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active networking is the 10th circle of hell,never in my life have I felt so actively disgusted with myself in a social context. how do you do this without the urge to 
or how do you tamp down that urge because oh my god I cannot stomach it, it feels so fucking slimy to do. i can't even do it at events where the sole purpose is networking, my dad pressed me into one and I bailed 15 minutes in after hovering around, it feels so utterly degrading and gross
memorize a few STAR stories, a few anecdotes about yourself, and some industry relevant questions. people will tend to follow the same patterns when first meeting someone, but these usually vary by industry. walk up to someone, look them in the eye, shake their hand, and tell them your name. from your description, it's a college thing, so they already know you're a student and which college you attend, so they'll probably start off asking what your major or year is. use that as an opportunity to launch into a short anecdote. at this point they either already told you what they do in the introduction, at which point you can ask one of those questions you memorized, or they haven't, so you ask and then use a memorized question. they'll answer, you can nod along, then usually they follow up with a question of their own. use a STAR story or some industry knowledge to respond to this. if you ever end up with an awkward silence, either anecdote, STAR, or part ways. try to slip in a business card exchange at some point, maybe right after the handshake, maybe when parting ways.