I never understood the importance of networking for undergraduates until one simple message changed my experience before resumed school as a fresher.
Before term started, I joined a university group online. The admins introduced themselves and their courses. I noticed one of them was studying the same course as me, and something made me send her a message.
I asked about the courses, the school and the lecturers. She answered everything. By the time I arrived on campus, I already knew which courses to take seriously, how certain lecturers preferred to teach and what to expect in the first few weeks.
Students who had not made that kind of connection were still figuring out what I already knew.
We still keep in touch today. And that connection, born from one message I almost did not send, is the clearest example I have of why networking matters and why starting early changes everything.
What networking actually is
Networking is not attending formal events or handing out business cards. It is building real relationships with people who can share knowledge, open doors, and offer support. And it is not something to start after graduation. It is a habit worth building from your very first week on campus.
For a fresher, the most valuable people to connect with are often the ones closest to you: seniors in your department who already understand how the system works, classmates who are navigating the same pressures, and lecturers who notice students who show up with genuine curiosity.
“The information that changes your first semester is rarely in a textbook. It lives with the people who have already been through it.”
How to actually start
The hardest part of networking is the first message. It feels awkward to reach out to someone you do not know, to ask for their time, to introduce yourself without a clear reason beyond wanting to learn. But that discomfort fades quickly, and what replaces it is something more useful: the habit of making connections before you need them.
Start small. Join a faculty or department group and pay attention to who is in it. When you recognise someone studying your course, say something. Ask one genuine question. You do not need a script or a strategy. Curiosity is enough.
With lecturers, the path is slower but just as real. Read ahead of class. Participate. Ask questions when you are confused. Do this consistently and you will be noticed. From there, a respectful academic relationship builds itself over time.
With classmates, go beyond the people you sit next to. Connect with students across your faculty and even other faculties. Different departments bring different knowledge and different networks. Every conversation is a door you did not know existed.
What it gives you over time
The benefits are not always immediate. Sometimes a connection you made in your first year leads to an opportunity in your third. A senior you messaged before term began recommended you for something two years later. A classmate you studied with once introduced you to someone who changed your direction entirely.
Opportunities rarely appear from nowhere. They move through people. The question is whether you are in those conversations or waiting outside them.
Your next opportunity might be one conversation away. You do not need to feel ready. You just need to send the message.
