Keeping In Touch With Students

It’s funny how lately when I have felt I needed something the universe has provided in some tangential way. As I have mentioned the transition of being outside the classroom has been one of change and reflection. Luckily for me the universe heard and soon after I received emails and messages from at least 5 students that I had taught at 2 different colleges and 1 university. 

I always encourage my students to keep in touch. I genuinely want to know what is going on in their lives and their career trajectory. One who contacted me is doing her masters and is applying to law school for next year. Another just wanted to see how I was doing and let me know about the courses she was taking this year. We even started talking about good Italian restaurants in the city.

A third has been letting me know about her amazing attempt to get a placement somewhere that usually does not take placement students. She shared her cover letter which was so engaging and really demonstrated why she would be an excellent fit- I was sure that they would at least entertain the offer. Sure enough she had a meeting with them yesterday! I love hearing about these successes especially when I know how much work and determination was required to get there.

That’s one of the reasons why I love Twitter. It allows me to keep up with former students I have not seen in a long time. And sometimes it even allows former students to find me! Last evening I met up with a former student whom I had not seen in over 4 years! She had found me miraculously from my former college to my new college by Twitter and tracked down my non-school email. She’s a nursing student who remembered that I said please email me to let me know when you pass your licensing exam- and she did! It was so nice to receive an email from her and to be able to congratulate her on this success.

  

  We talked for over an hour yesterday and I heard about the great work she is doing in her community and we talked about possible workshops she wants to host in the future. It reminded me time and again why I went into education and how rewarding these connections and conversations are. She also talked about going into teaching as well and I cannot think of someone better suited to teach nursing students than her! It was all very exciting and I look forward to keeping in touch with her in the future and possibly collaborating on workshops.

I am very much a believer in keeping touch with students and to help them progress in their careers. Do you keep in touch with your students? Do have great stories about hearing from or running into a former student? Let’s share and emphasize why teaching can be a wonderful community builder!