The most influential tool for navigating life is your network. You can build connections with people anywhere. In Fall 2021, the University of Utah had 34,424 students enrolled in total — that is 34,000 people to ask for advice, eat lunch with and connect with over your interests. Make the most of the U’s large student body to build connections with your peers. A strong network of people in college is key to surviving academically, professionally and socially.

On the first day of the semester, learn about the people sitting around you. A good study group can be the difference between an A and a C — no one takes a class with the intent to fail. Go to office hours and get to know your professor. The U is a research university and our professors are passionate about what they do. Ask them questions and learn about what they specialize in. Having a good relationship with your teachers positively affects your academic performance, according to Dr. Fatih Koca’s article on “Motivation to Learn and Teacher-Student Relationship.”

In the spring of my freshman year, a group chat saved my Calculus II grade through study groups and homework reviews. The protégé effect is when you learn a subject more thoroughly because you teach it, Time magazine explains. Running a study group discussion benefits you just as much as it does your peers. Friends tutoring me 15 minutes before an exam has saved me more times than I can count. Find the people who want to pass that class and work together.

Networking doesn’t just happen in a classroom — student organizations are also an excellent way to connect with others. Alex Tingey is the chair of the U’s Association of Computing Machinery. He spoke about the importance of getting involved on campus through his personal experience. “I didn’t have any connections to some of the companies I applied to other than through clubs,” he said. “So I just contacted the recruiters and they were more than happy to write me a referral.”

Through the U’s Society of Women Engineers, I was able to access the resources necessary to apply and land a software engineering internship at Google. The U has more than 600 student organizations to get involved with — use them to your advantage.

You go to college to get a degree for your career, but the professional world isn’t based on skill alone. The content of your degree is only one part of your professional development. Your classmates are your future professional peers. Networking is getting to know someone in a field because of personal interest — it doesn’t exist to rack up LinkedIn connections. Take charge of your career by getting to know potential coworkers and employers. They’re as willing to help as you are willing to learn. Tingey talks about how he helped one of his connections get an internship. He said, “there was a position opening and I told him, ‘Hey, I think you’d be a really great fit.’ He applied and the company agreed and that was that.”

Building a network of people means connecting with others with the intent of building one another up, but there is also a privilege in being able to build social capital. Katherine Milkman, a professor studying the role of race and gender in professional advancement, said in an interview with the Atlantic, “when we are all going around in our daily lives, trying to help the people we know, the act of helping those people disadvantages women and minorities — because at scale white men preferentially get those networking advantages.” And we can see the effects when more than 70% of jobs are filled through networking. The network gap leaves marginalized groups behind and excludes them from these opportunities. But networking shouldn’t be this way. We can turn what has been a barrier for disenfranchised groups into a community-building strategy.

In the fall of my sophomore year, I experienced discrimination from one of my classmates. When I was ready to talk about it and warn my peers about this person, I found a powerful network of encouragement. We worked together to help one another identify people to stay away from based on our experiences. In computer science at the U, there aren’t many women, people of color or LGBTQ+ people. We seek each other out and help one another. We hang out on campus, sit together in classes and get coffee together every week. Not all majors have such drastic demographic differences, but the principle remains. According to the research article, “Friendship in College and Its Influence on Retention and Performance,” making friends means you’re less likely to drop out of college and if you’re a student of a marginalized identity, community support is key to survival. 

University is more than attending lectures and taking exams. Learn to love networking because you love to connect with people. Your network of friends is there to support you through whatever you need, and college is the best place to build those connections.

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@iGabyTorres