With the Class of 2016 graduating, we all struggle with who do we keep around, how will we make new friends and even how our group of friends will change. Although community college does not seem like a place to find new friends, you’d be surprised by the amount of people you won’t be friends with any longer because you won’t see them every day. Whether you choose to go to the work force, military or further your education, you’re definitely always going to make friends similar to your personality.

Social media has become a huge way for students to maintain contact with their old peers, and being involved in school activities are a great way to make new friends. Sophomore at Cal Poly Pomona Arianne Coleto said, “I made new friends who have the same major as me because we would see each other often in classes. I also made friends during the college’s Welcome Week (Freshman orientation).” As for Bea Payumo, a student of the nursing program at San Joaquin Delta College, she’s made friends through the shared struggles of getting into the program and even the “mild competition.”

Even so, many people say they don’t want new friends or friends at all. They’re forgetting the most important friendships of all. The friendships that can get you jobs: connections i.e. networking. According to Coleto and Payumo, networking is definitely important. During college is the best time to find them, especially if your career choice is challenging and very selective where few get offered a job. In the end, making good friendships with a career that you enjoy beats being lonely with a job you hate.