Talking to My Professors

Talking to My Professors

Something I recently remembered from Freshman year: talk to your professors in their office hours.

I used to to this all the time. Here’s the deal, professors want to help you. If they had the time and energy they would give everybody one on one attention, they would. Because it is so rewarding for them to give in-depth help to individual students and watch them grow. They have a lot of experience and they are excited to share it with you.

Every professor has office hours, and I’ve never once been into a professors office and walked away unsatisfied. Whether you just want to learn more about something or are struggling with an assignment, professors at Loyola all seem perfectly happy to bend over backward to connect with you and make things work out.

Just this last week I was reminded of that. I used to make it a policy of mine to visit each professor at least once outside of class before the semester ended. It helps you get to know them and helps them get to know you. Recently I’ve been slacking, but now I’m back into it.

I stopped by my capstone director’s office to discuss my project with him and make sure we were on the same page. Not only did we come up with some very good directions for my paper, but I walked away with some really handy career advice from a seasoned PR guru. I’m looking forward to having his guidance as I leave college.

On the way out I ran into a professor from my last semester. She taught me Public Service Communication. In fact, she had just shown my group’s project to her class for this semester as an example. Her and I caught up and I learned more about her work with Africa Circle of Hope Foundation. I had just written a press release for the School of Communications (as a part of my internship there) about an exhibit they’ve co-sponsored at LUMA.

Then I stopped by another professor’s office, who also happened to be in and have a moment to speak. I had taken a class with her previously, and am in her class again now. We talked about the assignment I’m currently doing for her class, and it was really helpful. She also gave me some really good sources and ideas for my capstone project, and we talked about preparing for the future. I have a great rapport with her and always enjoy our conversations.

So seriously, talk to your professors. You will profit in ways you won’t expect, they will be happy to get to interact one on one with you, and your relationship with them will grow. Many professors I have had are still valued contacts, long after class ends.

Comments are closed.