![]() Script: “ Dear Professor, I am writing from (where you are), where I am (what you are doing). on my fridge from a former student who just started her dream job, and it made my day when it showed up in my mail a week or so ago. Studying overseas you’re in a prime position right now to send people postcards, right? Beautiful photo of faraway location + a very short space to write a message + no expectation of reciprocity + person gets nice mail that is not a bill or a flyer = thoughtful and not-intrusive. Since the burden of keeping in touch is definitely on the former student, what matters isn’t the professor’s expectation about whether you’ll keep in touch (we don’t really have one), but your wish to keep in touch and what you do about it.įor you, I recommend postcards. It’s okay if it’s just a platitude – that’s why platitudes work, because you can take them seriously or ignore them if you want to with no hard feelings. I’m delighted when they get jobs, make great work, marry each other (that one Production 2 class was a hotbed of romantic glances, let me tell you!), and their success in life is my psychic carrot.īut I do not hold “keep in touch!” as an ironclad contract, no more than “friends forever!” was when it was written in a high school yearbook. I teach college, and I definitely like to hear what former students are up to. I really like this post from The Awl on how to get and keep a mentor. But I really would want to maintain some sort of contact even if I didn’t have grad school aspirations/need someone to say nice things about me.ĭo you (or the Amazing Awkward Army) have any ideas on what is the most appropriate/least awkward thing to do here? So I might be requesting references at some point in the next few years. Is there some sort of script that could work in this situation?įull disclosure: While there are no immediate grad school plans, I do want to go back eventually. I feel like I’m imposing on their busy schedules if I ask questions about them/their lives, but I feel self-centered if I only give information about my life. I’ve thought about emailing small updates, but every time I sit down to write one it feels awkward in a way I can’t quite put my finger on. Question 2: If they do really want to keep in touch, what are some appropriate, non-awkward ways to do that? Question 1: Do professors *really* want to keep in touch? Or do they just say that to make you feel better as you leave the comfort of the college bubble? We all said the familiar refrain: “Let’s keep in touch!” ![]() Before I left, I visited my university and said goodbye to my friends and professors (and let them know about my moving/work plans). I moved to Japan for work about 6 months after I graduated, and I’ve been here ever since. I was able to form some awesome relationships with my professors and some administrators (most of whom were my bosses for part-time jobs or internship supervisors). I graduated from a small liberal arts college in May 2011.
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