People often want to reconnect with friends from high school. There might be a reunion coming up that they need to be invited to, and it could even just be curiosity about what they’re doing with their life.
Whatever the reason, there are ways to find them online. Social media, school and alum sites, and Google searches are popular ways.
Contacting hometown relatives and arranging school reunions are other ways.
Social Media
Social media is one of the first places to look up people online.
The first step is to see if you already have friends from school on your list. The person you’re looking for may be a connection to one of them.
Most social media platforms have easy-to-navigate search functions that allow users to input various details to narrow down the results.
Don’t just search one platform. Some people prefer Facebook and others only use Twitter, while others prefer to be on all of them.
If known, check for maiden and married names.
School and Alum Sites
An excellent way to find a long-lost school friend is to visit the high school’s own website. These sites often have an alum section, search for the year and grade of the person, and chances are their details are there.
If the school doesn’t have a website, and you know the college they attended, apply the same principal.
There are websites with databases specifically for schools and colleges, and two of the most popular are alumni.net and classmates.com. All you need is the person’s name and year of attendance to begin a search.
Google Search
Search engines like Google are still excellent for finding a person online. The problem with them is that a basic search returns too many results, and it works best if the search string is detailed.
For example, ‘Terry Jones’ returns 180,000,000 results. ‘Tony Jones, 1994 basketball captain at Jefferson High’ brings up far fewer and more specific ones.
With a bit of practice, it’s possible to streamline Google searches so that precise results can be returned every time.
Hometown Friends and Family
People often forget that an easy way to get the contact details of a long-lost high school friend is to return to the hometown.
It’s common for people to relocate after graduation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their relatives or school friends did too.
Family members of the person may still live there and be able to provide a relevant address or phone number.
Other school friends may still reside in the same city and be in contact with the person you’re looking for.
Organize a High School Reunion
One way to contact many long-lost school friends is to arrange a reunion. Set up a website linked to the high school’s site or social media page.
The beauty of this idea is that the people you’re looking for will come to you rather than you searching for them.
To streamline the reunion project, attempt to find someone from the same year who may already be in contact with many former classmates. You only need one social butterfly to spread the net.
Capture contact details by attaching a Google form to the page to invite them to RSVP for the event.
A school reunion requires a lot of time and potential money to pull off, so this option could be left as a last resort.
Find Your Friends
Catching up with a long-lost high school friend could be an uplifting and inspiring experience.
The internet makes it easy to track people down. Social media is always a great place to start, especially if the person is extroverted and wants to be seen.
High school websites and social media pages often have alum sections that can provide contact details of former students and teachers.
Don’t discount the power of an online search like Google. Be as specific as possible to avoid too wide a range of results.
Family and friends from the high school’s hometown could be an excellent resource, especially if the person has relocated elsewhere.
Organizing a high school reunion allows you to catch up with many people from your past. As the most time-consuming and costly option, this is one to consider carefully.
What are you waiting for? Get searching.
