Article by: Yana Jmourko (Q14) – Alumni Focus Team, Co-Communications Lead
The QUEST Alumni Board (QAB) members have been busy the past few months laying the foundation for the new group and beginning to organize events and tasks. The 19 alumni on the board have each chosen an area of personal interest in one of the three QAB focus teams; Alumni Focus, Student Focus or Program Focus. These teams have met several times to establish their missions and set short and long term goals. This month’s QAB article features the Alumni Focus Team, which aims to provide a sense of community and family among QUEST alumni.
Yana Jmourko (left) and other QAB members enjoy dinner as they discuss Team initiatives at a recent meeting.
The group’s most important task at hand is to ensure that being a member of the QUEST community will bring value to all alumni. This spring, the nine members of the Alumni Focus Team have teleconferenced to outline key steps and activities in helping the group achieve this goal.
First of all, the team will get involved in the effort to continue capturing contact information of QUEST Alumni. The current database is approximately 54% complete, and as QUESTees, we except a higher success rate! The group is also planning to conduct a survey to capture the voice of the alumni. Through the survey the group hopes to find out what information alumni would find valuable in an interactive online database, another key component to complete this year!
The team also plans to establish regular events in multiple locations where QUEST alumni reside. The team hopes to find enthusiastic alumni outside of the DC area to plan events at other locations. Currently, an event is scheduled for August 11 in Washington DC with more details to come!
Lastly, to foster relationships between the QUEST alumni and student communities, the team will collaborate with the Student Focus Team to design a Mentorship Program. In addition, the group aims to encourage participation in QUEST events throughout the year, such as the QUEST BBQ, QUESTpedition, QUEST selections and interviews, orientation, the 490 conference, and many more!
If you have any questions or would like to become a QAB Alumni Group volunteer please contact Yana at ijmourko@gmail.com.
QAB Alumni Focus Group members: Manan Bahri, Roger Chen, Jess Danyluk, Erika Elko, Yana Jmourko, Diane Lee, Joel Liebman, Kevin Schoonover, and Anna Volper