Student sets out to meet new person every day for a year

Greg Perkins knows how important networking is. The junior, who is majoring in business administration and management, said he has been thinking of ways to break into the business field for as long as he can remember.

Perkins said he wanted to meet business-minded people, so instead of creating a LinkedIn account or asking a professor to coffee, he took networking to a whole new level.

Beginning in January, Perkins set out to meet one new person every day for a year. He is documenting his meetings on an Instagram account titled Person2Person. The Rockford native’s main goal is to find people with similar interests to his own.

“Way back in 2015, I was watching a TED Talk and they were talking about the importance of networking with people of similar interest,” said Perkins. “I was just thinking of how I could connect and I came up with the idea.”

Perkins, who has two jobs besides being a full-time student, said he believes he will meet someone who can impact his life.

“Back in 2016, someone did a similar project that went viral,” he said. “That person explained how he met people he thought he’d never meet. He met someone who was a finalist on the ‘The Bachelor.’ He met professional sport players. It opened my eyes to the possibilities that there are people who could impact my life, even if they’re not famous.”

So far, Perkins has had the opportunity to meet and get to know a professional hacky sack player, a former marine, several police officers, students, parents and adventurers.

Perkins said the experience has taught him not to judge someone based on looks and that each person he has met has a goal in life, no matter how big or small.

When the year is up, Perkins said he will continue to go out of his way to talk to people but will adjust his goal and strive to meet at least one person per week.

Perkins said Grand Valley and this experience have prepared him for the future.

“Grand Valley makes students realize they have so much more potential than they could have imagined,” he said. “Class structure and requirements inspire students to step out of their comfort zone and never be afraid to take on an opportunity. The world has more possibilities than we are aware of. When we start to learn how to take chances, utilizes our resources, and do more outside of the norm, we can achieve much greater success.”

-by student writer Kathleen Ryan