Who qualifies as a "supervisor"?

[AerialPT]

Hey guys! Sticky situation here... Last summer I volunteered as a gymnastics coach at a local YMCA. This was a YMCA that I competed at for over 10 years (until I graduated high school) so naturally I wanted to come back to help out there. The coordinator for the program is the parent of one of my former teammates and has known me since I was about 8 years old. Would it be acceptable for me to ask her for a letter of recommendation as a supervisor for my volunteer hours? I know one of the questions that is asked on the LOR form is how long you have known the applicant, so I am concerned that they will be suspicious that she has known me for over a decade...

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[Skyris]

The way I see it, lots of schools emphasize that references are "someone who can speak to your character/professionalism/etc", and some schools (UW-Lacrosse for example) even go so far as to say "It is not advisable to have a physical therapist who you shadowed for a short period of time write you a letter of recommendation." I think a reference who has known you for years is better able to evaluate your character than what I'll have in my situation, a PT who has known me for about 50 hours, and professors I had a few classes with. I'd say you could consider her a supervisor if you worked with her and had some contact while you were volunteering at the program. Did she actually act as your supervisor while you were helping out at the program? If so, I think she'll make a great reference.

 

[DesertPT]

PT who has known me for about 50 hours, and professors I had a few classes with

lol, I had LORs from two PTs that I shadowed for ~25 hours each and a professor that I had visited one time for 15 minutes for office hours during a 6 week class. My only good one was from my boss of 2 years. Asking for those letters (other than from my boss) was awkward to say the least...but they all understood that it is a hoop you have to jump through. Still got in so we're good.

But in general yes, the better they know you, the better the reference. I think the YMCA supervisor is great as long as you meet the specific LOR requirements for all your schools. You just need to be sure it comes a cross as a professional reference from a supervisor you reported to and as personal references do NOT count. So they should be basing their comments on what they've seen of you during the volunteer work they supervised you for, not what they've seen you do throughout your life.

Calling the admissions offices of your target schools with this question would certainly be a good way to be sure.

 

[starrsgirl]

I think this is fine and it will be a strong reference for you. Make sure you update her with any relevant information that she can include (number of hours worked, specific ways in which you helped the team, strengths as a volunteer, what else you were balancing when you volunteered).