Question about meaningful volunteer experience (it's a unique issue, I think)

[kthxbai]

Hello everyone and thank you for taking my question.

I'm in the process of pre-writing my secondaries, and am answering a question about my most meaningful (non-clinical) volunteer experience.

I wrote about working with Jewish senior citizens from the Soviet Union and related that experience in part to my own identity as a Jewish Soviet woman (essentially, I volunteer with them 1. out of gratitude for sharing their - and subsequently my - history with me. I play cards and walk with them, and to be their companion in their time of need is the least I can do for their contribution to my life. 2. to pay forward the kindness my grandparents showed me in raising me when my parents couldn't)

My boyfriend is vehemently against mentioning my Soviet and Jewish backgrounds because apparently no one likes Russians (the notion that if you hold onto your roots = go back to your country... and the whole Putin ****show) and that Jews are far over-represented in medicine. I know what he says is ludicrous on nearly all levels, but could there really be such an innate bias that I should downplay this?

Thank you all for your time. And no, this really isn't a troll question.

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[tantacles]

Hello everyone and thank you for taking my question.

I'm in the process of pre-writing my secondaries, and am answering a question about my most meaningful (non-clinical) volunteer experience.

I wrote about working with Jewish senior citizens from the Soviet Union and related that experience in part to my own identity as a Jewish Soviet woman (essentially, I volunteer with them 1. out of gratitude for sharing their - and subsequently my - history with me. I play cards and walk with them, and to be their companion in their time of need is the least I can do for their contribution to my life. 2. to pay forward the kindness my grandparents showed me in raising me when my parents couldn't)

My boyfriend is vehemently against mentioning my Soviet and Jewish backgrounds because apparently no one likes Russians (the notion that if you hold onto your roots = go back to your country... and the whole Putin ****show) and that Jews are far over-represented in medicine. I know what he says is ludicrous on nearly all levels, but could there really be such an innate bias that I should downplay this?

Thank you all for your time. And no, this really isn't a troll question.

Your ethnic heritage is extremely unlikely to hurt you except in rare cases - those cases where a faculty member or screener harbors disdain for a racial or ethnic minority and has somehow managed to keep that knowledge secret from his fellow colleagues for his entire tenure. In these cases, there's little you can do to avoid this bias. Most faculty members do their best not to let their prejudices unduly influence their decisions; I'd say you have little to worry about on this front.

If your connection to the community you are involved with is strengthened by your background, it's a great idea to mention it.

 

[Jepstein30]

Hello everyone and thank you for taking my question.

I'm in the process of pre-writing my secondaries, and am answering a question about my most meaningful (non-clinical) volunteer experience.

I wrote about working with Jewish senior citizens from the Soviet Union and related that experience in part to my own identity as a Jewish Soviet woman (essentially, I volunteer with them 1. out of gratitude for sharing their - and subsequently my - history with me. I play cards and walk with them, and to be their companion in their time of need is the least I can do for their contribution to my life. 2. to pay forward the kindness my grandparents showed me in raising me when my parents couldn't)

My boyfriend is vehemently against mentioning my Soviet and Jewish backgrounds because apparently no one likes Russians (the notion that if you hold onto your roots = go back to your country... and the whole Putin ****show) and that Jews are far over-represented in medicine. I know what he says is ludicrous on nearly all levels, but could there really be such an innate bias that I should downplay this?

Thank you all for your time. And no, this really isn't a troll question.

Put it this way.. if a school doesn't like Russians or Jews, is that really the place you want to be as a proud Jewish Soviet?

Sounds like a great EC to me. Both in general and for a medical school application.

 

[juliuspepperwood]

Put it this way.. if a school doesn't like Russians or Jews, is that really the place you want to be as a proud Jewish Soviet?

Sounds like a great EC to me. Both in general and for a medical school application.

This x100.

 

[juliuspepperwood]

Though I am curious as to why you are identifying as Soviet versus Russian (I am assuming you are Russian by your reference to your boyfriend's comments, you could well be Belorussian, Ukrainian etc. if you are identifying as Soviet)

I only ask because it seems a bit antiquated. I'm not used to Czechs identifying as Czechoslovakian or Serbs as Yugoslavs.

 

[Comeonhavefun]

I might get crap for this answer, but even on here some people don't like Jews. I would keep being Jewish out of it if you don't have a Jewish last name (Goldman, Weiss, Shapiro, Cohen) since a lot of hate for Jews in America and all over the world. Never met anyone in the US with Soviet Union or Russia bias even online I see it rarely. Being Jewish will not keep you out of med school, but I could guarantee someone got turned down for being Jewish. Tons of Jews are in medicine so it is not a big deal, but there is a very small chance your application is sent to a Nazi, Jew hater, or people who think Jews control all the money.

This is not the politically correct answer.

 

[Jepstein30]

I might get crap for this answer, but even on here some people don't like Jews. I would keep being Jewish out of it if you don't have a Jewish last name (Goldman, Weiss, Shapiro, Cohen) since a lot of hate for Jews in America and all over the world. Never met anyone in the US with Soviet Union or Russia bias even online I see it rarely. Being Jewish will not keep you out of med school, but I could guarantee someone got turned down for being Jewish. Tons of Jews are in medicine so it is not a big deal, but there is a very small chance your application is sent to a Nazi, Jew hater, or people who think Jews control all the money.

This is not the politically correct answer.

I mean, not only is this ridiculous and discrimination on the basis of religion illegal.. but again.. if such a school exists, do you really want to attend it?

it's not like you're going to go through medical school keeping the fact that you are Jewish/whatever a complete secret.

 

[kthxbai]

Though I am curious as to why you are identifying as Soviet versus Russian (I am assuming you are Russian by your reference to your boyfriend's comments, you could well be Belorussian, Ukrainian etc. if you are identifying as Soviet)

I only ask because it seems a bit antiquated. I'm not used to Czechs identifying as Czechoslovakian or Serbs as Yugoslavs.

This might be a case of getting lost in translation. The term Soviet is interchangeable with Russian in Russian. I guess I should have known Americans wouldn't think of it this way (I'm actually half Russian half Ukrainian... Just imagine those holiday dinners nowadays!)

Besides, I was born in the Soviet Union and volunteer with people who largely know themselves as Soviets... I suppose it rubbed off after a while too.

 

[kthxbai]

I might get crap for this answer, but even on here some people don't like Jews. I would keep being Jewish out of it if you don't have a Jewish last name (Goldman, Weiss, Shapiro, Cohen) since a lot of hate for Jews in America and all over the world. Never met anyone in the US with Soviet Union or Russia bias even online I see it rarely. Being Jewish will not keep you out of med school, but I could guarantee someone got turned down for being Jewish. Tons of Jews are in medicine so it is not a big deal, but there is a very small chance your application is sent to a Nazi, Jew hater, or people who think Jews control all the money.

This is not the politically correct answer.

I realize this better than you can imagine, unfortunately. I'm Israeli too (lived there for over a decade), and have mentioned this in my PS as a short intro into my background. Since Israeli = Jewish, I don't think I can get away from this anymore.

But no, my obviously Ukrainian last name and distinctly non-Jewish looks make people give me the side glance when I tell them where I'm from 😛

 

[LMBLBM]

I might get crap for this answer, but even on here some people don't like Jews. I would keep being Jewish out of it if you don't have a Jewish last name (Goldman, Weiss, Shapiro, Cohen) since a lot of hate for Jews in America and all over the world. Never met anyone in the US with Soviet Union or Russia bias even online I see it rarely. Being Jewish will not keep you out of med school, but I could guarantee someone got turned down for being Jewish. Tons of Jews are in medicine so it is not a big deal, but there is a very small chance your application is sent to a Nazi, Jew hater, or people who think Jews control all the money.

This is not the politically correct answer.

Well CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, ABC is owned by Jewish or people with Jewish wives. I am against racial discrimination, thus against URM policy. However, I can see Jews being discriminated by same logic behind URM policy.

 

[kthxbai]

Let me just get one thing across: I volunteer with the Soviet Jewish elderly folks as a way to keep in touch with my background AND to pay forward my grandparents' kindness in raising me. My boyfriend thinks that I'm making an otherwise selfless act conditional (I.e that I wouldn't volunteer with them if they didn't share my background). I think it makes my commitment deeper; I'm one of the few descendants of Holocaust survivors (wiped out my family except my grandmother and her cousin) and this is my way to keep their memories alive. Being Jewish is incidental; doing service to the Holocaust victims isn't. Does this really raise red flags?

 

[Planes2Doc]

I was wondering about this when I started volunteering. I did some Jewish-based activities, and had absolutely no problems. I can only see you having problems if you were doing work with extremist Ultra-Orthodox groups, or maybe with deceptive Kiruv organizations. I think doing anything from secular to Chabad should probably be Kosher. 😉

 

[LizzyM]

Oy! I highly doubt you have anything to be worried about in identifying as a Soviet Jew who has chosen to volunteer with her elderly countrywomen.
If anything, the Jewish members of the adcom (a large minority of the membership) will love you for it as will those who put a high value on helping the elderly. And if you have even basic language skills that can be used to put elderly non-English speaking people at ease, all the better.

 

[kthxbai]

I was wondering about this when I started volunteering. I did some Jewish-based activities, and had absolutely no problems. I can only see you having problems if you were doing work with extremist Ultra-Orthodox groups, or maybe with deceptive Kiruv organizations. I think doing anything from secular to Chabad should probably be Kosher. 😉

I volunteer Saturdays, so how's that for religion? 😉

 

[kthxbai]

Oy! I highly doubt you have anything to be worried about in identifying as a Soviet Jew who has chosen to volunteer with her elderly countrywomen.
If anything, the Jewish members of the adcom (a large minority of the membership) will love you for it as will those who put a high value on helping the elderly. And if you have even basic language skills that can be used to put elderly non-English speaking people at ease, all the better.

Thanks, @LizzyM! I'm fluent in Russian and Hebrew, and that's all I speak there. I appreciate the input!

 

[kthxbai]

Thank you everyone for your input and help! I wanted to post my secondary response (this is just a draft, so please allow for some grammatical issues and underdeveloped ideas) to give you a clear idea of my message. Once again, I'd greatly appreciate your feedback on whether this is appropriate (and as meaningful as it sounds to me):
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Every Saturday morning with a pound of pennies in hand, I head to [NAME HERE]Adult Health Care Center for my weekly game of Russian Nines. Each time Ada playfully shakes her finger at me as she teases in Russian, “Kthxbai, you’re late!” I actually am on time, but she is always the first one at the table to deal the cards. Before long our two partners, Simon the aviation mechanic and Jean the Morse code translator, take their seats. As Ada shuffles, I casually glance at the folks trickling into the room for their weekly card, billiards, and chess games; in the sea of luminescent gray hair I see welders, engineers, pilots, actors, authors, soldiers, doctors, government officials, scientists, and Holocaust survivors. A small piece of Jewish, Soviet, and my history concentrated into a 9x15 room.

As a child of the bygone Soviet era and a descendent of Holocaust survivors, my past is quickly receding to the history books. Here in this room are the people who witnessed the germination of my roots, and they are eager to share their stories. They tell me of their struggles to maintain their heritage in a Communist society that prohibited individuality; they tell me of their battles to give their children a chance to prosper amidst poverty and war; they tell me of their victories that brought them to the United States to forge a better life. Their past struggles, contributions, and perseverance made my present possible, and for that I am grateful to serve these people in their golden years. Most of them have lost their significant others, and have children and grandchildren that scattered across the globe. They long for companionship, and I am honored to fill that void with our card games, afternoon walks, and talks over tea and biscuits.

When I look at these people I also see my grandparents in them, who in their love and selflessness raised me when my parents could not afford day care while working full time. Every Saturday morning I come to [NAME HERE] to thank my elders and keep their stories and memories alive, in what is my most meaningful community involvement to date.
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[Lamel]

I realize this better than you can imagine, unfortunately. I'm Israeli too (lived there for over a decade), and have mentioned this in my PS as a short intro into my background. Since Israeli = Jewish, I don't think I can get away from this anymore.

But no, my obviously Ukrainian last name and distinctly non-Jewish looks make people give me the side glance when I tell them where I'm from 😛

Just a nitpick, but that's not always true.

Your essay sounds great by the way.

 

[kthxbai]

Just a nitpick, but that's not always true.

Your essay sounds great by the way.

You're right, it isn't (hello to all the Muslim Arabs and foreign researchers that raised their kids in Israel!). But since it is true about 99% of the time in causal conversation (it being called the Jewish State and all), I can't possibly expect others to remember the exceptions. Just sayin'!

And thank you! I feel relieved already.

 

[LizzyM]

The geriatric specialists on the committee will lap this up. Well done!

 

[kthxbai]

The geriatric specialists on the committee will lap this up. Well done!

Thank you! I can now tell my boyfriend to suck it, because I love my old folks for who they are and not simply for their old age.