A Degree is the Beginning, but Connection is the Key
“Make a friend before you ask for a favor†is one of the oldest rules in leadership and one of the hardest to follow, because it asks you to invest in people long before you know what they can do for you.
Too often, we wait until we need something to start building relationships: a job, an introduction, a recommendation, or a way into a room we have never been in. But the relationships that matter most are usually built long before we need them, through shared experience, trust and a willingness to show up for someone with no expectation of return.
Last month, WGU surpassed 50,000 degrees awarded to graduates in California. That milestone is worth celebrating. What happens next matters just as much. When the coursework is finished, what turns that achievement into the next opportunity?
Knowledge and skills are part of the answer. But there is another part of career mobility that is harder to put on a transcript: knowing who to call when you don't know what to do next. And I think higher education has a responsibility to help more students build those relationships before they need them.
Connections Shouldn’t Be Left to ChanceÂ
Over the course of my career, I have come to think of these trusted relationships as my personal board of directors. They don't hold meetings, and most probably don't even know if they have the job. They are the people I turn to for perspective, encouragement and the occasional reality check. And when they call, I pick up too. That sense of connection matters. Research suggests that belonging to a professional community can provide  and reinforce a person's sense of capability and worth, especially when they are navigating unfamiliar spaces or challenges.
Despite its importance, relationship-building is often relegated to the margins of college life through optional career fairs or workshops. Institutions supply credentials and technical training, expecting students to figure out networking on their own. This assumes every student arrives with equal understanding and confidence, which is rarely the case.
´¡Ìý of professionals illustrates some of that discomfort. Seventy percent said their network matters more than their résumé in today's job market, yet 42% said they hesitate to reach out professionally because they worry about bothering someone. We tell people relationships matter, but many are uncomfortable taking the first step to build one.
Building Rooms on Purpose
That hesitation is important to keep in mind when we think about the students we serve. Before learners can focus on building professional networks, many are first trying to make college fit into lives already filled with work, family, and other responsibilities. More than 77% of WGU learners in California are working adults, and half are the first in their families to attend college. Â
If we design education around those realities, the same thinking should extend to what surrounds the degree. Students should not have to know the right person to understand the unwritten rules of professional networking to build relationships that can move a career forward. Institutions can help create conditions for those connections by bringing students into spaces where they can meet mentors, employers, and peers, and begin building networks beyond their existing circles. We have to build the rooms on purpose.
Across the West, our teams have been bringing students and alumni together in the communities where they already live and work, with the intent of creating shared space for conversation and connection. This is how current student Pablo Vigil and WGU graduate Phil Lacey, Jr., a software engineer, connected through the California Tech Impactors Network. Both are from Richmond, California, and what started with that shared connection has turned into a mentorship. Phil now offers the perspective of someone who has already navigated an industry Pablo hopes to enter.Â
What I value about their story is what has not happened. Phil does not need to open a magical door for the relationship to matter. Sometimes, knowing someone who has walked farther down a road you are considering is enough to make that path feel more concrete. You can ask better questions, learn from mistakes you do not have to make yourself, and begin to see possibilities that once felt out of reach.
Making the Path Wider
As the nature of work changes, human connection matters more, not less. With support from , WGU is exploring how to help learners navigate a changing workforce. LinkedIn estimates that by 2030, 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change, accelerated by advances in artificial intelligence.
Technology can help people find one another, but it cannot build trust that gives those relationships value. And while the skills we need may change, having someone willing to share what they have learned can make change easier to navigate.
That is what makes 50,000 degrees more than a milestone. Each one represents how far someone has traveled, but its impact can reach much further when they turn around and help make the path a little wider for the next person.
