Meet Your RA:Nate Feleke ’19
When nursing major Nate Feleke ’19 graduated from his small boarding school in Maine and came to Colby-Sawyer College, he was guided by a group of student leaders dedicated to helping him make the most of his college experience. Those students were his…
Will Hyland ’19 A Home Field Advantage
A love of sports usually begins in a fan’s hometown parks, streets and playgrounds where they learn to play the game, and then they learn to love the teams that represent their state and region. There’s a direct link between home team loyalty…
Nicole Semeraro ’18Bringing Beauty (and Utility) to Boston
After the Big Dig buried Boston’s interstate highway, the city put new surface space to good use and created a 1.5-mile ribbon of parks known as the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Environmental studies major Nicole Semeraro ’18, who interned at the nonprofit and took…
Nerves of SteelJulia Martin ’19 Interns at Maine Medical Center
The nervous system is one of the most complex structures in the human body, and it requires a high level of skill and coordination from the specialists who care for patients with neurological disorders. This summer, nursing major Julia Martin ’19 learned exactly…
On LocationColby Picanso ’11 Makes Movie Magic
The art of cinema is a bit like an extended magic trick. Both depend upon a suspension of disbelief and a carefully crafted performance to make the pretend seem real. But like any magic show, a lot of work needs to happen behind…
In Their Own WordsThree Students Reflect on their Service Trip to Nepal
Thanks to the efforts of three Colby-Sawyer students, farmers in the rural village of Phidim in eastern Nepal have a thrift store where they can find affordable winter clothes. Business administration major Barsha Rajbhandari, health care management major Brigitte Ruiz and biology major…
A Mile-high Adventure Shea Shaugnessy ’11 Makes a Five-star Property Shine
The Ranch at Rock Creek 20 miles outside Philipsburg, Mont., is the world’s first Forbes Travel Guide five-star guest ranch. By default, that makes business major Shea Shaugnessy ’11 the manager of the only Forbes five-star activities department in the world. It’s a…
Prepared to ServeJoan Weed Montagne ’67
In the Bozeman, Mont., home of Joan Weed Montagne ’67, there’s a wooden door with a large glass panel on which a spider web spirals out to fill almost the entire space. Joan’s father, famed furniture maker Walker Weed, built the door in…
Designing Her FutureGabrie Libby ’18 Interns at Studio Sage and Red Oak Montessori
Graphic design is an art form, but it’s also a creative service that fulfills a need for customers. This spring, graphic design major Gabrie Libby ’18 of Gorham, Maine, experienced the joy of delivering a final product to clients while interning with two…
180 Years of Welcoming Students
This year, the educational institution now known as Colby-Sawyer College will celebrate the 180th anniversary of welcoming its first students. While founded as New London Academy and officially established through a charter from the state of New Hampshire on July 4, 1837, the…
How Art and Science Shape a Life
For more than a quarter of a century, Carrie and I were a part of the Colby-Sawyer community as college librarian and biology professor, respectively. We were attuned to the dynamic pulse of its daily life. Since our retirements, we live on an…
In the Market for SuccessLauren Blanchard ’18 Interns at Pellettieri Associates
Business majors are expert marketers. They learn how to discover a product’s selling point and convince people to buy it. Most important, business majors learn how to market themselves. Lauren Blanchard ’18, who worked as a marketing and management intern at Pellettieri Associates…
Family MattersThe Support Behind Student Success
For every student and alumni success story, there is a cast of supporting characters: the parents and families who help their children through life’s changes and stages. They play a major role in making a Colby-Sawyer education possible for those they love. From…
Adventures in Service:Nursing Major Brendan Libby ’19
In a polarizing world, it can be easy to forget that the people around us are more than what they appear to be on their surface. This is especially easy to forget while living in the intense microcosm of a small college, where…
Raised to an Exponential Power:Alumni Network Expands Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is a hallmark of a Colby-Sawyer education. Incoming students look forward to taking field study courses, working on research projects with faculty and peers, and gaining work experience through internships. While the power of those opportunities is often clear in the…
Laughter, the Universal MedicineA Medical Mission Trip to Costa Rica
This January, 24 fellow nursing students and I, along with two faculty members, traveled to Costa Rica on a medical mission trip thinking we would help change people’s lives. Little did we know the trip would have a tremendous impact on each of…
True BlueA Colby-Sawyer Love Story
On a warm June day in 1953, just hours after she graduated from Colby Junior College, Gretchen Hoch watched her family’s car drive off as she stood in the college parking lot. Gretchen was engaged to a man whom her father did not…
Joy + Gravity in DesignInspiring People to Care
Like many design educators, I pursue two primary activities: I design, and I teach. Along the way, I’ve come to realize that a common, fundamental purpose underlies my approach to both pursuits: I aim to move people. One of the benefits of working…
Healing the Marines
I moved to New London in 1971. Colby-Sawyer was a junior college then, and I saw all the wonderful changes the institution underwent during the 30-plus years I lived there. In 1986, though, I found myself divorced with two small children, armed…
Containing ContradictionsA Nursing Student Writes Herself Out of the Box
Good writers know that compelling characters are often contradictory. Take Marvel superhero Matt Murdock — blind lawyer by day, vigilante by night — or Jesse Pinkman, the drug dealer with a heart of gold on Breaking Bad. Contradictions make a story more interesting…
Variable ConditionsCarving Careers in the Ski Industry
Colby-Sawyer alumni work in almost every facet of the ski industry, from coaching and sales to ski patrol and program direction. Sport management major Brian Heon ’98 and exercise and sport science major Megan Costello Burch ’01 are among those who constantly think…
Testing the WaterTown Partnership Powers Student Research
Symbiosis describes a relationship between two or more organisms that live closely together, often for the benefit of both parties. From the microbes taking up residence in the human gut to the bumblebees that pollinate flowers on their search for nectar, life depends…
Top ChargerPeter Sula ’03 Builds a Dream Team to Transform Boston’s Battery Wharf Hotel
By the time sport management major Peter Sula ’03 gathers his team for its daily 9:30 a.m. stand-up meeting, he’s been awake for almost seven hours. The general manager of the Battery Wharf Hotel in Boston’s North End steps outside his office into…
Mather Cleveland and His ServiceCelebrating the 100th anniversary of America’s Involvement in World War I
Mather Cleveland was born in 1889; he graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1911 and an M.A. in 1914. Cleveland enrolled in the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons to earn an M.D., but before completing it, he left to…
An Office as Big as All OutdoorsDiana Abbott ’18 Fly Fishes Her Way to the Future
Montana is the kind of state where people go to find second chances and start a new life, and where people care more about what you will do than what you’ve done. Livingston, Montana, is the kind of town where trains still…
Aquaculture for a CauseProfessor Pine Shares Agriculture Expertise in Senegal
This summer, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Harvey Pine shared his expertise in aquaculture with agricultural extension agents in Senegal as part of a volunteer project funded by the United States Agency for International Development. And, as a bonus, he donated a set…
Forward MomentumColin Turner '19 Interns at Physiotherapy Works
Physical therapists are experts in movement — they help patients restore mobility through exercise and similar treatment plans. Exercise science major Colin Turner '19 received hands-on clinical experience while also experiencing a new culture when he spent his summer working alongside physical therapists…
Being Seen as Susan
Susan N.T. Sam-Mensah ’18 is a champion among the approximately 1,100 smart, motivated students who attend Colby-Sawyer. Setting her apart is her public and conscious journey to shape her identity in a world that attempts to dictate her self-worth. In many ways, Susan’s…
Getting Down to BusinessMaliha Azizi '17 interns with PricewaterhouseCoopers
This summer, Maliha Azizi '17 worked as a private company services tax intern for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the second largest professional services firm in the world. As a multinational network, its 223,000 employees help individuals and companies maximize value by providing assurance, tax and…
Giving It Her Best ShotAlex Danas '18 interns with Virginia Military Institute’s Basketball Program
Alex Danas '18 knows there are plenty of benefits to playing a team sport in college. Not only do student athletes benefit from the regular physical activity, but they also learn time management and leadership skills. And if sports are useful to students…
Experiencing ScienceStudents Conduct Important Research with Real-World Impact
“Imagine if schools taught baseball the way they taught science,” goes a popular saying. If it were so, students would spend 12 years reading about the game, with a few opportunities as high schoolers to reproduce famous plays. Only as graduates would they…
On Course:Emily Lopez ’17 Combines a Passion for the Sea, Conservation and Law
Just south of Portland, Maine, Cape Elizabeth juts out into the Atlantic between Saco Bay and Casco Bay. On the southeast edge of the cape is Two Lights State Park. There are no lighthouses in Two Lights State Park, a source of consistent…
My Top Ten(ish) ListLocal Places You Should Know About
Honestly, this is a Top 20 list of places I think Colby-Sawyer students should know about. The college provides numerous opportunities on campus, but there are also lots of activities and adventures to be had in town … and beyond. You’ll really make…