Alumni Spotlight: Liam Mercer

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Mercer (left) and his Capstone team.

Two weeks ago, Homes for America, a non-profit affordable housing developer based in Annapolis, MD, closed its first project since Liam Mercer, a QUEST alumnus from Cohort 28, started a year ago. The project is set to work on rehabilitating a 154-unit community in Baltimore that has historically served the deaf and hearing-impaired population. I got the amazing chance to reach out to Mercer to talk further about his time at UMD and QUEST, as well as his life post-grad.

During his time as an undergrad at Maryland, he studied Operations Management & Business Analytics and Finance. He also completed a minor in Sustainability Studies and Real Estate Development. With so many diverse interests, Mercer sought out QUEST to join an interdisciplinary program that “was designed for all students to play valuable roles on each project team.” Mercer was also part of many different extracurricular organizations, such as Phi Chi Theta Business Fraternity, The Maryland Pride, Ballroom at Maryland, and Survivor Maryland.

Mercer dancing with Ballroom at Maryland.

Many of the skills gained through QUEST have been useful for his professional career. After graduating in 2019, Mercer worked on a 2020 presidential primary campaign, where his team was “always looking for creative ways to be as efficient as possible with our limited resources,” something that he learned during his time in QUEST.

At his next job as an analyst at RCLCO Real Estate Consulting in Bethesda, MD, Mercer was able to combine his business and real-estate development background to provide economic consulting services for real estate owners, developers, and investors. He recalled that the QUEST Capstone prepared him well for the client relations part of the job. “I liked the opportunities to use data creatively in an analysis,” he shared.

Mercer and his current boss submitting the LIHTC Application.

Currently, Mercer works at Homes for America as a development analyst. His work is focused on developing housing projects that are income-restricted and affordable within the Mid-Atlantic region. Excitingly, Mercer has led Homes for America’s application for competitive low-income housing tax credits, which would help to finance their developments in the state of Delaware. Mercer says that it was part of the company’s “major organizational goal to diversify where we work, and I was proud to have a leading role in the application.”

Being able to work with combating the affordable housing shortage within our country is an area that Mercer had previously worked on as an intern during his undergraduate years that he was excited to come back to. Looking back on his time at UMD, Mercer says that “one of the benefits of a large university is that there is an organization of like-minded people for almost everything.” Congrats to Liam Mercer on all of his success so far!

QSocial Wrapped

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As the school year drew to a close, QUEST Social planned a variety of events to celebrate the hard work of all the QUEST students and  welcome the new students in Cohort 43 and Cohort 44 who were recently accepted to the program in March. 

A QUEST Social member, Anna Fulton, gave her own take on how these events panned out, ranging from everything from the spring formal to the senior send-off and end-of-the-year picnic. First off, Fulton discussed the formal, which was on Thursday, April 18th. 

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Navigating the Product Landscape with Alumna Jacqueline Deprey

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I had the opportunity to speak with QUEST alumna Jacqueline Deprey, who graduated in 2020 and now works for Dropbox. Deprey is a proud member of QUEST Cohort 30 and says she is still close to her BMGT/ENES490H team – Sign Sealed Delivered (SSD).

Sign Sealed Delivered (SSD) getting boba together.

Currently, Deprey is working as a Senior Product Manager at Dropbox, where she originally worked as a software engineering intern. When asked how she moved up to product manager, she mentioned how she was able to ask questions organically regarding product decisions (from QUEST!). This helped with her transition as it showed her interest in the product.

As a product manager, she is involved in the testing of new products. Dropbox uniquely tests products in-house. When they target a smaller firm (for example, a finance firm), they test the product with their own finance department. This allows them to creatively test their product in a parallel market to work out any issues. This way, they can analyze how products are used internally for accurate metrics to understand how it will work on the outside.

SSD team jumping for joy in Van Munching Hall!

Dropbox uses OKRs, objectives and key results, to measure their performance. This is really helpful when testing new products, as this process can determine how the product benefits the specific department in meeting its goals. 

Currently, Deprey is working on a project called Dropbox Dash. This is similar to a search bar, except it will go through all the communications that you use to find the information you need. For example, if Deprey was looking for meeting notes for the month of February and she uses Outlook and Dropbox as her main sources of storage, this feature would allow her to search through all those drives. This project will be launched later in the year.

As a senior product manager, Deprey faces some challenges in her day-to-day life. All stakeholders involved in product development have different opinions and priorities. Product managers at Dropbox handle this dilemma by testing out their products in-house first. If dilemmas occur on the inside, they will only be magnified outside the company. 

She also mentioned that transparency is important when it comes to juggling priorities. If her team’s goals are different than the goals of another group of stakeholders, they are still likely mutually beneficial. This realization increases cooperation between stakeholders for a brilliant final outcome.

SSD working on BMGT/ENES490H together in Van Munching Hall.

When asked about her experience in QUEST, Deprey mentioned that she learned how to think critically. Instead of just worrying about the problems on top, she learned to dig deeper into the underlying issue. This is something that has given her an edge and allowed her to become a Product Manager so fast!

Some advice that she has for current QUESTees is to take it all in. QUEST is a special place with fun and driven people. She also advises current students to be like a sponge in this program, since you can learn a lot from others and use it to better yourself. Finally, your peers in QUEST are like mirrors, they reflect your best qualities back to yourself.

So QUESTees, be like Jacqueline Deprey and find your mirrors in QUEST and soak everything in!

Welcome Cohorts 43 and 44!

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It is now April, and you know what that means: QUEST has just accepted a new batch of students as members of Cohort 43 and 44! This year, QUEST received its highest number of applicants yet with over 450 applications submitted. Although we will miss our amazing seniors graduating this semester, QUEST is so happy to welcome in its new members. I reached out to a couple of new QUESTees to talk about their experience with the application process, their interest in QUEST, as well as some upcoming events and activities that they are looking forward to. 

To start off, I spoke with Eric Ji, a computer science major accepted into Cohort 43. He had initially heard about the program through word of mouth, but once he went to the interest meeting, he was officially sold. “I was blown away after actually hearing current members talk about their experiences and all the cool projects you get to do, so that’s when I knew I was applying.” Furthermore, Ji found the entire application process to be “unlike anything he had applied to before.” He says, “The questions really push applicants in a way other programs usually wouldn’t.” He also found the interview process to be fun and motivating.

Eric Ji of Cohort 43

Another equally enthusiastic QUEST student shared some similar thoughts regarding the program. Bhavini Pandey, also a computer science major in Cohort 43, said, “I’m most excited to be a part of a community that is not solely CS students.” Pandey went to an engineering high school and has always been surrounded by students in STEM, so she is thrilled to get a chance to meet people outside of her field. More than that, Pandey is also excited to get involved within QUEST by joining QUEST Corporate in the future. Until then, Pandey plans to have a relaxing summer and go ziplining, which is one of her favorite hobbies. If she could give any advice to freshmen, she says, “It’s so important to do things you are truly interested in and passionate about. It took me a long time to realize that I liked computer science over mechanical engineering, and even within the field there are so many options for what I could do. Explore your options!” 

Bhavini Pandey of Cohort 43

Lastly, I reached out to Ethan Zhang, another new member of Cohort 43. Zhang had heard about the program through his older brother, Eric Zhang of Cohort 31, and knew he wanted to get involved. Zhang is most looking forward to learning more professional skills and meeting new people. “Everyone I have met so far is so impressive. They all seem really qualified, and I’m so excited to be surrounded by such ambitious people!”

Everyone in Cohorts 43 and 44 is encouraged to attend the upcoming ice cream social event hosted by QUEST Social, which is on April 26th! This is a great way to kickstart some bonding by getting a chance to know other QUESTees. We can’t wait to get to know you, Cohorts 43 and 44. Welcome to the program!

QUESTees Tapped into Omicron Delta Kappa

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QUEST encourages its students to be leaders and to understand how to manage a diverse team. Some of our QUESTees are so dedicated to leadership that they were recently inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the national leadership honor society. I spoke to two impressive QUESTees who are members of ODK to learn more about the amazing opportunities that ODK has to offer.

Will Ahn (Q37) is a proud member of ODK.

Will Ahn is a senior in Cohort 37 who aimed to join ODK after hearing about it on Admitted Students Day four years ago. He liked that the honor society was full of hardworking students from different disciplines across campus. During his experience in ODK, he has been exposed to various parts of student life and had been able to connect with talented student leaders through opportunities not available to the student body. He feels ODK has affirmed his natural leadership skills. His favorite event is induction as he finds it fulfilling and wholesome to connect with new members and their families. It has been sweet to see how new members grow and develop and how their support network keeps them motivated during their leadership journey. He tells future QUEST students interested in ODK to stay involved and be authentic leaders.

Adelina Seck (Q39), right, at the recent ODK induction ceremony.

Adelina Seck is a junior from Cohort 39 and a recent ODK inductee. She decided to join because she has always been super passionate about leadership and giving back to the community. She also wanted to surround herself with like-minded students! She knows ODK will help her meet her future career goals through learning from other ODK student’s professional paths. She is looking forward to getting to know members better as well as events such as the Homecoming Student Leadership Celebration and the Maryland Day Fountain tradition. 

ODK is a great opportunity for QUESTees and UMD students. It helps students develop their leadership skills, network, and build a valuable, talented community. 

From Learning to Leading: Cohort 39’s Final Steps in the QUEST Program

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As Cohort 39 wraps up their QUEST experience, let’s see what they have been doing to prepare for their capstone presentations at the QUEST Conference on May 6th!

Adelina Seck is thrilled to be working with BAE Systems on their ESS-IT program. Seck says that she has learned a lot about how developing a plan for meaningful change can be very important for the company as a whole. Aside from working on recommendations and conducting meetings with the client and the team’s advisor, the team has also been on site visits to York, PA! When asked what advice she had for the next cohort, Seck said, “Establish good, consistent communication with your client and make sure that everyone is on the same page throughout the entirety of the semester.” 

Annaika Taneja has been working hard on delivering meaningful change for her company, Capital i. In order to prepare for the conference, Taneja and her team have been meeting twice per week to work on their final deliverables. They have also been having weekly meetings with their client and team advisor. Taneja advises future cohorts that if data analysis is necessary, do it early! Finally, she said that spending time with her team has made the class worthwhile.

Annaika Taneja (second from the left) and her team meeting with their clients for the first time.

Annie Ni is also working with BAE Systems in their Combat Mission Systems department, which manages online access for suppliers and utilizes manufacturing routings through Oracle. Ni says that the most exciting part about working with BAE Systems is that their work is held to a high standard and taken seriously. Interestingly, Ni’s team has taken a couple of extra steps throughout their time on the project to prepare for the conference. In order to understand and remedy complicated concepts, the team translates the processes into layman’s terms. Just last week, they used a sandwich analogy in their second status presentation! Ni suggests that future cohorts always be ready with a backup plan, especially because the class has a strict timeline for deliverables. 

Annie Ni (middle) and her team.

Matthew Weirich is working with PepsiCo on developing a totally new project, allowing the team members to exercise their creative sides. Weirich thinks it’s important to continuously incorporate feedback from the client and faculty in order to enhance the presentation and project. For future cohorts, Weirich believes that regular, in-person meetings are the way to go. “Building strong connections with your teammates is key, since making friends with your team members makes it a much more fun and productive class!”

But never fear, Cohort 40! Jimmy Takieddine says that 490H is hard work, but very rewarding!

Good luck Cohort 39. We are so excited to see your presentations!

QUESTech Fair Recap

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On March 27th, QUESTech, one of QUEST’s student organizations, held their annual Tech Fair in Van Munching Hall. Since it was the week students came back from spring break, it was a fun event full of things to see and learn about, complete with some popcorn and cotton candy to snack on!

Students got to walk around and listen to presentations on different types of technology. Here are some interesting highlights of the presentations I had the opportunity to listen to!

Daniel Danko (Cohort 41) displayed some of his incredible 3D-printed projects, from chainmail to a light saber to a 3D-printed printer! He also showcased a mechanical set of eyes that is programmed to blink and swivel when it detects motion.

Danko (Cohort 41) showcasing his 3D builds.

Kaushal Janga (Cohort 42) presented on computer vision, extracting information from images and videos, and image processing. Janga talked about recent advancements in this field, such as deep learning and the incorporation of AI, as well as future challenges such as ethical and privacy concerns. There are many applications of this technology, such as augmented reality, medical imaging, and Google Translate’s photo function.

Melvin Rajendran (Cohort 40) taught about prompt engineering, which is how to frame prompts to an AI such as ChatGPT. He discussed how to word prompts so the AI gives a more efficient task performance, such as providing context to input data, separating the input text, and specifying what it should output. He then ran an activity allowing us to practice coming up with our own prompts.

Rajendran’s (Cohort 40) presentation on prompt engineering.

Meilin Yuan (Cohort 42) talked about internationalization, or i18n, as a frame of thinking. Yuan described how significant the barriers are for coding across cultures and making software adaptable to different languages, as well as cultural implications.

QUESTech also invited the Leatherbacks Combat Robotics club, who displayed a few combat robots that have competed nationally! These robots are built, designed, and machined by the club in Terrapin Works. While they did not have a live demonstration with the robots due to safety concerns, they showed us competition clips and told us to look forward to their 1lb bot competition later this month on Maryland Day.

Leatherbacks Club’s 3lb robots on display.

Overall, the event was a great success, and I learned a lot! Congratulations to the entire QUESTech team!