Speaker 1: Hey y'all and welcome back for another video. My name is Bianca, also known as Dr. My Curls, and if you are brand brand new to my channel, thank you so much for clicking on this video. Today I wanted to do a quick video discussing how to build genuine relationships with your professors. So whether you're an undergrad, graduate school, or any type of professional program, these tips will be helpful for you. I've actually been a student in undergrad. I've also been a student in a professional program. I'm a pharmacist, if you did not already know that. And then I've also been a professor. So I've been in all three of those spaces, so I should be able to provide different viewpoints for you all, and I hope they'll be helpful. The number one tip I want to share is to make sure that you're utilizing your office hours. And I know that sounds cliche, we always see the office hours listed on the syllabi, but the key point here is that realize you don't always have to be seen for something bad. Shooting an email to your professor and say, hey Dr. Jones, I would love to set up a meeting with you to chat a little bit about how you got to this point. Something as simple as that, right? Those conversations are usually heavily on the professor and not so much on you, so it kind of works in your favor, right? They're getting a chance to share all of their background, and a lot of times once people get into that space of becoming a professor, they've had a lot of experience out in the field. So they might have worked some a little bit, they might have also gone through a graduate program they want to share information with you about, and kind of share their journey into how they got into academia or how they became a professor. Opening up that conversation will A, engage your professor, so they'll definitely feel welcomed, feel like you want to learn a little bit more about what they do, and they'll see your genuine interest in whatever area that might be. But two, it also allows them to remember your name. Depending on what school you're going to, your classroom size could be very very large to the point where you're just a name on a paper, and they may not be able to put your face to a name. So if you ever needed a letter of recommendation, they may not really be able to speak highly of you because they only know that you perform well in their class, but not much more about your characteristics or who you are as a person. So definitely utilize office hours outside of the time that you need them for, right? So outside of performing poorly on an exam, or going to plead for a B because you now have a C and you're on the verge of that B, and you're only what, two points away? That's not the first time that you should be going to talk to your professors, okay? That should not be the first time. So definitely utilizing office hours would be number one. Number two would definitely be participate in class discussions. A lot of times in undergrad, graduate school, or professional school, there are questions that the professor might ask. Raise your hand, engage, even if you don't directly know the answer, make sure that you're actively trying to contribute. So once you get the answer, you might jot down the answer, and then for the next question, if it's a similar question, say you're in a calculations course and y'all are doing multiple calculations. For the second calculation, maybe now you can chime in because you've gotten more experience and you're not as shy because you're more confident in your answers. So definitely make sure that you participate. I remember in pharmacy school, I always used to sit in the front row of my communications course, and my professor and I built a relationship just off the strength of her knowing that I was going to be in the front row every day of class, and I was always going to raise my hand and engage in conversation. She would ask questions such as, what's a great way that you can reword this question to engage a patient in a visit? And it could be a simple answer, right? But I'm always going to raise my hand and really engage because that shows that I'm interested in the course and that I want to learn, and also again, it builds that relationship. This whole idea of building a genuine relationship with professors is actually not as hard as it seems. Like don't overthink it, just kind of go through your program and make sure that you're intentional with the time that you have with your professors. But definitely participating in class discussions is going to be helpful for you. The third piece of advice that I have for building a genuine relationship with your professors is to ask for help. Don't be afraid to also utilize office hours on the reverse. Maybe you do need help in a course, and maybe you've exhausted all of your other resources. Don't be afraid to swing by your professor's office for office hours. I have seen multiple students benefit from having that one-on-one time. A lot of times when the professor sees that you're seeking additional help in their office, they may break it down to you in a different way. They might provide additional resources, websites, videos that can help guide you in being successful in their course. So remember, professors are not there to tear you down, they're there to build you up. So definitely reach out, and even if you have a professor where maybe you don't feel as supported in their course, try to reach out to another professor in that department. Nine times out of ten, they can help guide you and provide resources, even though they're not the direct professor for that course. So definitely utilize office hours 24-7. A lot of times they will list them on the syllabi, so you'll see a dedicated time where you can set up an appointment. Always email the professor and say, hey, I'm looking to get assistance with the lecture from last week, or the material on this particular calculation, or what have you. Here's my availability, what time works best for you. I look forward to speaking with you soon. Okay, I just gave y'all the email template, but definitely reach out via email to set something up, and then when you go, make sure that you're prepared. So do some pre-work to pretty much formulate some questions, figure out what specific questions that you have. You never want to go in and say, I don't understand this, it's hard. To the professor that might come off as negative, versus I've been studying really hard on these calculations, and I can't seem to figure out after the first two steps, I'm getting stuck between step two and step three. Can you help me figure out what I'm doing wrong? So you see how you came prepared, and now that's a totally different approach. So definitely keep that in mind as well when you are utilizing office hours. The next tip that I want to share definitely sounds cliche, but just be respectful and kind. You never know who's watching, so at all times you always want to say good morning, good afternoon, how are you doing, have a good weekend. Small gestures such as those carry a long way, okay. You may need that professor one day, so you never know when you might run back into them, or when you may need their help, and then remember that, oh, she might not have come to office hours, she might not have participated as much in class, but she was a very kind young lady, or he was a very kind young man, and he always approached me with respect. So respect always carries far, never forget that. And last but not least, I want you all to get comfortable setting up meetings with other professors. So what that means is a lot of times at universities, whichever level of education that you're obtaining, they have a website, which is public domain, that lists everyone's specialties, right. So do they have a bachelor's, a master's, a doctorate? What is their area of specialty? Is it mathematics, chemistry, industry, pharmacy, what have you. And I want you to get comfortable reaching out to them to set up a meeting, to just chat about their journey, their career journey, what they love about their job, where had they been within the field. So if they're a chemist, maybe they worked in a lab prior to becoming a professor, or maybe they've been a professor ever since they finished school. Where did they go to school, and how was that experience? And just really having that open conversation. I think there's a thin line between personal and professional. So when you go into these meetings, you're not so much asking, oh, so are you married? Are you single? Do you have kids? That might come later. Definitely the married single. But initially, you're just going in as a student wanting to learn more about your major, right. I'm an undergraduate student, I'm majoring in chemistry. I would love to hear more about your experiences as a chemist, how long you've been teaching organic chemistry, what resources do you have for those aspiring to be where you are. You know, even if you're not interested in being a professor, you can always ask general questions about chemistry, right. If your professor is actually working in the specialty of the same degree that you're trying to obtain, I'm pretty sure they've taken some of those similar courses, or they might have resources that have helped their students within the course that they teach. So you never know where that conversation will carry you. So always go in with questions for the professors and just get to know them and stay in touch with them. You might check in the next year. Hey, just wanted to check in, let you know that I passed my courses. I know I told you that I was struggling with organic chemistry, or that's just an example. But whatever you guys talked about, kind of circle back and retouch on those things. And that will allow that network to stay strong. The worst thing that you can do is build that network and then kind of fall off. And like five years later, you're like, oh, hey, Dr. Jones, remember me from five years ago? You never want it to be awkward, you want it to be genuine. So don't overthink it. Just think of it as not a friend, but think of it as a advisor, right? So you go talk to your advisor, what information do you want to discuss? What do you want to learn from them? Remember that as a mentor or a mentee, the relationship goes both ways. So with your professors, you should be gaining something from them, but your time spent with them should also be valuable. So you don't want to go in and waste their time, i.e. not be prepared, not have any questions, expect them to talk the whole entire meeting. Definitely come prepared, jot down some general questions, and just get what you can out of them and have more of a conversation versus an interview, right? So you don't want to go in and say, okay, so the first question I have for you is, and the second question, no, no, no, it's more so like, hey, I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jane Johnson. I'm a first year student here. I'm actually from New Jersey. I saw that you also went to school in New Jersey or what have you, and I just wanted to come in and speak with you a little bit about your journey to where you are, how you got to where you are now. So you see how easy that was? Listen, I'm giving y'all the templates, okay? So just follow, just follow along, but make it genuine, y'all. Just make it genuine. And really, that's pretty much it. That's pretty much it. So in summary, you definitely want to utilize office hours, ask for help, participate in class discussions, and last but not least, be respectful, y'all. All of those will carry far, and I promise you'll be able to build some genuine relationships with professors, and you won't be as uncomfortable as you probably are now. So I hope this video was helpful. If you found it helpful, make sure you give it a thumbs up so that I know you found it helpful. If there was anything that needs to be clarified a little bit more or you have additional questions, please leave them below. I definitely look at all the comments and respond when I can, and if you have not already, click that notification bell so you don't miss any of my other videos. As always, thank you guys so much for watching, and I'll see y'all on my next one. Bye.