Monthly Archives: May 2015

Passion: The 390H Experience by Samuel Lewis

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It’s more than enthusiasm or excitement. It’s a form of ambition that is materialized into action while putting as much heart, mind, body and soul into something as humanly possible. It’s a characteristic that distinguishes one person’s life from another’s. It’s something that can’t be taught in the classroom, that is, unless you’re a QUEST student. It’s called passion.

 

Though it’s pretty hard to summarize everything my cohort has learned from Dr. Suarez in 390H this past semester, here it goes.

 

There’s no formula for creating passion. That’s the beauty of it. There are no YouTube tutorials or special recipes for creating it. It has to be found from within. It’s an intangible trait that may take years to discover, yet seconds to set you free.

 

Passion is giving meaning to something. Think of that one belief, approach, or attitude that has set yourself apart from your peers. You may not have realized it, but you gave a special form of meaning to something that no one else saw.

 

Passion enables you to overcome your obstacles. People with passion don’t see closed doors, they see every hurdle as an opportunity. They take their meaning and apply it to something no one else sees.

 

Passion shapes your existence. Think of all of the people that have greatly influenced the world. They didn’t focus on what they were doing; they focused on why they were doing it. Think about that for a moment.

 

You can’t go wrong following your passion. I don’t know about you, but one of my greatest fears is looking back on my life and wishing I had done something differently. Looking back, I’ve found that every tough decision I’ve made where I thought, that was a good decision, had been a time where I followed an unexplainable urge from within.

 

It’s funny how a 3-credit class with no quizzes, midterms, or final exams is the one class I’ve learned the most from. For the past semester, the class I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of has given me more than just quality tools, presentation skills, and teamwork experiences. While taking the second QUEST course, my fellow classmates and I have been able to find that little word called passion from within.

190H Poster Presentations

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On Wednesday, April 29th, Q24 presented their posters for their process improvement projects. The process improvement projects, which were recently added to the 190H curriculum starting with Q22, pair teams with clients on campus. New clients for this semester included TerpThon, the Athletics Department, Smith Start, and the Department of Transportation Services (DOTS).

The process improvement projects allow students to apply the tools they have been learning throughout the semester and incorporate the principles of lean processes. It also presents students with an opportunity to service clients and create a poster deliverable, which will be highly beneficial for when Q24 students take the 490H course in the fall of their senior year.

Bobby Crumbaugh, a Q24 Supply Chain Management major, highlighted that through this process improvement project, he gained invaluable experience conducting onsite interviews with clients and stakeholders, as well as using different sources of information to make the best recommendations.

However, the project was not without challenges. According to Crumbaugh, “Our specific project’s problem was a bit narrow so there wasn’t a lot of room for innovation. We would like to have added more value by having a broader scope and more time.”

Team Q the Applause

Team Q the Applause

Crumbaugh was part of team Q the Applause, which won the award for Best Poster in the 190H class. Q the Applause worked with the Department of Psychology, focusing on their sign-in process for appointments in their new office for the fall. Students, members of the Quality Guild, and clients were part of the vote.

When asked if any student in his group had experience creating posters, Crumbaugh noted that no one necessarily had expertise in this area. However, they did have a process that allowed them to make a phenomenal poster.

“We designated one person to work on the poster as whole, and then other team members would individually go to that person to give input on specific chunks of the graphic. At the end, all of us took a step back and looked at the whole poster as a team, and then made small changes to make it visually appealing,” Crumbaugh explained.

All in all, the poster projects this semester were very impressive. Who knows what Q25 and Q26 will bring to the table next year!

Check out the 190H posters here! 

 

 

HAAT Consulting Receives Outstanding Capstone Award

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For the first time this semester, a cohort of junior QUEST students took the capstone 490H class. Team HAAT Consulting, working for CFR Engineering, was the first team to win the newly titled Outstanding Capstone Award. QUESTPress sat down with the team to discuss their project, inspirations, and advice for future 490H students.

The team was composed of Tommy Johnson (Electrical Engineering), Halley Weitzman (Computer Science), Aaron Sirken (Mechanical Engineering), and Avi Silvermetz (Finance), all from Cohort 21.

CFR Engineering is a small, 30 employee engineering firm located in Germantown, Maryland. They mainly provide electrical, mechanical, and plumbing/fire protection engineering solutions and services to their clients. CFR realized that much of their data was scattered and disorganized, and as such tasked HAAT consulting with constructing a query-able database for their bid and proposal data. They hoped to better be able to identify past bid and proposal data to assist in creating new bids for current and future projects.

What was your team’s final solution? 

Avi: Our team created an Access database for CFR engineering that allows them to easily and efficiently query past projects in their database and quickly get the information they need from the data. We also created a multiple linear regression model to help them predict their future bid and proposal costs, and we provided them with a framework for expanding upon our work and taking our recommendations to the next level using machine learning.

How did you come to settle on this final solution? 

Aaron: For the longest time, we were hung up on the idea of creating a custom database for CFR. We wanted our solution to be unique and have a number of custom features that we thought would add significant value to our client. However, as we worked through the project, our clients kept stressing how they wanted the deliverable to be simple and easy to use. We were running into a number of roadblocks designing a custom database, particularly the fact that we didn’t believe it would be sustainable for CFR. We knew that we needed to find a better balance of our wants with the client’s needs. Eventually, Avi suggested we look at Microsoft Access.

Avi: We knew that CFR had a license to use Access and that some of their employees on the business development team had experience using it. So that already reduced a few of the roadblocks to creating the database. It also interfaced easily with Excel spreadsheets, and eventually, we realized that Access was what was best for our client.

How did you design the linear regression model? 

Halley: We initially wanted to use machine learning to estimate project costs. However, we realized that was too ambitious of a goal for the scope of our project and time remaining in the semester. The linear regression model was our next attempt to help CFR predict their project costs.

One of the challenges in building the model was the vast amount of data. We had to eliminate a lot of it to make the model better and find the correct predictors of project cost. Dr. Armstrong, our faculty advisor, was a huge help in formulating the model, even meeting with us on weekends to lend her advice and assistance. One cool thing about the model is that it performs better on data it hasn’t seen before, which we believe will help it to accurately predict project costs for CFR.

How did you come up with your +1 or next steps? 

Tommy: We were sitting in the QUEST lab a couple of weeks ago working on our poster and looking at past posters, and Dr. Bailey walked in the room. We began talking with him about our client and project, and he immediately understood our project better than even we did. He started writing on the white board and walking us through every aspect of our project and the work we did, really helping to identify what we needed to put on our poster and how to talk about our project.

He then told us that 490H projects are 80% scoped out and 20% up to the team to have creative flexibility with. He said that while we had achieved the 80%, this was our opportunity to add value to CFR with our 20% recommendations. He walked us through how our work could be expanded upon and improved, using our original idea of machine learning, to turn a 10-million dollar business into a 10-billion dollar business. He was the inspiration behind our final recommendations, and he really helped us reexamine our project and scope and break out of a bit of a lull we were in at the time.

What advice would you give future 490H students?

Tommy: Deliver what the client wants, but don’t be afraid to take advantage of the 20%. It is important to always keep the clients’ needs in mind and build for them, but this is also a learning opportunity and your chance to leave an impact on the real world, and that’s where the 20% comes in.

Avi: Although this project was a great learning experience and huge success, I still wish I had pushed my boundaries a little bit more and tried something new. I did a lot of things for this project I already had experience in, and I wish I had tested new skills during my 490H project.

Aaron: Our team got along really well. Our meetings and discussions were all really lighthearted and fun, and we didn’t get frustrated or argue. I would encourage teams to try to keep things as lighthearted as possible while still getting your work done.

Halley: Focus on the client and the solutions the client wants. We lost a lot of time trying to build solutions they couldn’t use. Start EARLY. Front load as much of the work as possible. And don’t be afraid to distribute and delegate work. Not everyone needs to be present to do everything, and you will accomplish tasks more efficiently by trusting your teammates and delegating tasks.

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The Big Move

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MovingBoxespics

By Jacob Wilkowsky (Q19)

May marks the final month of classes for graduating seniors in Cohort 20. At the crossroad of their collegiate and professional careers, these last few weeks of college offer ample opportunity to reminisce and celebrate the accomplishments of an undergraduate degree. As graduation approaches, this final chapter of your time at College Park can be incredibly surreal, exciting, and sometimes intimidating.

The QUEST Community is incredibly supportive during this time. Discussions with faculty about the transition to professional life and ‘Senior Send-off’ are terrific experiences during this transition. However, a resource often underutilized by graduating seniors is QUEST alumni. Alumni are a terrific resource, eager to help you establish your new life outside of College Park. I personally relied on my QUEST Mentor, Aditya Yerramilli (Q14), when making my transition to professional life and still do today!

In order to jump start this process for current seniors from Cohort 20, I asked Mickeyas Alemayehu, Matt Henricks, Nicole Blahut, and Emmeline Zhu what questions they had about their impending moves to San Francisco, Seattle, Arlington, and Baltimore. Alumni in these cities answered their questions, and hopefully provided some invaluable insights.

 

San Francisco

Mickeyas Alemayehu (Q20), Software Engineer, Google

Alex March (Q19), Operations Coordinator, Google


Mickeyas: What do you really enjoy about living in San Francisco?

Alex: Gosh, there is so much to enjoy! I really enjoy the community of ambitious and interesting young professionals predominantly in tech, finance, and law. The sense of community and openness of San Francisco makes it very easy to meet others that share the same passions and interests. Also, the climate and abundance of parks makes it easy to spend the majority of weekends outside. Being so close to wine country, Tahoe, and Vegas isn’t half bad either. Plus, I love being able to beta test such a diverse range of progressive startups in this tech epicenter.

Mickeyas: What is one thing you wish you had known before moving out to the city?

Alex: I wish I knew more about the cultural differences between San Francisco neighborhoods before moving. Each neighborhood has its own scene (with many advantages), so getting a better idea of where in the city I wanted to live before I moved would have been very helpful!

Mickeyas: Any tips or suggestions for finding housing?

Alex: Padmapper.com & Craigslist! Those are two of the best resources for finding housing. Also, start early and reach out to a lot of people. You never know which opportunity may open up. I would also advise doing your research on the neighborhoods, so that you know where you want to focus your efforts. Certain parts of the city are more expensive than others, but it’s all about what you are looking for in a neighborhood. I currently live in Russian Hill and absolutely love it! I would recommend using this site! Here is another fun article about the various hoods.

 

Seattle

Matt Henricks (Q20), Software Engineer, Microsoft

David Rosen (Q18), Mechanical Design Engineer, Microsoft

 

Matt: What did you do when you first got to Seattle to make it feel like home?

David: Moving to Seattle, I stocked up the kitchen, bought new furniture, and unpacked day one. Getting these things done allowed me to really se(a)ttle in quickly. Of course, it’s strange living somewhere that’s so far away from home and friends. However, a little effort goes a long way when trying to keep in touch with friends and family.

Matt: Is there anything that caught you off guard in the moving process?

David: It’s expensive and a logistical nightmare- be prepared for it! I didn’t realize how much stuff I owned until it was sitting in a room in boxes. I also didn’t realize how much of this stuff I didn’t want any more. When you move, it is a great time to donate some of your old belongings and start fresh. If you hire a moving company for your car and belongings, you will likely experience tons of paperwork/deadlines/phone calls. Oh, I also almost missed my flight, so that caught me off guard too.

Matt: What do you think makes an on-boarding successful? How can I begin to make a name for myself?

David: First, creativity is power – there is a very big difference between knowledge and creativity. Providing a fresh perspective on an old problem will have your coworkers interested in your abilities. Second, take all project-related advice with a grain of salt… think before you act! Senior-level engineers and managers can be wrong too. If you take bad advice in the corporate world, YOU are at fault, not the person who gave it to you. Third, find a mentor. Try and find someone in a similar position as you with a little more experience (3-5 years). Ask your mentor tons of questions- there are going to be lots of things you won’t know how to do without help along the way. Remember, it’s always better to ask “how?” then to not know!

 

Arlington

Nicole Blahut (Q20), Business Analyst, Deloitte

Sara Bleistein (Q19), Audit Assistant, Deloitte

 

Nicole: Being so close to UMD, did you end up coming back for a lot of games or alumni events?

Sara: The drive to College Park from Arlington is around 30 minutes so I am able to make it back to campus quite frequently. I am a season ticket holder for football games so I was able to make it back to campus for all but one game, including homecoming. Additionally, although I did not have season tickets, I was able to attend a number of basketball games including Michigan State. Random advice: As a young alumna, you are eligible to receive a discount for season sporting tickets with a small donation to the Terrapin Club Scholarship Fund. If you enjoy Maryland sporting events and will be in the area, I highly recommend taking advantage of this.

Nicole: How does Arlington compare to living in DC?

Sara: Living in Arlington is much cheaper than living in DC and, since it is less crowded, it’s easier to commute (if you commute by car). I personally work in McLean and my commute is either 30 minutes by metro or 20 by car. I can take a metro to Metro Center in under half an hour and also have the options of nightlife in Arlington which is only about a $5 Uber if you don’t feel like taking the metro.

Nicole: What are your favorite brunch places?

Sara: My favorite brunch places currently are A Town in Arlington and Irish Whiskey in DC. However, there are so many places to go that I haven’t checked them all out yet. So these rankings could be subject to change in the future.

 

Baltimore

Emmeline Zhu (Q20), RFIC Designer, Northrop Grumman and attending Grad School, Johns Hopkins

Matt Sarna (Q19), Law School, University of Maryland

Emmeline: Where’s the best place for happy hour?

Matt:

  1. Cheap: Pickles – cheap beer, wings, always packed
  2. Medium Priced: Pratt Street Ale House – around 15 in-house brews and some solid fish tacos, right next to Camden Yards
  3. Good Networking Spot and Beer Selection: Max’s Taphouse – more beers than you could ever try

Emmeline: What’s your favorite thing to do in Baltimore?

Matt:

  1. Getting a couple of cheap bleacher seats at the O’s game
  2. Going for a run through the InnerHarbor
  3. Grabbing food from the hundreds of shops in Lexington Market, specifically Faidley’s (I would recommend only going during during the day and not at night).

Emmeline: Would you recommend living in the city or nearby in neighboring areas, like Howard or Baltimore County? Why?

Matt: I personally live in Baltimore City on Eutaw St. I have a great situation; my apartment is a 1 minute and 15 second walk (yes, I’ve timed it) to both the Maryland Law School and Camden Yards. Here are my opinions of the top 3 options:

  1. Downtown: look at apartments with close proximity to the UMB campus (most of these buildings are predominantly graduate students and young professionals, are competitively priced, and all have plenty of reviews online)
  2. Close-by towns: Federal Hill or Canton – both of these areas are great for people right out of college and it will be the easiest transition from how/where you lived in College Park (great bar scenes, plenty of bus stops, apartment availability)
  3. Commuting: I am not too familiar with areas outside of the city, but obviously, the beltway and 95 are a mess every morning and every night.

Alex, David, Sara, and Matt were eager to help with this project and I’d like to thank them again for their participation. I hope that their insights were helpful to you and encourage you to look up alumni in your future city, industry, or firm. Wherever you start your career, there will always be QUEST alumni to help you along your way!

 

Special thanks to Mickeyas, Matt (H.), Nicole, and Emmeline, Alex, David, Sara, and Matt (S.)!

Welcome Q25 and Q26!

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Each spring, QUEST admits a new group of promising students from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the A. James Clark School of Engineering, and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences into the program. I think I can speak for the entire QUEST community when I say that we are excited to welcome our brand new Cohorts 25 and 26! I spoke to a few new QUESTees to hear about their impressions and expectations of their future QUEST experience.

Connor Armstrong (Q25)

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Extracurricular Activities: “I do undergraduate research for the Gamera Solar Powered Helicopter project. The project itself is pretty self-explanatory, but our goal is to get a lightweight helicopter off the ground with a human pilot with nothing but solar power. The project is very cutting edge and allows me to work on a lot of cool design problems with very new technology. It’s a great time.”

Fun Fact: “I’m an avid kayaker. On any given weekend over the summer, I’ll probably be kayaking. It’s definitely one of the best ways to enjoy a Maryland summer day.”

What are you looking forward to the most from your experience in the QUEST program?

“I’d like to meet outgoing, driven people from many different areas of expertise. I’m looking forward to learning new things from my peers and working on interdisciplinary projects with people outside of engineering (also, free printing). Overall, I am really excited to start the QUEST experience in the fall.”

Lina Bauer (Q26)

Major: Accounting & Finance

Extracurricular Activities: Community Service Chair for the Smith Undergraduate Student Association, Member of the International Economics and Finance Society, and a competing member of the Ballroom at Maryland team

Fun Fact: Trilingual

What about the QUEST program led you to apply?

“I chose to apply for QUEST as I sought to be a part of a multidisciplinary program where I would have the ability to interact with students of various majors, while gaining real-life experience working with companies in order to improve their quality of business. In addition, I would get to work alongside a great group of motivated and innovative students.”

Bobby Ellett (Q25)

Major: Business Undecided (Intended Marketing & Finance)

Extracurricular Activities: Club Swim, Orientation Advisor, music (Plays guitar/bass/drums and even sings a bit), Stamp Employee at Student Organization Resource Center, BSE Scholars Program 

Fun Facts: Allergic to Chicken, loves 80’s music and long walks on the beach

What about the QUEST program led you to apply?

“I applied to QUEST because I have done research in the field of mechanical engineering, and I am a business major. Since I love working on teams and QUEST has members from different majors, I thought it would be a great way to broaden my perspective and learn from others. I have interests in both the technical and business-oriented sides of what it takes to create a great product or run a great company. With QUEST, I hope to find a way to combine these interests and develop something that will better people’s lives.”

Paula Rabade (Q25)

Major: Accounting & Finance

Extracurricular Activities: Phi Chi Theta (Professional Business & Economics Fraternity)

Fun Fact: Paula is from Argentina and has traveled to 19 different countries thus far.

What are you looking forward to the most from your experience in the QUEST program?

“I am looking forward to a community where I will be able to grow as a professional and person. I am excited for the real world application of what I have been learning in classes. I can’t wait to go through the dynamics of consulting while working with people from various fields of study. I am excited to meet my cohort at QUEST camp and get to bond with them, as I will be embarking on this new journey with them for the next 3 years.”

 Welcome Q25 and Q26!

WelcomeQ25Q26