Moving off-campus after graduation doesn’t have to mean cutting ties with your alma mater. Learn how to stay in touch with friends, faculty, and more!
Intro:
It’s exciting to finally walk out the campus gates with your degree in hand, ready to take on the world.
You’re eager to leave, but it’s a bittersweet goodbye because of the memories made along the way.
Many of us forge deep, lifelong connections in college, which are valuable in different areas of post-college life.
But the real challenge arises after graduation:
Maintaining these connections.
Staying in touch with your college could mean anything. It could be keeping in contact with your former professors or arranging get-togethers with former roommates.
These eight tips will help you keep those connections forever!
Contents
1. Follow Your Professors on Social Media
Are you following your professors on social media?
If you’re not, then you’re missing out on the easiest way to stay in touch with your college. Research shows that over 80% of professors nationwide are active on social media.
These days, it’s easier than ever to connect with faculty and update them on your career progress, which could open up opportunities in the future.
And, really, how long does it take to click the follow button on Twitter or connect on Linkedin?
2. FaceTime Your Friends
Maintaining friendships after college can be challenging. But you wouldn’t think so until you leave the school environment, where you see your best friends almost every day!
Before graduating, you all had one thing in common that strapped you all together, and that’s college. Once you enter the real world, that strap snaps, and it takes a bit more work to keep in touch.
But relationships don’t need to change just because circumstances have.
Technology has made it easy to keep in touch with anyone, no matter where your careers take you.
So make use of it.
Long gone are the days of hour-long phone calls. And with a busy post-grad life, it can be hard to call every one of your friends individually.
Group call apps like Zoom and FaceTime are great for getting in touch with the entire squad at once. You can make it a monthly habit that brings back joyous memories.
Besides, one thing that makes the college experience unforgettable is getting to hang out together with your friends and have fun as a group. Group calls help keep that spirit alive.
3. Remember Birthdays
One of the best ways to show an old college friend that you appreciate them is to remember them on their birthday.
You most likely never forget your close friends’ birthdays.
But what about those old connections from campus that you’d like to carry on into the future?
Whatever your reason for keeping in touch with your college, start by maintaining a warm and friendly link with your college mates. That once-a-year birthday wish can help you do just that.
It’s an occasional thought, but it can go a long way.
4. Plan Get-Togethers With Friends
Get-togethers are a great way to reconnect with your college friends. But, the truth is, you won’t be seeing each other quite as often after graduation.
Your paths will diverge even as far as continents apart as you each blaze your own trail. And as much as technology makes it easy to see and talk to anyone wherever they are in the world, it’s still not the same as meeting in person.
If possible, plan an annual get-together and invite the entire group. Of course, these gatherings can be more frequent if you all live in the same city or state.
5. Send Postcards
Sometimes, life gets in the way.
Your circle shrinks as everyone goes in different directions chasing their career, family, and travel dreams.
It’s not always easy to stay in touch or maintain the same closeness as you did as roommates or best friends.
Now, how do you stay in touch with your college mates once you drift apart?
Well, try sending a postcard or writing them now and then. It’s a heartfelt way to say, “Thinking of you,” without being overwhelming.
6. Offer Mentorship
Alumni are a vital aspect of all colleges.
Your connection with the institution doesn’t end after graduation.
You see, college is an ever-growing community, and that community tends to support its members. In other words, you actually have a higher chance of getting hired by alumni than anyone else.
Offering to help current students is a great way to stay in touch with your college community.
Colleges often rely on alumni for guidance, mentorship, and opportunities for current students. So always let your university know you’re available in such capacities, and remember:
“What goes around comes around.”
7. Follow Up on College Events
You never know what you could stumble upon if you keep tabs on the goings-on at your college or university.
Remember that college events usually attract all types of people, from alumni to public figures who show up to offer support. That’s the kind of place connections blossom and opportunities arise.
Yet, to be a part of all that means following up on those events. So take the time to attend homecoming, football games, and other sporting events held at your old campus.
8. Return for Reunions
Reunions can be fun, awkward, and rewarding at the same time – people tend to skip them for a reason.
But since you want to keep the relationship with your college alive, try sucking it up and attending one of these alumni days.
Granted, you may have to suffer through trying to remember people’s names. Of course, the upside is reconnecting with staff and classmates.
Conclusion
We leave college behind.
But it doesn’t leave us.
It’s all just a transition into a different stage in life. But whether you realize it or not, your campus experiences and relationships matter a bunch in that next stage.
So the pros of keeping in touch with your college outweigh the cons. And with the tips we’ve shared, it shouldn’t be all that hard.
Author Bio-
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with Grove at Flagstaff to help them with their online marketing.
