I attended Colby College from the Fall of 1998 to May 2002. Colby is a liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine 04901.
I majored in Computer Science, and am very fond of my academic experience. I continue to use (and appreciate!) a lot of the knowledge imparted on me by professors Dale Skrien, Clare Congdon, Randy Jones, Marc Smith, and others in the CS department. Many a late night was spent on the 4th Floor Mudd Lab. Some of my favorite classes were:
My story checks out on the Colby CS Alumni site. But besides Computer Science, I took quite a few courses in Philosophy, especially with Robert McArthur. I especially found his classes fascinating on Art and Technology. I thoroughly enjoyed Richard Serra's 4-5-6 installation although it was highly criticized on campus. I performed a few times with Jordan Benissan in his African Drumming group, after I took his Jan Plan course my Junior Year.
I was affiliated with WMHB 89.7FM, the college's radio station. I had a radio show with good friend and roommate Tom Geaghan. He had great musical taste; I mastered the cross-fade and had a chance to interview Willy Porter. We were no match for the shows of Coy Daily and Lee L'Heureux.
I was involved in developing and maintaining the website for Colby's Men's Hockey Team (which has since drastically changed). I integrated a Java-based chat on their website and provided live updates on the chat during the games, which was a lot of fun. The site was particularly active during Colby vs. Bowdoin games. Thanks to the chat, I had the pleasure once of informing the father of one of the White Mules' players that his son scored the winning goal against Bowdoin in a heated match that came down to the last few minutes of the third period.
During my Junior year at Colby I was a member of Hall Staff. I learned a lot of things about campus life, how Colby works, and in some ways how to be a leader. A lot of things that I learned were things you couldn't learn from reading the Hall Staff manual. That year I started out in the Taylor residence hall and made my way to Foss. I would have liked to continue being an HR during my Senior year, but the Alfond Apartments were too nice to pass up.
You may have seen me around campus with the likes of Ali Ghaffari, Josh Ladieu, Tom Geaghan, Rocky Severs, Kevin Simons, and Neal Mower. I was good friends with a bunch of people in the Megalomanics and also Colby Improv. After turning 21, I could regularly be found in the Marchesi Blue Light Pub. Unlike most students at Colby, I did not study abroad. I also did not come from Boston, and I regrettably never learned how to ski. But I did own a Nalgene, and was one of the first in my COOT2 group (Mt. Blue B) to figure out the trick behind "Big Blue Moon."
Since graduating Colby in May of '02, I have tried to be a loyal and helpful alumnus. I donate to the Alumni Fund annually and should hopefully be listed in the Alumni Directory. The Alumni Relations department kindly posted a picture of me after I got married in October 2004. I keep in touch with my professors and occasionally check in with Career Services when I hear of job openings in New York City, where I work. I maintain the Colby user account on Friendster, indirectly helping over 350 alumni and students connect with one another. There is also a blog on Friendster.
I am always open to hearing from fellow Colby alums, faculty, and staff. You can reach me at joconnell[at]alum.colby.edu.