“Follow it, relentlessly”: COA opens 55th academic year

The College of the Atlantic community officially launched its 55th academic year with a day of traditions that included speeches, dancing, an outdoor dinner, and the annual group plunge into the Atlantic Ocean.

The celebration began with convocation in the Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Community Center, where All College Meeting fall term moderator Kendall Pagach ’28 called the proceedings to order and welcomed new students, faculty, and staff to campus.

“I am very excited to see all these new faces and I want to issue a warm welcome to all of our new first year and transfer students, as well as any new faculty and staff members. I think I speak for everyone when I say we are thrilled to embrace you into the COA community,” Pagach said.

Pagach encouraged community members to become involved in campus life, including participation in governance, as a way to build connections and help shape the college community.

COA Interim President Lynn Boulger reflected on visits she made over the summer to the college's island field stations, research partners, and student-led fundraising events, highlighting the experiential nature of a COA education.

"Human ecology at COA is not simply an academic framework," Boulger said. "It’s a way of understanding that people, communities, and natural systems are deeply connected, and that meaningful education comes from engaging with those connections firsthand.”

She noted that the college's founders envisioned an institution that would prepare students not only to make a living, but also to make a difference.

“Today, whether COA students are studying whale behavior from Mount Desert Rock, creating art, conducting scientific research, addressing climate change, mitigating food insecurity, or pursuing paths we cannot yet imagine, that vision remains alive and well,” Boulger said.

The keynote address was provided by Seth Carbonneau '05, Senior Principal Scientist at Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. Drawing on his experiences as a scientist, chef, and researcher, Carbonneau reflected on the crucial roles of curiosity, interdisciplinary learning, and adaptability in navigating an uncertain future.

Using the metaphor of a caterpillar unable to imagine flight and the image of building a lens through experience, Carbonneau argued that education equips students to see new possibilities rather than follow a predetermined path.

“COA never taught me how to navigate a predictable world. It taught me how to navigate uncertainty,” he said.

Carbonneau encouraged students to embrace uncertainty rather than rush toward fixed plans. “You don't need certainty right now. You don't need a five-year plan. You don't need to know exactly where you're headed,” he said. “What you need is curiosity. Follow it, relentlessly.”

Carbonneau was introduced by Kelly Curran ’26, who is currently working with MDI Biological Laboratory, as Carbonneau did as a student and after graduation. Curran was a fellow during the summer following graduation, and is now finishing her COA senior project, entitled The overarching question: “Can C. elegans be used for regenerative biomedical research?”

Noah Felty ’27 and Ira Reinhart-Smith ’27 performed several songs on guitar and violin to close out the proceedings.

The afternoon concluded with two long-standing COA traditions: the Bar Island Swim and a community cookout. Nearly 90 students, faculty, and staff braved the 56-degree waters of Frenchman Bay, swimming the quarter-mile distance from the Bar Island sandbar to the COA pier. Dozens more gathered along the shore to cheer them on, while others piloted safety boats, kayaks, and rigid-hull inflatables or welcomed swimmers ashore with towels, hot chocolate, and warm hugs.