“Keep in touch,” “see you around” and “have a good break.” These are the most common expressions we tell our professors as we shake their hands and bid them adieu on the last day of classes each semester. Before most summer and winter breaks we don’t follow through on these assertions but instead just politely state these idioms as a formality in order to blend in with the other students that say them before you.
But for all you seniors out there that are ready to go into this God forsaken place we like to call “the real world” in a few weeks, it’s important now more than ever to stay in contact with your favorite professors that you’ve performed well with or gotten to know on a personal level.
Perhaps it was just a random professor from a random class that you happened to talk to a lot. Many of them teach huge lectures for hundreds of students but you managed to stand out in the crowd by going to their office hours for help or sending a bunch of curious emails about assignments. The loquacious types always stick out in the back of their minds. Continue the friendliness even after you’ve endured their perhaps grueling coursework.
This especially applies to the professors who’ve taught significant courses relevant to your major. Oftentimes, these esteemed scholars just barely fit in enough time to teach a college-level course when many of them are using the rest of their time co-authoring books, conducting research or making discoveries, big and small.
Sending an occasional email or talking on the phone for a few minutes every once in a while has the potential to put you in direct contact with important field-related people and places that could boost the career you’ve been chasing down since graduation.
We’ve all heard time and time again from our parents or guardians that manners go a long way in our lives. Simply being kind and forming relationships on both the professional and casual level can open a plethora of doors that can take you anywhere in your chosen discipline. It wasn’t just bull**** when everyone better than you growing up said, “It’s all about who you know.”
