Written by Jason Ho
A Terrapin opens his hand and a mysterious white piece flutters onto his palm. He ponders if it’s dandruff because he’s been studying instead of showering to cram for the 3 exams next week. But as he looks up, he realizes that the first snow of winter has fallen. It’s that time of year again when December arrives keeping UMD students icy and hunkered down to confront the stress-riddled stretch of what is finals. But don’t despair; our very own QUEST Recruiting team has worked hard and is bringing the QUEST Showcase back into action.
Started last spring, the QUEST Showcase has been a hit with the QUEST community as it shines the spotlight on exceptional projects garnered from the ranks of 190 and 390. This year, the faculty will be handpicking 2 of Cohort 23’s 190 projects and 2 of Cohort 22’s 390 projects to put on display. The occasion is also a time when the greener cohorts can show their faces and bond with the faculty and other members of QUEST. Last year attendee Michael George of Cohort 23 describes his experience; “So I was really excited to attend the QUEST Showcase because I saw it as an opportunity to really find out what QUEST was all about…Initially, when I saw the presentation, I was really impressed and a little scared because I was like ‘How the heck am I going to do this,’ but now I am very glad that I went since it set a level of excellence that I aimed to meet throughout all of my projects so far in 190H.”
However, there is one difference to this winter’s event; instead of catering exclusively to the QUEST community, QUEST Recruiting is now inviting prospective students as well. The team wants this event to not only be a celebration of what QUEST has been doing this past semester, but also as a means to reach out to prospective students, showing them QUEST’s culture of innovation, quality-systems management, and teamwork. The event is being funded by Pepsi through the Pepsi grant, a whooping total of $1750.00, so it’s going to be official.
The winter exhibition is set for Dec. 4th at 7pm in Kim Lobby, so make sure your calendars are marked because all cohorts, including graduated ones, are invited. It would be unfortunate to miss out on an opportunity see old and new faces and get an exclusive on the best of what Cohort 22 and 23 have been brewing up this past semester.