Work & Activities: Sorority Leadership or Serving?

[premedfromnc]

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#1: Need help deciding between these two activities since I don't have enough space. They both have comparable hours. Or I was also wondering if it is frowned upon to do a combo for my last activity, name it leadership or work and just kinda put a summary of both? Let me know what ya'll think:

Activity 1: Serving

• Pros: I am currently serving & scribing after grad school so it kind of shows what I'm doing now. Also shows that I worked through summers in grad school/undergrad (3 serving jobs are included in the activity). Also listed a few other jobs I did to show that I was working a lot.
• Cons: I don't have a lot of leadership (see activities listed below) but I could switch some of my activities to leadership (see bolded ones)

"Whether it’s fast-paced service in a college town or fine dining, I always provide an entertaining experience. I tell guests to expect “dinner and a show,” as I create playful tag lines for our recommended menu items, like “grandma’s homemade pie in a glass” for the Strawberry Cobbler cocktail at STK. One guest began to request me each week. I initially only knew that he ordered a flight of beer and fish & chips. I eventually learned that his wife had died of cancer and he enjoyed visiting as he was an elderly man without much companionship. While I have worked a variety of jobs including dog sitting, babysitting, and driving for Uber Eats, serving has been the most impactful."

Activity 2: Coach for Sorority Dance Competition & Recruitment Leader ("Gamma Chi")

• Pro: Shows leadership and volunteering (raised money for eating disorders)
• Con: Unsure whether sororities are stigmatized

"Greek Groove is a Panhellenic dance competition that raises money for the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders. As a lifelong dancer, I was thrilled but nervous when elected as the only coach during my sophomore year. While I had 10 dancers at tryouts, other teams met the 22-dancer requirement and had many coaches, some from the UNC dance team. I devoted time to choreography, recruiting dancers, music, costumes, lighting, and the background video. My favorite college memory is jumping on stage when we placed third for the first time in my sorority’s history. I cherished my time as the coach for the rest of college, although COVID limited in-person competitions during my senior year. Along with my experience leading incoming students as a recruitment leader, I learned my passion for learning and mentoring others."


#2: Can you look at the bolded parts of my activity list and help me categorize them? Unsure whether having an even spread of each category matters... Does non-clinical volunteering or leadership matter more or do they not care?

Other activities/Categories I have:
- CNA I -- Clinical Work
- Medical Scribe -- Clinical Work
- Founder & President of a pen pal club for people with autism -- Not sure if I should put leadership or non-clinical volunteering
- Unpaid Intern at a London Clinic -- Unsure what to put for this
- Honors Carolina Ambassador & Orientation Host -- Deciding between leadership & Honors/Awards
- PharmD Early Assurance Program (includes some leadership positions in clubs from when I was pre-pharmacy) -- Honors/Awards?
- Teacher Assistant -- TA
- Read and Feed -- Non-clinical volunteering
- Foster Village Charlotte -- Non-clinical volunteering
- HIV Neurocognition Research -- Research
- Biotech certificate -- Research
- Hospital Volunteer -- Clinical Volunteering
- Hospice Volunteer -- Clinical Volunteering
- Shadowing -- Shadowing

 

[karaya]

I like the dance coach activity. Serving is kinda boring. IMO you can lump together all your non-clinical employment into one entry. Job description not required--we know what they are. Use the space to list start and end dates, as well as contact info.

- Founder & President of a pen pal club for people with autism -- Not sure if I should put leadership or non-clinical volunteering

Depends on your duties. If you spent more time with the pen pals, then volunteering. If recruiting and organizing, then leadership.

- Unpaid Intern at a London Clinic -- Unsure what to put for this

Depends what you did. Work with patients? Admin tasks? If not clinical, this seems pretty low-impact and you could cut it. An internship differs from volunteering in that internships usually develop professional competencies and/or networking.

- Honors Carolina Ambassador & Orientation Host -- Deciding between leadership & Honors/Awards
- PharmD Early Assurance Program (includes some leadership positions in clubs from when I was pre-pharmacy) -- Honors/Awards?

You can potentially put these together under one Honors/Awards entry.

If you're still pressed for space, put both clinical volunteer positions together. I can't imagine they are dissimilar enough to warrant separate entries. Again, put the second activity's dates and contact info in the description.

 

[LunaOri]

I would pick activity #1. Having to work to help support yourself is more significant than being a sorority dance coach.

 

[LizzyM]

Frankly, I'd delete the Pharmacy thing and make room for the two items you are asking about.

Call the dance coaching "leadership".

 

[premedfromnc]

Frankly, I'd delete the Pharmacy thing and make room for the two items you are asking about.

Call the dance coaching "leadership".

Thanks so much for your feedback! The only reason I was going to include it was because I have other leadership/clubs associated with it (pre-pharmacy student committee, career trek, mentoring club). I also talk about my path from pharmacy to med school in my PS so I thought this would add some context about the program. Would you still say to not include it knowing this?


Here is the full thing:

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"This program guarantees admission to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, the top-ranked pharmacy school in the nation. Competitive applicants are selected through Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), and recipients must meet specific GPA, PCAT, and prerequisite requirements. During my time in the program, I joined the Pre-Pharmacy Club Student Committee and participated in MFLIP, a pharmacy mentoring initiative. In 2017 and 2018, I attended the annual LEAD Pharmacy Program, which provided opportunities to network with leading clinicians and learn about pharmaceutical innovations. Additionally, I took part in Honors Carolina’s Research Triangle Park Career Trek, which included tours of several pharmaceutical and technical companies."

 

[Goro]

I would pick activity #1. Having to work to help support yourself is more significant than being a sorority dance coach.

This 10000x

 

[LizzyM]

I'd really not be informed or impressed by the pharm thing and don't think you lose out by dropping it from the work & activities section.