Parents are invited to engage with the school by attending Family Homecoming Weekend and by receiving the bimonthly electronic newsletter and the quarterly Colby magazine. Parents can volunteer in additional ways.
- joining the Welcome Committee
- partnering with the Career Center to offer student internship and career opportunities
- joining the Career Center’s affinity groups
- supporting the College through the Colby Fund for Parents.
Share your ideas, resources, and expertise through the following programs.
Welcome Committee
Colby parents are invited to make personal phone calls to the parents of incoming first-year students and welcome them to the Colby community. Welcome Committee members answer questions about the College and provide valuable insight into the Mayflower Hill experience. The committee’s goal is to create an ongoing dialogue among parents and, in turn, build a stronger, more vibrant parent community. Parents on the Welcome Committee may also host sendoff events in different areas throughout the country before parents send their students to Colby for the first time. If you would like to become a member of the Welcome Committee, please contact Deb Thurston P’16 in the Office of Parent Giving and Programs at 207-859-4321 or by emailing dbthurst@colby.edu.
Senior Parent Gift Campaign Committee
The Senior Parent Gift Campaign, an annual fundraising campaign, was formed in 2007. The Committee comprises parents who have agreed to serve as liaisons with the College and to advance the goals of Colby College through supporting the Colby Fund. The Committee is led by the Senior Parents Executive Committee class co-chairs.
The Senior Parent Gift Campaign recognizes the tremendous impact Colby has had and will continue to have on our children. This campaign is a way for senior parents to express support and gratitude to the College or to a faculty or staff member who has been especially meaningful in your student’s life.
Members of the Senior Parent Gift Campaign Committee reach out to senior parents throughout the year to encourage them to make gifts in support of the College. If you are interested in serving on the Senior Parent Gift Campaign, please e-mail parents@colby.edu or call the Office of Parent Giving and Programs at 207-859-4321.
Internships and Career Services
Parents are valuable resources for the Career Center, forwarding employment opportunities and information about entry-level job positions to the College, mentoring students in their places of work, and sharing valuable career advice with students and young alumni. These affinity groups are part of the Career Center’s Colby Connect program, which engages students and connects them to fellowships, internships, job shadowing, and employment opportunities and prepares them for graduate study. In addition the Career Center welcomes parent participation in career symposia on and off campus.
Local Colby clubs
Colby clubs offer a variety of activities to parents, alumni, and current students throughout the year, including sponsoring colloquia by members of the faculty, hosting forums attended by the president and other members of the administration, holding receptions at varsity athletic events, and organizing send-off events for recently admitted students and new Colby students. We invite parents to participate in any and all of these activities.