Ask a Student

Katie Lillehei ’07
kclilleh@colby.edu
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Brookline High School
Majors: Psychology - Neuroscience / Biology - Neuroscience

I am currently a senior at Colby College and have had a blast my past three years.  I am involved in various parts of life at Colby, including volunteering at a nursing home in town and reading to children at a local elementary school.  I also work with my advisor doing research regarding spinal cord injury and spatial memory and am currently devising my own honors project.  My intramural football team also keeps me quite busy as well and is a great opportunity to do something with my friends here.  I love Colby and would love to help you decide whether or not you would too!

Heather Murray ’07
hlmurray@colby.edu
Newport, Rhode Island
North Kingston High School
Majors: Spanish and English

Hi, I'm Heather Murray, a senior here at Colby. I've recently completed a junior year abroad on the Colby in Salamanca program in Salamanca, Spain, an incredible experience where I got to live with a sweet host mom and take classes alongside Spaniards at the University of Salamanca. Although I enjoyed my time in Spain, I'm looking forward to my final year here on campus, continuing all of the cool extracurricular activities I was a part of freshman and sophomore years, like Newman Council, Student Alumni Association, and Admissions Volunteers. I have also held a couple of on-campus jobs during my time here at Colby, as the Catholic chaplain's assistant during my sophomore year and as a student office assistant for Career Services this current year. I'm also taking some really challenging but great classes in the English and Spanish departments, like a senior seminar on the Colonial Incan World and a course on Henry James & Edith Wharton in Film & Literature. I would love to answer any questions you may have about any of the above, as well as anything else related to life at Colby.

Joel Pitt ’09
jmpitt@colby.edu
East Aurora, New York
East Aurora High School
Majors: Latin American Studies/Spanish
Minor: Anthropology

Hello to the future of Colby! I'm just entering my second year here at Colby and I love everything so far! I try to do as much as I can here at Colby ranging from representing my dorm (Averill) In Student Government, to as many intramurals as I can! But the list doesn't stop there I am also involved with the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement to the Colby South End Coalition (volunteering in the local Waterville community.) As you can see there is plenty to do here at Colby on top of academics. I like to challenge myself in everyway I can, be it academically or in an intramural. Colby has plenty of resources and the school wants you to take advantage of them! Please send me an email if you have any questions I'd love to help you out, and see you here soon!

Emma Gildesgame ’10
ergildes@colby.edu
Arlington, Massachusetts
Gann Academy
Major: Pre-vet concentration, undecided major

I'm Emma Gildesgame, and I just started my first year here at Colby. I love to dance, so I got involved at Colby Dancers right away. I'm going to be choreographing, teaching, and performing, which is great! I've also been spending a lot of time at Hillel, so if you have any questions about Jewish life here, let me know! I also love hiking and downhill skiing, and am a member of Colby Outing Club and Colby Mountaineering Club. I want to be a vet, and am thinking about being an environmental science major, but I'm trying to take a pretty wide variety of classes so I can really take advantage of all the really cool options that are offered here. I love talking to people about Colby, so e-mail me and ask me any questions you can think of!

Ta-Chung Ong ’07
tong@colby.edu
Pullman, Washington
Pullman High School
Majors: Physics/Chemistry

Hi, my name is Ta-Chung Ong (but I go by the name TC when I'm with my friends). I’m a senior from Pullman, Washington, which is roughly 8 miles from the Idaho border. This past summer I was studying nuclear chemistry at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and it was a really awesome experience. Right now, I live on campus in the Quiet Dorm when I'm not in my lab working on my senior thesis. In my spare time, I have fun with the Bridge (Colby’s gay-straight alliance), Students for a Free Tibet, Asian Cultural Society, and many other clubs. I’ve met many of my friends through these clubs and I enjoy hanging out with them. I also have one job on campus: tutoring students in the Chemistry Help Center. I would be more than happy to answer any question you might have. I check my e-mail very frequently and I promise to get back to you in a timely fashion.

Johanna Kunkel ’10
jrkunkel@colby.edu
Westwood, Massachusetts
Westwood High School
Intended Major: Psychology

Hey guys, I'm a freshman here at Colby. As a first year student, I'm still looking into all the different clubs and organizations that the school offers. I've tried rugby, sailing, CCAK, I-Play soccer, and am an admissions volunteer. Academically, I'm interested in psychology and writing. I plan to study abroad in my junior year, hopefully to France. My admissions process was pretty unique, and I' so happy I ultimately decided to spend my next four years here at Colby. If you have concerns about adjusting socially or academically or if you have questions about anything else, please feel free to contact me!

Kris Miranda ’09
kmiranda@colby.edu
Army Brat
AF North International High School, Brunssum, Netherlands
Major: Philosophy, Classical Civilization

Hey there. I’m a sophomore, and my college path was more whimsical than some, but I lucked out; Colby’s fantastic. Apart from Admissions, I’m a member of both the Fencing Club (swords!) and the Freethinkers (ideas!), an opinions writer for the Echo (our weekly paper), and the secretary and one of the only male members of Students Against Sexual Assault. Apart from Philosophy (I’m most interested in moral/ethical philosophy and existentialism) and Classical Civ, I’m considering the Creative Writing minor. I live in chem free housing; kindly disregard our reputation for being antisocial, because we’re pretty awesome. I went to high school overseas with Canadians, Europeans from many countries including Norway and Spain, and fellow Americans from all over the world, so I like to think I bring a relatively rare perspective to things. I’ll be glad to answer any questions, and maybe I’ll even be your tour guide sometime.

Tory Starr ’09
vastarr@colby.edu
Dunbarton, New Hampshire
The Derryfield School
Major: English-Classical Civilization
Minor: Philosophy

I’m a sophomore at Colby, and have loved every second of it! My major is a split between English (focused on literature) and Classical Civilization (focused mostly on history). I’m also working on a minor in Philosophy. I’m interested in Film as well, and for my freshman year Jan Plan I went with my class to Park City, Utah for the Sundance Film Festival! I mentor a local fifth grader through the Colby Cares for Kids Program, was a member of the Student Programming Board, and volunteer for other organizations like Habitat for Humanity and the Goldfarb Center. I am also a member of the Women’s Varsity Softball team, so I can answer questions from an athlete’s perspective as well. I would love to talk to anyone about my Colby experience so far!

Bridget Ely ’10
bcely@colby.edu
London, England
The American School in London
Major: Undecided
Minor: Japanese

Hi everyone! I'm a freshman here at Colby and I could not be having a better time. During my extra-time, I'm a member of the Colby Crew team and CCAK (Colby-Cares-About-Kids: which is a mentoring program) as well as a lot of on-campus clubs like the International Club and SAA. Academically, I love to study languages, I speak Spanish and am learning Japanese. I also want to learn Arabic when the occasion arises. Other than that, I'm just trying to find where I belong, but I think it will be with history and international relations. Other than class, I'm usually found hanging with my friends in Bobs dining hall or out on the quad. I would love to talk to anybody who wants a real 'newbie' prospective on Colby. I'm really excited and happy to be here and would love to talk to you about it! Cheers!

Annelise Wiersema ’10
abwierse@colby.edu
Weston, Massachusetts
Weston High School
Major: Undecided

Hi, I'm Annelise! I'm a freshman here at Colby and so far I've loved every minute of it. In my free time I'm part of the International Club and Colby Democrats, as well as being a Colby Cares About Kids mentor, a member of Colby Chorale, and a volunteer at the Waterville Humane Society. Academically, I'm pretty sure I want to be a psych and international studies double major, but I'm still waffling around. I love history, languages, psych, English, and religious studies (my newly-discovered love, thanks to my "Intro to Hebrew Scriptures" class first semester). I'm super-excited to be here at Colby, and I'd be happy to answer any of your questions!

Lindsay Tolle ’08
lptolle@colby.edu
Wichita, Kansas
Northeast Magnet
Major: American Studies
Minor: Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Hey! I’m a rising junior here at Colby, and the past two years have been wonderful. During my sophomore year, most of my extracurricular time was spent educating and registering students to vote in Maine. I also participated in Relay for Life, worked for the girls? volleyball team, and helped my dorm win Game Night (and $100 for the dorm!) On the academic side of things, the American Studies department has become my home away from home, and I’ve had the most amazing experiences in the classes I’ve taken so far. When I’m not in class, however, you can usually find me around town - getting coffee from Jorgensen’s, catching a movie down at Railroad Square, etc. I also love talking about Colby with prospectives, so please feel free to ask me about any questions that you might have!

Please contact us or call 207-859-4800 or 800-723-3032 if you have questions or need more information.