Article by Dathan Scott (Q18)

Editor’s Note:  Over the next few issues, QUESTPress will be having a special Student Profile column. Each month, we will be highlighting 1-2 new members of the QSO board. Enjoy! 

Welcome back, everyone! As you all should know by now, a new QSO board was elected for the new year, and we are looking to build on the successes and achievements of its predecessor, or QSO 2011 as I will call them. QSO 2011 fostered, completed, and maintained a number of great things, keeping everyone in the QUEST community informed and active in their involvement and communication with each other. Who could forget great events like QUEST Laser Tag, the QUEST Alumni Dinner, and the QUEST Barbeque with the showdown of the inflatable sumo suits! Plus, I know we all remember the start of the great tradition that is the QUEST Formal. Students, faculty, and alumni all were able to come out and have a great time at these events. Thanks to a record turnout of students at the board member elections last December, a new QSO board was chosen. So who were the selected few to carry on the torch and be known as QSO 2012?

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the new members. Ladies and gentlemen, your QSO 2012.

President: Sara Bleistein – Cohort 19

Madame President Sara Bleistein has what it takes to lead such a great team of students. The accounting and finance major delivered a great speech during the QSO elections, highlighting the major ideas and the direction that she would like to see QSO and QUEST go. She is a proud member of the Alpha Chi Omega women’s sorority and is in the Honors Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program. This may hint to what the future may hold for her; I’m thinking President and CEO, yes?

Sara has worked for Shutterbooth as a sales representative, and at Bentley’s on Route 1. Being the great young woman that she is, Sara gives a lot of credit to her two older brothers who have been her role models from a young age. She gets things done in the classroom, obviously, but something you might not have known is that she is a huge sports fan. She loves UMD sports, especially basketball, and is a diehard Orioles and Ravens fan. She plays sports like volleyball, softball, and flag football, so do not take her lightly at all.

Her goal is for QSO to have a more active role in uniting and supporting the QUEST community.  In the words of a true leader, Sarah reflects on QUEST: “Our community is full of potential because all members have so much to offer each other and the organization as a whole, and I want to work with the other members of QSO in order to aid the members of our community in reaching their full potential and, in turn, allow QUEST to reach its full potential.” She also adds that it is the job of the QSO to help improve the transparency between QSO and the entire QUEST community. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you ever need her, she’ll be happy to provide you with her number. Hit her up on Facebook or you can probably catch her at Chipotle almost every day.