{"id":34834,"date":"2023-08-12T04:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T04:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=34834"},"modified":"2023-08-14T14:15:30","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T14:15:30","slug":"building-relationships-is-key-for-first-year-college-students-here-are-5-easy-ways-to-meet-new-friends-and-mentors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/building-relationships-is-key-for-first-year-college-students-here-are-5-easy-ways-to-meet-new-friends-and-mentors\/","title":{"rendered":"Building relationships is key for first-year college students \u2013 here are 5 easy ways to meet new friends and\u00a0mentors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leo M. Lambert<\/a>, Elon University<\/a><\/em>; Isis Artze-Vega<\/a>, Valencia College<\/a><\/em>; Oscar Miranda Tapia<\/a>, North Carolina State University<\/a><\/em>, and Peter Felten<\/a>, Elon University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the best advice you can give to a new college student? Connections are everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research for decades<\/a> has shown that the relationships students cultivate in college \u2013 with professors, staff and fellow students \u2013 are key to success. Simply put, human connections matter for learning and well-being in college \u2013 they also set students up for professional and personal fulfillment after they graduate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College students confirmed the importance of connections when we interviewed more than 250 students at three dozen colleges and universities throughout the U.S. for our new book, \u201cConnections Are Everything: A College Student\u2019s Guide to Relationship-Rich Education<\/a>.\u201d The book is free to read online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although no two had the same story to tell, what they told was surprisingly similar \u2013 and reinforced the research on the power of relationships. What can college students do to harness this power to support their academic success and personal well-being? Here are five steps recommended by students and scholars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Talk to a professor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The quality and frequency of student-faculty interactions<\/a> play a major role in learning. Approaching a faculty member can feel intimidating. Still, it can be done in simple ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduce yourself before or after class. Visit during your professor\u2019s in-person or online office hours<\/a>, which is time set aside for students to meet with their instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to connect with every professor right away. Start with one in the first week of the term. You can seek help in or guidance about the class, or you can ask the professor about their professional background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jos\u00e9 Robles, a nursing student at Nevada State College, told us about being surprised at the connections he built with a professor in a required science course that he thought would be \u201cas boring as rocks.\u201d This professor\u2019s teaching inspired him to love geology \u2013 and to get excited about learning in general. Jose\u2019s experience is not unusual. A national poll of college graduates found that 60% met their most influential faculty mentor<\/a> in college during their first year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Research shows that the quality of student-professor interactions can help learning. FG Trade\/E+ via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Make a friend in class<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First-year students often feel alone in big introductory courses and in online classes, but those can be opportunities<\/a> to connect with students who will help you succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chloe Inskeep, a first-generation student<\/a> at the University of Iowa, told us about her strategy for making connections even when classes had almost as many students as the population of her hometown: \u201cLots of students go to class and then they leave or log out as soon as it ends. For me, just staying after a little bit to chat with other people really helps me find people who I have something in common with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that students who study together<\/a> tend to do better academically than students who study alone. They also tend to be less stressed by their classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A guide from the Learning Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recommends that students form small groups of committed individuals<\/a> who meet at least once weekly, whether online or on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Use the resources that are there for you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Colleges have many programs and offices to support student learning, development and well-being. These range from writing and tutoring programs to student organizations, counseling centers, and resource hubs for students who identify as LGBTQ+, first-generation, students of color, or who have a disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mirella Cisneros Perez met both welcoming peers and a critical mentor, Dean Sylvia Munoz, after a friend introduced her to the Latinx Student Union at Elon University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhenever I would run into them, I knew they believed in me and wanted me to succeed,\u201d Mirella told us. \u201cThe connections my peers guided me to helped me find my place at Elon and changed my whole experience in college for the positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Mirella, many students we interviewed said a college staff member was their most important first connection on campus. Even one relationship like this can contribute to your success \u2013 a first step in building a \u201cconstellation of mentors<\/a>\u201d that will help you in every dimension of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/a>
Campus jobs and research opportunities can help students combine classroom learning with real-world experiences. FG Trade\/E+ via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Participate in a \u2018relationship accelerator\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRelationship accelerators<\/a>\u201d is the term we use to describe campus experiences that help students integrate classroom learning with real-world experiences in powerful ways<\/a>. These experiences include internships, undergraduate research, writing-intensive seminars, study abroad, and even campus employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, your campus job supervisor<\/a> can help you learn valuable new skills and can challenge you to integrate your paid work with your academic learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peta Gaye Dixon, a student at LaGuardia Community College in New York City, told us that her campus job supervisor \u201csees stuff in me that I don\u2019t see in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Connect with yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

New students often experience a bit of imposter syndrome<\/a> \u2013 feeling like you might not be as smart or qualified as other students. That\u2019s completely normal, and it\u2019s also something that can be overcome. First, don\u2019t lose sight of who you are and the many strengths you bring with you<\/a> to college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a bump in the road has you feeling anxious \u2013 like if you don\u2019t do as well as you hoped on that first quiz \u2013 talk to a professor, tutor or friend. We met Joshua Rodriguez, a student at Oakton Community College near Chicago who considered dropping his Calculus 2 class until his professor advised him to read up on imposter syndrome instead of doing the homework one night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That opened Joshua\u2019s eyes: \u201cThat interaction bolstered my confidence to realize that I\u2019m not alone in this, that everyone has these feelings,\u201d he said. \u201cI went from contemplating dropping out to getting tutoring help \u2013 and then getting an \u2018A\u2019 in the course.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joshua ultimately earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in nuclear engineering from Purdue University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trusting yourself \u2013 and challenging yourself \u2013 is vital to your success in school and in life. We promise that if you pursue meaningful relationships, you\u2019ll be setting yourself up well to thrive in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leo M. Lambert<\/a>, President Emeritus and Professor of Education, Elon University<\/a><\/em>; Isis Artze-Vega<\/a>, College Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, Valencia College<\/a><\/em>; Oscar Miranda Tapia<\/a>, PhD Student, Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development, North Carolina State University<\/a><\/em>, and Peter Felten<\/a>, Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning and Executive Director, Center for Engaged Learning, Elon University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leo M. Lambert, Elon University; Isis Artze-Vega, Valencia College; Oscar Miranda Tapia, North Carolina State University, and Peter Felten, Elon University What\u2019s the best advice you can give to a new college student? Connections are everything. Research for decades has shown that the relationships students cultivate in college \u2013 with professors, staff and fellow students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":34835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292],"tags":[2821,1169,245,4130,8470,6826,687,14514,8521,457,11912,11911,1812,134],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34834"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34834"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34852,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34834\/revisions\/34852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}