be able to reflect on your non-academic qualities such as how you work with and relate to other people, your altruistic characteristics, etc. The referee cannot be a family member or friend. Peers, particularly fellow students, are not appropriate. If your community service referee has supervised you in multiple roles, the referee should focus on the community service aspect when completing the reference form. It is important that we understand how your referee relates to your community service activities."

[OwnerOfTheTARDIS]

Thanks for the advice! I have definitely used this letter for other schools, but I'm a bit worried/paranoid based on the text given to us to determine what is an appropriate referee for UBC (ie that peers/fellow students are not appropriate):

 

"The community service referee should be someone who has supervised or managed you in a volunteer position after high school and who can respond to questions of the type provided on the reference form. The referee should be able to reflect on your non-academic qualities such as how you work with and relate to other people, your altruistic characteristics, etc. The referee cannot be a family member or friend. Peers, particularly fellow students, are not appropriate. If your community service referee has supervised you in multiple roles, the referee should focus on the community service aspect when completing the reference form. It is important that we understand how your referee relates to your community service activities."

You may be right, I admit I did not personally reexamine their instructions before writing my response so it now appears that I have given poor advice. Apologies for that, I suppose it is just UBC exercising extra caution to ensure that friends/peers don't write reference letters giving a false impression of an applicants attributes.