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Regrets? I have a few. One of my regrets from college is that I never really bonded with any of my professors. Academics were not my priority – my attention was on my jobs and on my fraternity.
At a large public institution, you can can go through four years without making any real connection with professors, and that's just what I did at Indiana University. Professors don't seek you out for bonding at a big school. Professors were "necessary evils," and I just didn't see any reason to work for a connection beyond the two hours a week I was forced to spend with them. Our relationships lasted one semester, and then I forgot them altogether.
I graduated without a single professor in my corner. I wasn't going to grad school, so I didn't think I would need a future recommendation. No one gave me the talk about the importance of mentor relationships, so I never sought any out.
It never occurred to me that it might be good to invite a professor to lunch one day. I never dropped by office hours just to chat or review the salient points of the last class.
I regret it.
I did decide, later, to go to grad school, and I didn't have anyone to write a letter of recommendation. With my blazing 2.7 GPA, I could have used one. It also would have been nice to have a professor sending me the occasional note or email to keep me in the loop with alumni opportunities. Who knows? Maybe I could have served on some sort of committee or something. Maybe a mentor professor would have recommended me for some sort of cool opportunity.
If you're reading this and thinking, "Sounds familiar," then perhaps you can set a goal to build a couple of meaningful relationships with professors next year.
I have several friends who teach at the university level now, and uniformly, they love it when students seek them out and get to know them on a deeper level. I suppose that's why they chose a career that involved teaching undergraduates.
My partner, Scott, bonded with several of his professors back at the University of Texas during his Ph.D. work. In fact, we're headed back to Austin this weekend for his favorite professor's daughter's wedding. Wow. I see the bond between Scott and Dr. Singh, and I'm jealous.
You might not see the immediate value of developing friendships with professors. Perhaps they intimidate you. But, there are huge benefits for making the investment and keeping in touch with them as you begin your journey into the "real world."
