At the bi-annual QUEST Conference on Thursday, December 10th, Cohort 32 presented for the last time as QUEST students. It was an evening filled with amazing presentations as the students virtually shared the work that they did for their clients throughout their semester-long capstone projects.
QUEST clients this semester included Casey Cares Foundation, Children’s National Hospital, Leidos, Materne North America – GoGo squeeZ, Northrop Grumman, Oceaneering, Sealed Air, Thales, and Tronox.
QUEST used online event platform Hopin to engage over 200 guests during this remote event. By utilizing this platform, this semester’s QUEST Conference was able to follow a similar format compared to past conferences. After opening remarks from University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines, attendees were able to filter in and out of “expo booth” style webpages where teams presented their posters.
Cohort 32 had the opportunity to showcase their projects live during their presentations using breakout sessions. Following these presentations, the Steam Punks took to the main stage as winners of the Most Outstanding Capstone award, which was voted on by alumni and QUEST faculty and staff in the days leading up to the QUEST Conference. Their project for the Sealed Air Corporation was titled “Flushed Away: Improving Sustainability Through Condensate Return.” The team did an outstanding job presenting their recommendations to improve Sealed Air’s condensate return.
The Best Poster award went to Team Dr. Q32, who consulted for Children’s National Hospital. They created a thoughtful design to display their project, “Wait For It… Improving Patient Wait and Processing Times.” Be on the lookout for all of Cohort 32’s posters around the QUEST lab once we can be in-person again!
To wrap up the evening, Daisy Gelinas (Cohort 32) gave a concluding speech thanking everyone who has supported her cohort throughout their journey with QUEST. She articulated what QUEST means to different people who make up the QUEST community. “For me, it’s the place that taught me to see power and opportunity in working with others who think differently than I do,” said Daisy. She continued, “For all of us, it’s the place that never lets us settle; it teaches us to always find a way and pushes us toward lifelong learning and continuous improvement.”
Next semester will be Cohort 33’s time to shine! Kurnal Saini (Cohort 33) said, “From watching our mentors present at the conference a year ago to our friends in Cohort 32 displaying their incredible work in the midst of a pandemic, Cohort 33 is excited to show off the knowledge we have gained from our clients, peers, and professors in 490H next semester!”
Excellent job, Cohort 32! The QUEST community is proud of all of your hard work during this unusual semester, and we look forward to hearing about how your clients apply your recommendations. Thank you to this semester’s clients and the Q32 Conference Planning Committee who made this special event happen!