First-Year Questbridge Student Trip
A group of Questbridge students, Jay Talmadge, Ariana Chappell, Jacob Choi, Joann Torres, Jacob Ju, Kamryn Collins, Taylor Bailey, Alexis Wilkerson, Abdel Abdelsadig, Elisa Arteaga, Tony Onabolu, and their trip leader Misa Beltran-Guzman visited the Island Campus over Fall Break. The trip’s objective was to build community between first-year Questbridge students at Colby.
During their stay, they hiked Allen Island and learned about its acquisition. They had discussions on the island’s history and got to explore the trails. The Questbridge group also wanted to bring the students to the island to give them a sense of the various resources at Colby’s disposal and the benefits of taking advantage of them and getting involved in the community.
Havel Conference
The Government Department’s Havel Conference visited the islands as an outdoor excursion for conference guests. A party of speakers, panelists, performers, and conference attendees gathered on the island for informal lectures, casual discussion, and island exploration. They had a group lunch of lobster provided by local lobstermen and learned about the Wyeth family’s history and legacy on the island. The Havel Conference, which took place on Colby’s Campus, was held to respond to the global developments of attacks on democratic institutions, growing radical tendencies, and sovereignty and self-determination being under assault with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It revolved around Václav Havel, a 20th-century champion of democracy and human rights. This conference aimed to use his legacy in the search for solutions to our modern world issues. Read more about the conference here.
ORSL Programming Trip
Student Fellows of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) – Ismael Rami, Anosacha Peete-Meyers, Furquan Qureshi, Isabelle Harrison-Bregman, Jess Xing, Nico Flota Sanchez, Rachel Hatheway – and their trip leader, Kate Smanik, took a trip to the Island Campus in early September. The goal of their trip was to plan for the ORSL’s fall programming and ensure the Fellows were prepared for their role in assisting in department leadership. It was also a way for the Fellows to get to know each other and bond before they started their positions. During their trip, the students hiked the island, had a community-building circle on the deck of the Bunkhouse, and roasted marshmallows in the Farmhouse’s fireplace. Two Muslim students completed their daily prayers outdoors, which they said was a beautiful location for prayer and gave them a sense of connection to Maine.