Dealing with superficial community service clubs?

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JoyKim456

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So I decided to join a Food for Service community service slub at my college that helps deliver food to people in poverty. I was really excited to join because I love helping people. But then I learned that my fellow club members are very superficial. They only care about doing the bare minimum to be considered a part of the club, and they just sit around and socialize. Anyone else experience this?

Most of these are pre meds so I was wondering about any tips to deal with it?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Then why are you in the club? :rolleyes:
 
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I am in the club because it is very effective in helping people in need. I am not complaining about the club. I am complaining about the pre meds
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I wish I could.

Some of these pre meds are, well, very hungry to build their resumes: they are the first in line to sign up for a charity event but they don't do much at the event. So someone who is deserving does not get to sign up (each event has limited spots).

So whilst the club is effective, it's full potential is not being reached
 
Apply to be a part of the leadership board and change how things are done in the club. Might take a while, but it would be great leadership experience in addition to making the club more effective! Be the change you want to see in the world, etc etc...
 
I wish I could.

Some of these pre meds are, well, very hungry to build their resumes: they are the first in line to sign up for a charity event but they don't do much at the event. So someone who is deserving does not get to sign up (each event has limited spots).

So whilst the club is effective, it's full potential is not being reached

Option #1- quit. It is very possible to do community service without being in a club for it. Especially if you've already found some organizations you like helping. For example, food pantries accept individual volunteers all the time.

Option #2- stick around, and get into a leadership position as soon as possible. That way you can help the club reach its full potential.
 
where's the photo hold on a second
 
ah here it is
obstacle-course-2.jpg
 
You'll find that pre-meds like these are not uncommon. A product of a system that breeds applicants, not future doctors and scientists. A sad truth. You should see what the pre-med club looks like at my uni (60k students state school) - its horrifying
 
This is the exact reason why I was never part of any of these student organizations when I was in ugrad. I was also at a large state school (40k+ students), and the pre-meds were horrible. I tried joining one and they would sit there and talk about how good this activity was going to look on their med school app, and, after like 6 meetings, I realized it was more of a social hour for people to talk about how much they volunteer and pat themselves on the back. I got sick of talking about volunteering, so I quit and found some organizations outside of the university where I could actually DO volunteering. I had much more fulfilling experiences, and I didn't have to deal with all of the nonsense.
 
@Tired The medical school admissions process itself is one huge judgment. So I don't know what the problem is.
 
@Tired If by "you" you meant me, specifically, then I don't know what to tell you beaudes the fact that I don't about getting into a top medical school, only about becoming a doctor and helping poor people. Unfortunately, I have to get somewhat of a care about getting into at least some medical school, so some polishing needs to occur. Sure, it'll be genuine. But in no way will I ever be, nor have ever been, a resume enhancing fake pre med.
 
@Tired If by "you" you meant me, specifically, then I don't know what to tell you beaudes the fact that I don't about getting into a top medical school, only about becoming a doctor and helping poor people. Unfortunately, I have to get somewhat of a care about getting into at least some medical school, so some polishing needs to occur. Sure, it'll be genuine. But in no way will I ever be, nor have ever been, a resume enhancing fake pre med.

Regardless of how fake or sincere you are, sitting around judging whether other people are superficial or not doesn't do you any good. Like I said before, there's no rule that you HAVE to be in a specific club to do community service. Why don't you go to the local food pantry and help them sort donations? No club required.
 
I had experiences with that. It ended up being a service club that did some things but they seem like touchy feeling things that were unproductive to the target population. Made the volunteers felt great. I thought my time was better spent elsewhere and left the club to those who enjoyed it.
 
If you're very passionate about this activity, I'd disregard their lack of enthusiasm and overshadow it with your honest dedication to giving back to the community.
 
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