Article by Ben Bulka (Q18)
QUEST held its annual community bowling event at TerpZone on October 20th. The event was, as always, a rousing success, featuring QUEST’s typical combination of fun, free food, and a little friendly competition. It also provided a chance for QUEST students and faculty to interact outside the classroom in a more relaxed environment. “It was a lot of fun to see QUEST people in a more informal setting,” noted Cohort 19 member Aditya Sridhar.
The bowling event allowed students to meet new people within QUEST. Cohort 18 member Greg Barr said, ”I know some people in my cohort and the 190 team that I mentor, but this was a good opportunity to branch out and talk to people that I don’t see that often.” The bowling event was a particularly valuable experience for Cohort 19, as they have been together for only a few months and have not had as many opportunities to interact in a social setting. Cohort 19 member Nelson Young said, ”It definitely helped to meet other people in our cohort who are on other teams that we don’t talk to as much.”
There was a crowded field this year vying for QUEST bowling supremacy. With experienced Cohort 17 teams, some fresh faces from Cohort 19, and the always-formidable Quality Guild team, the competition was stiff. However, for the second year in a row, Cohort 18 members Mike Hamilton, Jay Vogel, Garrett Wenger, and yours truly of “Team QUEST Formal?” achieved the highest collective score, with a total of 489. The team attributed its success to its excellent chemistry. Wenger said, “In BMGT498Q with David Ashley, we learned that chemistry is a critical component of team success, and I think that our chemistry is really good because we all lived together on the fifth floor of Denton freshman year and have been friends for a while.” Vogel added, “In addition to total pins knocked down, I think we led all teams in high fives.”
The foursome is hoping to capture a third title next year and finish its QUEST career undefeated. If they fail, it certainly will not be due to lack of effort. “The past two years we just kind of showed up and bowled, but we plan on holding weekly practices next year before the bowling event,” Hamilton said. “It would be pretty cool to win all three of our annual QUEST bowling competitions.”