October 20, 2022
Sharing her insights on building student-faculty relationships, seeing your professors “in the wild”, and setting students up for success is Kelli Britten of the College of Journalism & Mass Communications.
Building connections with faculty members can be an incredibly valuable part of your college experience. Yes, they’re experts in their fields, but they’re also endlessly great resources for real-world connections, internships, mentoring, and so much more.
And at Nebraska, we have some of the best.
We’ve spoken to a handful of Nebraska faculty members about best practices for building student-faculty relationships and why you should seek them out — even if their class isn’t your favorite.
College of Journalism and Mass Communications professor and JoMC 101: Principles of Mass Media instructor Kelli Britten spoke with us on all the ways getting to know your faculty can enrich the collegiate experience for students, from creating lifelong friendships to connecting students with industry professionals — and maybe even finding someone to officiate your wedding.
It takes a bit to get to know everyone — keep making the effort
“There’s always a line to talk with me on the first day of class, which I love, but know that your professor is probably not going to know your name after the first time. And that’s okay! If there’s something that was really interesting in a lecture or activity, come up after that class halfway through the semester or two weeks later and say ‘I thought this was really cool!’”
Online? So are your faculty
“Come to office hours, set up office hour appointments, send emails, engage on social media — if a faculty member says to follow them on Twitter, follow them! The relationship doesn’t always have to be face to face, though I’m excited that we’re back in an in-person space.”
Faculty will help you find your place
“It’s really easy to feel alone and isolated in college in general, but also in a large academic space like JOMC 101. Especially in these introductory classes, students might be feeling ‘Am I in the right spot? Did I pick the right major?’. And so, if you’re having conversations with your faculty member about these feelings, we can provide some guidance and insight — especially in our specific college and industry. We can complement what advisors are already doing. I think it can ease some of the fear of figuring out what college is and what we’re doing in this class. ”
Faculty can help you figure out what you’re interested in — even if it’s not their class
“My goal in one-on-one conversations is often to help you figure out what you don’t want to do. If you hate your major, you’re not a failure. If you add a major, you’re not a failure. It’s totally okay if you take my class and you realize ‘I don’t like broadcasting’ or ‘I don’t like advertising’. There’s another space for you somewhere in our college or around campus!”
Your faculty know people in their industries, and would really like you to know them too
“We know the people, we have the connections, so when students need a letter of recommendation or when they need advice on an internship or where to apply, we know someone at that company or agency. If we know you, the student, it’s easier for us to champion you and celebrate you and find you a job or internship! The best part of my job is connecting students.”
Keep in touch after college!
“I have a constant stream of texts and memes and DMs from former students; literally two Sundays ago I married a former student and her husband, and Tuesday night I went out to dinner with another. For us in advertising, it’s so important because now these former students are reaching out for interns, and so staying in touch with former students has helped me connect current ones with opportunities.”