Building relationships is important for everyone, regardless of where you are in life. It increases community satisfaction, helps you to find future opportunities and lays the groundwork for future roles. Attending college is the prime time to network and build relationships because of being exposed to such a large and diverse group of people. College relationships may be short-term interactions or become long-term friendships. As you continue reading, you will find some Flashcards from Macy K on best practices and reasons for building relationships with classmates, roommates and professors during your time at school.
Classmates
Having a relationship with classmates may not be on the top of everyone’s list when headed off to college. Most people just want to go to class, listen to their hour and a half lecture and get out. Contrary to the majority belief, the simplest of relationships with your classmates has major benefits. According to a blogger that goes by the name of Winonadolphins, building the most basic relationship among classmates is all you need to do. “Forming close relationships or friendships with your classmates isn’t necessary,” they said. All it takes is just simple communication efforts. California College San Diego offers great tips on forming classroom relationships for those who may struggle making that initial interaction. See the classmate Flashcard from Macy K below for some reasons why relationships among classmates are important:
Roommates
Even though you meet a lot of people when you attend college, there are a select few that will end up having the greatest impact on your life; one being your roommate. Sharing a room and essentially your life with someone is bound to lead to a deeper relationship than most. Angela Milinazzo of Campus Sims wrote that when living in such close quarters with someone, you’re subject to dealing with any aftermath caused by your mood, classes and relationships. Sometimes roommate situations work without any issues; however, more often than not, there has to be work put into that relationship in order to keep the peace. See the roommate Flashcard from Macy K below on what you can do to make living with a roommate the best it can be:
Professors
It may be intimidating to make that initial move to connect with your college professors, but I’m telling you… building that relationship foundation from the get-go will be extremely beneficial for you in the end. Jacquie Butler of Education Quest gives some great reasons on why it is important to build relationships with your professors: Professors are experts in their chosen field, so they will be able to help you to succeed academically. Also, they will be able to provide you with information on opportunities that you may not have considered before. Finally, professors have many connections and will be able to reach out to companies on your behalf to help with nailing down internships and/or jobs. Butler explains that it’s important to keep in mind that your professors are people too, and I couldn’t agree more! Your professors are there to help you and move you along in your academic career. They want to see you succeed, not belittle you. See the professor Flashcard from Macy K below for how to introduce yourself and maintain a connection with your college professors:
You know what they say… Teamwork makes the dream work! Teamwork is important in every single field. Every workplace, every organization and every classroom needs to continue expanding its networks and they can do so by actively building relationships. What advice or questions do you have regarding building your network while in school? Comment below! I’d love to hear from you.
If you want more tips and tricks on how to build relationships while attending college, check out the links below!
Flashcards from Macy K 