Can you believe it? Spring break is literally two weeks away already! I will be making sure to have fun when I can and finish strongly in all my courses during the remainder of the semester.  

Networking with Peers and Instructors 

Switching back to being an in-person student after being an online student for so long has turned out to be quite a challenge. The transition has been helping me to grow and figure out just how much I have changed after being a student for so long. One thing that I have always struggled with was meeting new people and maintaining those potential relationships or connections that I could make. Being on campus at Missouri State quickly made me realize I’m in charge of interacting and communicating with other people, not someone else. In this post, I wanted to share some of my tips for networking with your peers and instructors that can help you out if you get stuck.  

Instructors  

Attend office hours 

Your instructors or professors have office hours so students can discuss the course material, ask questions, and even genuinely just learn more about each other. Office hours give you the opportunity to have one-on-one time with your professor that you would not have in the classroom so you can learn even more about your professor.  

Email them  

Email your professors if you have questions about a specific area of expertise that they are knowledgeable about or even to let them know how the course lectures or material are working out for you.  

Ask for advice/help 

Instructors and professors come from all walks of life and have their degrees in addition to their careers to show for it. Have a conversation with your instructors about your own career path or ask about the real-life experiences that you will encounter outside the classroom. 

Peers 

Start conversations

Even if it is just in passing sometimes it works out to speak with people or even just be polite to someone and hold a door for them. The Missouri State campus is so huge and there are lots of people that you can get to know by just starting a random conversation. You never know what will happen until you try.  

Make groups 

Try creating a group with your classmates or connecting with each other on social media platforms. You can connect with people that have similar interests and potentially make some long-lasting relationships with people. This also helps if you have questions regarding a class that you are in with people. You could even create a study group with them.  

Find common interests  

It might be hard to just talk to random people, especially if you are shy or have some social anxiety like me so try to find someone that you could talk to about something that you like or enjoy as well. You can find a student organization that matches your interests and connects with other people through the Office of Student Engagement.  

Takeaways  

I really wanted to give these tips because when I was a freshman at Missouri State University, I was struggling to just talk to people. I learned that I was not helping myself by being afraid and limiting who I was communicating with on campus. Meeting new people and networking with them has become such a fun thing to do and some great people have become a part of my life because of these tips. Networking helps you on so many levels whether that is socially or professionally so try not to be as afraid as I was to start. 

These tips keep me on my toes and upgrade my social skills over time so I hope that they can yield some positive results for you all.  

Happy Week Seven!!! 

~Alexandria 

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a Senior Business major at Missouri State University.)