QUEST Graduating Seniors: Graduation Plans

           As a current sophomore and member of Cohort 22, the thought of graduation seems absolutely improbable. Not only is it difficult to comprehend that in three years I will either be in graduate school or have a job, it is also somewhat intimidating. Current QUEST seniors are currently going through the process of transitioning from undergraduates to professional adults and they all have interesting stories to tell.

           Because QUEST prepares us so well for life after college, QUEST students already have real world experience either through internships or QUEST classes themselves. Classes like Scoping (see last month’s QUESTpress!), Introduction to Design and Quality, and Systems Thinking for Managerial Decision Making give students opportunities to observe different types of professional companies. This is what some of cohort 19 has to say about their plans after graduation, the influence of QUEST, and their last year in College Park!

Paul Kelly

“I start work at Telephone and Data Systems in Madison Wisconsin on January 6th, working on SAP application development and support as a Business Systems Analyst for their logistics and Supply Chain Management team. I liked this position a lot because it is somewhere halfway between the functional and technical side of the business; I get to work with the functional side to determine system requirements, and then with the programmers to actually build a solution. QUEST helped me develop a lot of the confidence and communication tools that I used in my internship last summer (as it was very multidisciplinary), which ultimately led to this position.”

Nelson Young

“I start my full-time job with GE Capital’s Financial Management Program (FMP) in Connecticut in mid-July. Before starting work, I’ll be studying abroad in Milan at Bocconi University. I have already completed all my degree requirements, so my semester study abroad is mainly for international experience. QUEST has encouraged me to work in a corporate environment that encourages teamwork to solve problems. My internship over the summer with GE Capital frequently reminded me of the concepts I learned in QUEST and I was glad to have had the experiences I learned from QUEST to apply it to my work. I may not have been given a full-time offer if I had not learned the QUEST ideas and values. BMGT390H [Systems Thinking for Managerial Decision Making] will likely help me the most during my post-grad life as it helps me to approach problems in different ways. For instance, I have used implication wheels now multiple times when making on tough decisions.”

Danny Laurence

“After graduation I will be working in Northern Virginia at a Company named Dante Inc. (https://www.danteinc.com/store/danteinc/Home). QUEST influenced not necessarily my career path, but where I ended up. I had a few offers on the table at bigger companies, and they all seemed great. Dante was the only offer I received from a smaller company, but after interviewing with them, I realized that they were the only ones who seemed to embody what QUEST is about; an entrepreneurial spirit, teamwork, trust, and rapid prototyping were among the things that Dante had that I learned in QUEST. As far as classes are concerned, for me teaching the web development course was the class that prepared me most for my life after graduation. There is a lot, however, to be said about simply being in this community that has guided me in my career choice.”

Margaret Zheng

“I’ll be taking Becker CPA courses and the exams until July. After that I’ll start at Deloitte as an auditor. QUEST has helped to polish me into a young professional and someone who is confident to lead. I’ve always known that I wanted to be in the accounting field but QUEST helped provide the resources to support all my other coursework and the recruiting process. Personally, 190 [Introduction to Design and Quality] was the most helpful because that’s where we learned about Total Quality Tools – it was a foundation for not only the rest of QUEST but also the rest of college and my internship experiences.”