Are you looking for opportunities to gain new skills and open doors to success? A great way to identify some of those opportunities is to meet with your faculty member during their office hours. While it is often assumed that office hours are only for those struggling with course topics or assignments, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Your professors are your gateway to experiential opportunities that will help you deepen your critical thinking about topics you are interested in, as well as hone your professional skills. Here is what your professors are saying about the advantages of meeting with them during office hours.
Skill Building
Being courageous is a professional skill that we often don’t spend a lot of time developing. There are so many ways around campus we can test out our courage, one of which is participating in faculty office hours. As Political Science professor, Ray La Raja commented, “Learning how to approach people who can help you is a good habit to develop, and it is a skill that is learned.” Let’s be honest, approaching people who we don’t know and asking for help is hard, but it can get easier with more practice. Conversations with our professors might just be the piece of advice that helps us “get over that hurdle,” as Journalism Senior Lecturer, Steve Fox said. Similarly, Professor Jesse Rhoades commented, it is an opportunity to practice “being seen by your professor.” Some of us struggle with Imposter Syndrome and feel uncertain about whether or not we are meant to be here. To attend office hours can provide us with a sense of validation that we are exactly where we are meant to be.
Gateway to More Experiential Opportunities
Faculty are well connected in their professional and academic fields and they are often contacted by others looking for students to fill research and internship roles. Faculty can be a touch point for other opportunities, but students sometimes have to initiate the conversation. As Professor Kathy Forde said, “Students have to let faculty know that they are interested in research opportunities. When colleagues in the field reach out looking for potential interns, because I’ve developed a relationship with a student and have a good idea of their interests, I will reach out directly to that student and let them know about the opportunity.” By engaging in conversations with your faculty, they get to learn about some of your hidden talents, skills, and interests. As Professor Lauren McCarthy noted, “Sometimes a faculty member might be on the lookout for students with specialized skill sets, like language fluency, which can turn into an internship or research project.” All of which students can use to expand their resumes and prepare them for their job search.
Mentorship
Office hours could be the beginning of a long mentoring relationship with a faculty member . As Professor Lauren McCarthy said, “It is an opportunity to learn about your professor’s career path. How did they get from “a” to “b” in their career?” We often assume that our paths are straight lines, but in reality they might be circuitous with a variety of detours as we explore what we are truly passionate about. Also, as Professor Rhoades said, “Academic community is important and students can start building them with their professors.” You just might share a particular interest with a professor but you’re not going to know until you challenge yourself and meet with them. It could lead to research projects, conference presentations, and/or internships. Your mentors can also direct you to other opportunities and process why or why not those experiences could be a good fit.
Along your career path, you’re going to meet experts in your field. Taking the extra step to introduce yourself and get to know professors during office hours could open life changing doors for you . Meeting your professors one-on-one or in a group setting could develop your skills, establish mentoring relationships, and lead to other exciting professional development opportunities. So go to your professor’s office hours, and more importantly, keep going!!
