“I ask myself: What do I want to learn from the experience? What can curiosity lead me to understand about others and who I am? It helps me put the uncertainty and risk into perspective.” — Jasmine Yiyuan Qin ’12, co-founder of re+connect

During a virtual event on April 27 hosted by Lisa Noble, Colby’s director of employer engagement and entrepreneurship, alumni entrepreneurs shared how their time at Colby shaped their unique pathways, discussed the career moves that prepared them to launch their own initiatives, and offered advice for the next generation of innovators. Mary Biggins ’05, Jonathan Godbout ’08, Jasmine Yiyuan Qin ’12, and Steve Carroll ’14 spoke about how they are each making their mark—in fields ranging from disaster relief to artificial intelligence—as well as what they are learning along the way and how Colby students can go on to tackle their own challenges. 

A Colby education empowers students to think creatively about the world’s problems and prepares them to leave campus with the ability to solve them. DavisConnects is committed to building and fostering professional networks that set today’s students up for success. It integrates a leading liberal arts education with internship, research, or global experiences for every student, regardless of personal and financial networks. This set of universal experiences is supported by a robust funding system that would not be possible without the generosity of Colby’s community.