As the new director of the Colby Career Center, I am grateful for the
generosity and support offered by you, the Colby community. Many alumni
and parents are assisting students and young graduates by functioning as
mentors, offering internships, and generating employment opportunities.
As alumni and parents, you offer students a glimpse into the world of
possibilities after Colby. In order to give them the best possible
vantage point, the Career Center has established affinity groups, and we
would like you to participate. Together we can optimally prepare Colby
students for their roles as valuable community members, inspired
candidates for employment, and determined executors of postgraduate
study.
The affinity groups are part of our larger initiative,
Colby Connect, which is inspired by our community. Colby Connect is a
Career Center program that engages students and connects them to
fellowships, internships, job shadowing, and employment opportunities
and prepares them for graduate study. Colby Connect provides students
with a four-year sequence of workshops, presentations, and programs to
help them plan postgraduate endeavors, and it integrates Career Center
programming with alumni, parents, faculty, and recruiters.
To
build upon the Colby Connect mission, the Career Center is forming
affinity groups around common vocational interests and skills, which
will build and reinforce connections among graduates, parents, faculty,
and current students through:
- Communication:
Participate in career panels, communicate to students via webinars, and
host site visits during Jan Plan and the summer months.
- Mentoring:
Act as a mentor to a current student or young alum by offering career
advice, review job and graduate school applications, and conduct mock
telephone interviews.
- Job and Internship Bank:
Post job listings, internships, on-campus recruiting opportunities, and
many other announcements for both current students and alumni on the
Career Center’s Colby Connect database.
- Affinity Group Boot Camp: Present a workshop distinguishing various job functions in your industry and interviewing strategies.
- Affinity Group Day: Host a day of on-site informational sessions presented by Colby alumni and parents on a variety of subjects.
Colby affinity groups:
- The Colby Finance Connection (CFC) (connects alumni and parents within the financial sector)
- The Colby Natural and Environmental Sciences Connection (CNESC)
- The
Colby Communication Connection (CCC) (includes, but is not limited to,
marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions, and consulting)
- Colby Legal Services Connection (CLSC)
- Colby
Commercial Real Estate Connection (CCRC) (includes, but is not limited
to, engineering, architecture, real estate, construction, real estate
development, economics, accounting, consulting, business development,
and marketing)
- Colby Health and Medical Professions Connection (CHMPC)
- Colby Education Connection (CEC)
- Colby Government Connection (CGC)
- Colby International Business and Global Affairs Connection (CIBGAC)
- Colby Technology and Computer Sciences Connection (CTCSC)
- Colby Nonprofit Connection (including but not limited to social justice, human rights, and social work)
Finally, each affinity group will increase the visibility of a
particular industry and its connections to Colby by sponsoring related
events and by participating in the Colby Alumni Network (CAN). These
events will allow alumni and parents to share industry specific trends,
job specifications, and management overviews with interested Colby
students. The affinity groups, moreover, will have access to one another
in order to build upon their business and Colby relations.
If you are interested in joining an affinity group or learning more about them, please complete our questionnaire. We look forward to your support and hope you will join this new and exciting endeavor for an inspired Colby community.