Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia, MA ’18, considers himself an introvert; networking has always made him a little squirmy. “I’ve seen it as something that’s superficial,” he says. But as he moved from college into the working world, he noticed that his classmates who were good at leveraging connections just seemed to have an easier time navigating the professional landscape. Now in the Learning, Design and Technology (LDT) program at GSE, Garcia is building an app to strengthen that capability among local community college students, who often lack the career resources that are available at four-year institutions. The product, called Connect, helps students learn about networking techniques and includes an interactive map that invites them to reflect on who they’re connected to and where they might benefit from reaching out to others for their academic and career development. As he worked on the project, Garcia says, he reframed his personal approach to networking as well. “I think of it differently now—not being so focused on what someone can provide, but more in terms of building relationships.”