Pursuing student-faculty interactions

In the midst of the start-of-the-year flurry, first-years often hear a popular aphorism uttered amongst floods of advice: “make the most of your four years.” Making the most of a college experience necessarily requires taking advantage of the most essential resource on campus— faculty members. Conversing with faculty members can certainly seem intimidating: professors, TAs and teachers inherently hold power over students. If students can transcend initial discomfort, however, faculty communication of any degree can prove to be quite beneficial.

Universities bring academicians and students together in a way that does not occur anywhere else. On campus, students have direct access to professors who have devoted their lives not just to seeking knowledge but to transferring it on. That devotion makes professors invaluable sources of academic insight and information for students. Moreover, professors’ expertise in their fields allows them to provide students with both academic and career opportunities to put knowledge into practice. Their past experiences, of both schooling and work environments, grant them plenty of practical knowledge that relates to the specific concerns students have in their undergraduate years. As a result, they present a unique source of guidance, both critical and illuminative.

Often times, the intimidation of approaching faculty members, especially during the first few months of school, inhibits students from pursuing meaningful interactions with them. The nervousness associated with talking to professors forces some students to wait late into their undergraduate careers to seek guidance and mentorship. It is best to seek out mentorship early, lest regret strike later. In truth, there is no universally ideal time to do so. Faculty interactions should involve a pursuit of answers; in-depth, satisfying answers only result from well thought-out questions. Once a student has developed such a question, he/she should not hesitate to seek out a faculty member.

Skittishness towards faculty interactions can be reduced by taking intermediate steps. For example, talking to younger people—perhaps graduate students or upperclassmen—can produce quality questions that can be taken into a professor’s office. Duke also provides resources to ease students into faculty interactions. The faculty-in-residence program on East Campus allows for immediate interaction with professors for first-years in a low-stress environment. FINvite, for those on the West and Central campuses, allows House Councils to use university funds to invite a professor to speak in a low-pressure setting. Hope cards provide the opportunity for Resident Assistants on West and Central to do the same. Students, themselves, can even pursue small-group or individual conversations with professors through the FLUNCH program. The boldest among students might even consider learning about a professor’s research through Scholars@Duke and sending them a cold email.

University resources could, of course, be made better. Allowing the FLUNCH program to be extended to all mentors, including graduate students and research advisors, would allow for a greater diversity of faculty interactions. Expanding FINvite access to student organizations would allow for intellectual conversations to be formed around central interests. Mid-semester reminders about all of these resources might push more undergraduates to avail open opportunities.

Regardless of what improvements might be made to resources, students should be brave in their pursuit of faculty relationships. Faculty are a resource limited to one’s time at a university, and it is regrettable to miss out on them. Time on campus is finite, but faculty can provide long term mentorship and guidance for those willing to take the first step.