Can I put babysitting my siblings as employed for 20+ hours?
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If this is a real role you serve in your family, you need to call it out as a way of explaining how you are asked to spend your time. It would be similar to caring for an elderly family member and that need for dependent care prevented you from participating in other activities. It will explain potential holes in your resume OR if you have other activities, it will speak even more to time management skills.
I am not sure I understand what you mean to say in the first sentence. It definitely has prevented me from working towards leadership positions but would I explain this in the "extra essay" or somewhere else?
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Is caring for your siblings something you do because you want to ----- or do you perform this role so a parent can work? The essence of the question is can you really qualify this as a job? Is the family counting on you for this function? If you were off doing other things -- what would happen? Would a parent have to quit their job to then watch the children? Would some unsafe situation result with twin 5yr olds being left at home as latch key kids after they walk home alone from the bus stop? Details matter and they will help you tell this story to others. Remember, the admissions board and the nominations board do not know you or your circumstances unless you tell them. If caring for siblings has impacted your ability to do other things, share that with them. Highlight how this role has helped you mature and has better prepared you for USMMA.
If this is a job (paid or not), it can go on the student resume. Expect the topic to come up in your nomination board interview. Everyone's situation is different, but here are a few that I have heard over the years:
"Candidate XYZ, I see you have a job here for 20 hours a week. That's a lot for someone of your age. What are your responsibilities?"
Answer 1: "Well, I try to help out around the house and keep my little brothers out of my mom's hair after school."
Answer 2: "Yes Sir! I live with a single parent, and he/she needs to work past 3pm when my siblings get out from school. I need to care for my two brothers by picking them up from school, and taking care of them until my parent gets home. To do this, I have had to step back from some of the activities I was doing previously and I was able to get a work release from High School to leave early enough to pick them up at school. I generally get them started on their homework, clean and start dinner. Once my parent gets home, I can start on my homework. Teamwork makes the "team" work! At least it works for our family."
Answer 3: "Yes Sir! Things are a little financially tough for us right now and my parents both work very long hours to keep up with the bills. We made a choice as a family to have me care for my siblings after school so that we would not need to spend money on after school care for the two of them. I know that I have not been able to participate in a lot of things outside of school and caring for siblings, but I am trying to demonstrate maturity, character, and leadership in different ways and I hope that comes across to you though my actions."
As a USAFA ALO, I dig for these kinds of details because typically, a candidate who is serving an important role like this for a family will be the last to talk about it. It's life and it isn't glamorous. Most candidates in this situation feel that it is not as important as other leadership roles like the ones some of their peers are doing -- but I would disagree. We need to convey to all parties involved why there may be perceived gaps in the resume. A resume bullet like this can actually do a lot of good for the candidate and really speaks positively to maturity and character.
Thank you for the clarification! My answer would be that I watch my 4 younger siblings because my dad is deployed for most of the year and my mom has been experiencing health problems and during the day she takes care of my sister who can not go to school yet, but I do as much as I can at home cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, and putting kids to bed so she can also get the rest she needs. Although I do other activities for I think that if I was not home my parents would face some strain.
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Your work is invaluable to the family, and no doubt you have had to sacrifice activities and personal leisure time to do this. Your work shows commitment and maturity; it has worth.
One of our USNA mids that we sponsored a few years ago had two younger siblings she fed and got ready for school in the AM, and then helped them with schoolwork, projects, bath time, in the PM, then started on her own high school work and household chores. She had to quit her sport and other leadership activities, but was able to squeeze in a club leadership role. She went out very early in the AM to practice for the CFA and the half-marathons she managed to compete in. Her mom had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer when she was in 10th grade; she was very ill, especially on chemo days. Her dad worked or was taking her mom to appointments. They had a home health aide during the day, but when this young teen came home from school, she took over the care of her mom and the two young ones until her dad could get home. She wrote about how fast she had to grow up, about understanding what being responsible for other human beings meant, about how she learned to prioritize school work and juggle priorities, about being exhausted but not quitting, about giving up her wants so she could help meet the needs of the family. She also managed to keep her grades up, get excellent test scores and teacher evaluations. She reported in to Induction Day with an aunt, as her parents couldn’t travel. Her mom was able to see her walk in the door at Thanksgiving in her service dress blues as a plebe. The morning of the Army-Navy game, she was granted emergency leave to join her family when her mom went into hospice.
She is a successful Navy officer today, one who strives to be a servant leader for her sailors. The foundation for that was laid when she rose to the challenge of her family situation.
Seemingly small things can be powerful indicators of character and potential. It’s not all about “stats on the resumé.”
One of our USNA mids that we sponsored a few years ago had two younger siblings she fed and got ready for school in the AM, and then helped them with schoolwork, projects, bath time, in the PM, then started on her own high school work and household chores. She had to quit her sport and other leadership activities, but was able to squeeze in a club leadership role. She went out very early in the AM to practice for the CFA and the half-marathons she managed to compete in. Her mom had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer when she was in 10th grade; she was very ill, especially on chemo days. Her dad worked or was taking her mom to appointments. They had a home health aide during the day, but when this young teen came home from school, she took over the care of her mom and the two young ones until her dad could get home. She wrote about how fast she had to grow up, about understanding what being responsible for other human beings meant, about how she learned to prioritize school work and juggle priorities, about being exhausted but not quitting, about giving up her wants so she could help meet the needs of the family. She also managed to keep her grades up, get excellent test scores and teacher evaluations. She reported in to Induction Day with an aunt, as her parents couldn’t travel. Her mom was able to see her walk in the door at Thanksgiving in her service dress blues as a plebe. The morning of the Army-Navy game, she was granted emergency leave to join her family when her mom went into hospice.
She is a successful Navy officer today, one who strives to be a servant leader for her sailors. The foundation for that was laid when she rose to the challenge of her family situation.
Seemingly small things can be powerful indicators of character and potential. It’s not all about “stats on the resumé.”
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- Apr 16, 2010
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- 1,185
See if you can use your taking care of your siblings as Leadership as well...
I did alumni interviews for my alma mater. I had a student that didn’t appear to have many ECs at all, much less leadership. But we were talking about that…and it turned out that he watched his little brother after school, so he couldn't do traditional after school activities. It turns out his parents were getting divorced and he started to notice his brother falling through the cracks. So he started making sure he did his homework, and also signed him up for a baseball league. He took him to practices and games.
So not only did he babysit his brother, he showed leadership in making sure his brother had opportunities and support.
Think about what you do for your siblings....do you organize them doing homework? Chores? Take them places? Look for opportunities for them?
I did alumni interviews for my alma mater. I had a student that didn’t appear to have many ECs at all, much less leadership. But we were talking about that…and it turned out that he watched his little brother after school, so he couldn't do traditional after school activities. It turns out his parents were getting divorced and he started to notice his brother falling through the cracks. So he started making sure he did his homework, and also signed him up for a baseball league. He took him to practices and games.
So not only did he babysit his brother, he showed leadership in making sure his brother had opportunities and support.
Think about what you do for your siblings....do you organize them doing homework? Chores? Take them places? Look for opportunities for them?