When it comes to friends students make in college, you can never have too many of them, right?

Being the social and outgoing person I am, I insist on keeping in contact with friends I’ve made from high school and plan to do the same with friends I’ve made in college.

With the time and effort students put into school, I feel students must put the same effort into friendships and relationships they make throughout their lives.

People come in and out of students lives every semester during college—whether it’s teachers, classmates or friends. But once graduation comes around, will those friends make the effort to stay in touch once they are long gone from Sacramento State?

It goes both ways: some stay close and some don’t keep in touch at all.

“Eh, well personally, I didn’t make too many friends in college since I was raised and born in Sacramento, I considered Sac State a commuter school,” said Sac State alumnus Kelvin Kwan. “With the few friends I did make in college, I keep in touch from time to time through social networking. But otherwise, I don’t feel that they last after college.”

Alumnus Sam Ponedal, who graduated in 2009 with a degree in communications, thinks differently.

“I think (friendships and relationships) are beneficial both professionally and socially,” Ponedal said. “Social media like Facebook and LinkedIn are great tools that allow friendships and relationships to overcome geographic hurdles that would have been daunting 10 years ago.”

It’s beneficial to rely on friends after college and vice versa.

“The saying ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ really plays out to be true on a reoccurring basis,” said criminal justice alumnus Kyle Baker.

A friend from college may become a future colleague in a student’s career.

 “As people branch out into life after college, they open new doors for themselves that turn open new doors for their friends and contacts, which begin to form the core of a professional network,” Ponedal said.

There could always be an opportunity to catch up with old friends who have connections with great employers or just need a friend to seek out for advice.

Why not stay in touch with the friends we make in college? The more friends students have in college will create connections they’ll need in the future.

Samantha Moreno can be reached at [email protected]