Passing the Torch: A New Chapter for Alumni Council

For many Colby graduates, leaving Mayflower Hill has never meant leaving the community behind. Alumni mentor students, celebrate successes, and stay connected with the College long after commencement. Colby’s Alumni Council, comprising approximately 30 alumni volunteer leaders, plays a crucial role in strengthening bonds among alumni, students, and the broader community by creating opportunities for connections worldwide.

This year marks a new chapter for the council as Kaitlin McCafferty ’04 steps into the role of chair, following Nicholas Cade ’08, who guided the council through a period of rebuilding and renewed engagement after the pandemic.

Both leaders share a deep belief in what makes Colby special: a community that lasts far beyond four years.

“You have your own communities while you’re on Mayflower Hill for four years, and when you graduate, there’s still a strong community there,” McCafferty said. “We say all the time, ‘Colby for four, Colby for life.’”

Reconnecting alumni and the campus community was Cade’s top priority when he became chair of the Alumni Council in 2023.

“Post-COVID, we were figuring out how to rebuild folks’ familiarity with the Alumni Council on campus, as well as off campus,” Cade said. “We have been particularly focused on ensuring that we are really visible on campus, engaging with students, and making sure that students know about the benefits of connecting with us early.”

Throughout his time as chair, Cade worked closely with McCafferty, who served as vice chair and helped advance many of the council’s initiatives.

“Kaitlin’s been an excellent vice chair, and she will be an incredible chair for the council,” said Cade. “She’s such a positive leader and will be a highly effective representative of alumni interests over the next three years.”

As he steps back from the role, Cade looks forward to continuing to stay engaged with Colby in new ways. “It’s been a tremendous honor to serve on the Council,” he shared. “I look forward to keeping tabs on the Alumni Council and continuing to give back.”

McCafferty’s Colby experience helped shape the way she approaches leadership today. “I wasn’t a Student Government Association leader or captain of a sports team,” she said. “But I was the editor-in-chief of the Colby Echo.”

From attending sports games and theater productions to covering speakers, she experienced nearly every corner of campus life that Colby has to offer. That perspective shaped her ability to collaborate across disciplines, something she carried with her throughout her professional career.

“I work with engineers, legal professionals, product people, compliance teams,” McCafferty said of her current job. “Being able to understand where each of them is coming from and bring everything together is something that really started for me at Colby.”

McCafferty’s path to the Alumni Council began with keeping an open mindset.

“In general, I’m a person who says yes to things,” she said. “I really like to get involved, and I think having a community is so important.”

Her college roommate tapped her to get involved with the Colby Fund in 2009 and eventually served as class chair, allowing her to reconnect with classmates in meaningful ways. That sense of connection expanded even further when she joined the Alumni Council.

“I’ve made friends with people from the Class of 1969 all the way up to people who graduated in the 2020s,” McCafferty said. “It’s been a really fun way to get to know people across the spectrum.”

Beginning her term as chair in July 2026, McCafferty is focused on expanding how alumni engage with Colby. That includes strengthening alumni involvement through DavisConnects, growing regional communities, and creating more opportunities for alumni to stay informed and involved.

For McCafferty, the strength of Colby’s alumni network is something students often don’t fully realize until after commencement. She received firsthand support from alumni who helped her in her professional career and is excited about the opportunity to give back by working directly with students. Those interactions are among the most meaningful parts of her work on the council.

“There are so many exciting things happening at Colby,” she said. “Being able to amplify that and get alumni involved is something I’m really excited about.”