Greatest Networking Event

During the Fall 2023 semester, the greatest networking event I attended was one that was not intended to be: the Nightly Rosary at the Grotto. On a scale of one to ten, it would be twelve. I began attending this humble religious gathering daily after my arrival to Notre Dame. The group had less than a dozen nightly visitors with about half making regular attendance. The whole affair lasted 20 minutes. Yet, over time, I met people from across the continent. All were grateful, compassionate, and genuine. Among those in regular attendance were Angela and Ivy.

Angela is a local from Mishawaka. In meeting her, she enthusiastically looked to help me in any way possible. She has since continually tried to include me in her events. Through her, I met the Mishawaka’s Mayor, several school board members, and her husband, David. David is both an engineer and sculptor, specializing in statues of religious figures like saints and angels. His mind for both science and the arts has been instrumental in encouraging some of my projects and assessing their viability.

Ivy is an MFA student at Notre Dame. She arrived a little after me. She began attending the Rosary after I left for ten days. In my absence, she met other regulars. Upon my return, I was introduced to her by Angela, and a romance quickly budded. The unlikely pairing of a businessman with a poet added a dimension to my character in the eyes of those I met after. Three months later, we have developed an eclectic list of alters together. Her alters have given me real-world expertise to assist with projects.

Networking Strategies

I assess the viability of my ideas by the network supporting it. Networks have access to skills, connections, and resources far beyond myself alone. The idea may be revolutionary in my own mind. However, if others are not convinced, then there is likely an oversight on my part. In order to successfully realize ideas, an eclectic network driven towards its creation is necessary. While I have improved the reach of my network by reducing the density from 0.5 to 0.425 over the passed semester, further improvement and refinement is still needed. The success of my network will be improved by strengthening the preexisting network, expanding the network, and emphasizing shared vision with alters.

I need to make a conscious effort to strengthen the new alters I have made. While the math reflects an improvement of density, the new alters made are somewhat thin. They all have the potential to be strong, but that is dependent on me. Presently, relations are cordial, but the seriousness of my commitment to them depends on my ability to present a legitimate idea to them. They have expressed willingness to forge a partnership for a worthwhile idea. This willingness could potentially be overstated. Regardless, I will still have an improved reputation by demonstrating commitment and follow through. This will attest my ability to future alters.

I need to establish a new alter or revive an old one. By adding a new alter, my density can be reduced from 0.425 to as low as 0.325. One opportunity on the horizon is an elective at the architecture school that I am taking in the spring. If I am able to make new alters through this elective, they may lead to further alters in the architecture domain. A drawback is that it might be somewhat redundant as I already have a close alter that is an architect, albeit not currently in architecture school. Another opportunity is reaching out to and reviving a previous friendship from undergrad or even high school. This would be highly beneficial as either alter would have a unique set of expertise within their realms and social networks that are completely independent from my current network. A drawback is that they live out of state, so an extraordinary effort would be required to maintain the connection. This could be done digitally, but in-person interaction would be limited to a handful of instances per year at best.

I need to reinforce shared vision while keeping density down. The effort to drive network density down has come at the detriment of having a unified vision. Of my preexisting alters, only 30% are vision oriented. Of those, two thirds are driven to work towards the vision. While there is value among all of my alters, there is a lack of vision and initiative to achieve that vision. In order to combat this, I need to be more willing to reach out to new alters and find vision and drive. Within the passed week, I met two unlikely people who I had known previously, but seemed to have overlooked our shared vision and drive. I will need to reach out to them and develop this shared vision. Potential drawbacks could be a lack of expertise. However, with drive, I believe that people can improve anything if so desired. Another drawback would be abandoning preexisting alters. To combat this, I will need to introduce alters with shared vision together in order to reinforce the group.

My network is the culmination of trial and error, of empowering friends and losing friends, of humility and courage. Over years of interacting with hundreds of diverse individuals, I believe that I have found a firm foundation. Upon this rock, my ability to network has already improved greatly. By employing what works with intention, I know that our combined success will only accelerate into the future. This can be the beginning of great things, but only if we work together. It will take more than a village to change the world.