For nearly the last thirty years, the QUEST Honors Program has fostered a special and unique community that we’ve all grown to love. QUEST has propelled so many of us into successful careers. This is no easy feat but from the dedication of our students, the Quality Guild, and overarching schools as well as our parents, corporate sponsors, and alumni, we have shown that teamwork really does make the dream work!

I can speak for myself about the transformation that I have undergone thanks to QUEST. I went from a biology student with limited networking skills and finite knowledge about anything outside of my STEM courses to someone who not only felt confident enough to create my own major but also someone who understands the value of interdisciplinary work. I’ve gained invaluable insight into the future of so many industries and a breadth of knowledge ranging from computer science and data analytics to business models and design thinking strategies. QUEST saw potential in me and I am so grateful, not just for the aforementioned but also and most importantly, for a chance to find so many like-minded, motivated and ambitious people that I’m lucky enough to call my friends.

For the upcoming year, QUEST’s goal is to work towards establishing an endowed fund to secure the financial health and stability of the program for many years to come! And that’s where we, the members of the QUEST community, come in. This year’s Giving Day is on Wednesday, March 4th. While it’s hard to quantify or to match what QUEST has done for us, we can certainly pay it forward. We can support the future of the program and enable incoming students to experience what we’ve been lucky enough to have. 

To support QUEST on Giving Day, visit go.umd.edu/gdquest. You can even make your own fundraising page in advance and share it with friends and family via email and social media throughout the day on March 4th. To create a fundraising page, click the Fundraise button at go.umd.edu/gdquest.

We are so thankful to all of those who participated last year. Here is why some of them gave to QUEST: 

“As the parent of a QUEST student who just finished his capstone, I saw first-hand the tremendous accomplishments of the various projects. Each presentation was delivered with excellent preparation, thorough analysis, and tremendous enthusiasm. The corporate sponsors seemed so impressed and thankful for their efforts. Most memorable was seeing just how many friendships had built up between the students during their QUEST experience. QUEST is truly an amazing organization and the embodiment of UMD’s mission to create Fearless Leaders.” – Roger Sturtevant, Parent of Jack Sturtevant, computer engineering ‘20 

“On engineering problem sets, we developed our individual technical skills. In QUEST, we had a safe sandbox to work on life skills: communication, collaboration, servant leadership, and growth mindset. I’m grateful for the friendship, mentorship, and community that QUEST continues to give me. It is a privilege to give back and invest in the next generation of students in this program.” – Luxi Wang, electrical engineering ‘12 (Cohort 17) 

Thank you so much to everyone in advance for all your contributions, not just on Giving Day but every day! 

Happy almost Giving Day, here’s to many more amazing years of QUEST!