Written by: Jason Ho

When the temperatures drop below 50, many people like to reminiscence of the warmer days, when the wind isn’t so sharp and the layers aren’t needed. But one very special individual revels in this time of year, and her name is Kylie King. Hailing from Plattsburgh, New York and a lover of cheese and crackers, Kylie is QUEST’s very own Program Director. An Industrial Engineering major from NC State, Kylie has experience working in a rotational engineering leadership program in Procurement, E-business, and Product Management with a manufacturing company prior to coming to the QUEST community.

However, beyond her years from NC State and being an engineer, Kylie is also an alumni of UMD’s graduate school. Since then, she has involved herself with the QUEST Program, stating that she finds it fulfilling to be working with a group of students in a program that in many ways drew parallels to a scholarship program that she herself was involved with in her time at NC State. One of the most fascinating things Kylie cites about the QUEST program is her involvement with the Scoping Class, a course revolving around company visits to acquire the infamous 490H projects. She states that it is always interesting to be learning about new companies, seeing projects evolve from their creation to finish, and really experiencing a unique perspective about a company by being there and observing first-hand the day to day operations of the facility. Just recently, she and the current Scoping students went to Domino Sugar and saw how sugars of all kinds were refined from huge mounds of dirt, debris, and raw sugar.

Aside from her involvement with the QUEST program, Kylie is also one of many exciting accolades, including once sky-diving and being a speaker of French. She also has impeccable fitness; she is a finisher of many triathlons. She will soon be training for next year’s Lake Placid Iron Man, which includes 2.4 miles of swimming, a 112 mile bike ride, and an entire marathon to finish if that wasn’t already enough. A woman of great physical abilities, one however would not expect her to have a mermaid as a petronus. But if Harry Potter were to have a nightmare and Kylie was there, Potter would see a fin smack across the face of the dementor to save the day. Keep on the lookout for Kylie, she might be one of the coolest people you’ll ever meet.