Every year, as the College’s students enroll in a JanPlan course, one that will be their primary focus throughout three weeks in January, they are engulfed in a multitude of new and returning courses, many of which are either facilitated, taught, or organized by DavisConnects and corresponding members.
Dean of DavisConnects Beth Throne speaks to the importance of these courses, saying that, “with one course, it also allows students to really be thoughtful about their connections, about their experiences, and about getting some good life and career design development.”
Throne, who is teaching the already-full “Designing Your Future” JanPlan course, has prior knowledge and experience of being a life design coach for over five years and mentoring in life design at her previous institution, Franklin and Marshall College.
Throne mentioned wishes to expand the “Designing Your Future” course with a waitlist so as many students as possible get access to the resources and guidance DavisConnects has at Colby students’ disposal. She commented on the course’s goal: “[the course provides] life design experience during which students are thinking about their path through Colby, their path beyond Colby, connections, opportunities, and then really designing and coming up with action plans.”
On top of the “Designing Your Future” course, DavisConnects also directly hosts the following courses: “Pre-Health Academy,” “Social Impact Lab,” and an LSAT prep course. These courses, alongside other DavisConnects initiatives, are all supported by the Davis Family Foundation, among others.
Outside of JanPlan courses themselves, DavisConnects hosts various ways for Colby’s students to gain access to, learn about, and immerse themselves in DavisConnects’ resources. One of these programs is “ASPIRE,” a certificate program offered by DavisConnects designed to prepare Colby students “to thrive and succeed during and well beyond the second half of [one’s] first year at Colby,” according to Throne’s promotional emails.
Throne spoke on “ASPIRE” noting how it becomes more than just a four-week program, but also a community. “[ASPIRE] ends up becoming a community that then I call upon afterward with opportunities and resources. So it becomes a great supportive community during [the program] for the students, and then afterward,” Throne commented.
Another opportunity DavisConnects hosts during JanPlan, which Throne accredited as a “hallmark event,” is the Global Night of Networking: a virtual networking opportunity organized in collaboration with the Office of Alumni and Family Engagement. The annual event is open to all Colby students and alumni, and in 2025, the event’s inauguration had over 270 participants. It is anticipated that this year’s event will attract over 400 participants.
Throne spoke to the event’s inclusivity and importance, saying, “students, no matter their comfort level, no matter [their] level of networking experience and connection, are able to connect with alumni from around the world around interests, and even Colby.”
While the listed courses, ASPIRE, and the Global Night of Networking are all offered specifically during JanPlan, DavisConnects also offers countless opportunities for students year-round. One of these is “Colby Connection,” an application that helps facilitate networking between Colby alumni and students.
The site, which was launched in the summer of 2026, has already gained the support of 3700 alumni, parents, and friends of the college, 2800 of whom are active at any point in time.
DavisConnects, under Throne as the new dean, has also begun sending out a weekly newsletter, which goes out every Sunday. On top of this, DavisConnects provides between 1.5 and 2 million dollars of funding for internship research, global experiences projects, independent study, short-term programs, and certifications.
Throne spoke with enthusiasm about how “there are so many opportunities at and beyond Colby.” She also noted, “Hopefully, they [the readers and Colby’s student body] get excited to plug in [to DavisConnects’ resources], and if nothing else, even meeting with a career design advisor, who just gets to know the student… there’s a reason to be engaged without any requirement of mapping out or understanding what comes next… that’s how we’re here to help.”
~ Evelyn Kunde `30
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