Cohort 33 gathers over Zoom for class this semester.
Just before 6PM EDT on Thursday, May 6, the well-dressed and well-prepared students of Cohort 33 were taking their last stabilizing deep breaths and sending final encouraging texts to their teammates before taking the virtual stage. The spring 2021 QUEST Conference was an exciting evening filled with impressive presentations from students sharing their capstone projects.
QUEST clients this semester included Chessie Marine, D&H Distributing, Facebook Reality Labs, Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, Northrop Grumman, Oceaneering, Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE), Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation, Tronox, and ZEND Health.
Following last semester’s successful use of the online event platform Hopin that best simulates the format of traditional QUEST conferences, over 150 guests were hosted online at this semester’s conference.
The night kicked off with opening remarks from Dr. Bailey and the Smith School Dean Prabhudev Konana in which Dean Konana praised QUEST’s approach as “ahead of its time” in providing students with the unique skills that come from large-scale experiential learning experiences collaborating with those outside of their discipline. After Dean Konana’s inspiring words, QUESTees introduced their projects to the audience at the poster session in the expo.
Then each team showcased their projects further during the presentation sessions. Following these, Team Laugh Now, QUEST Later took the stage to present their Most Outstanding Capstone-winning project for D&I Distributing: “Putting People First: Using a People-First Approach to Improve the Buyer Decision Making Process.” Srijay, Mansi, Jeannie, and Allie did an excellent job outlining their problem, findings, recommendations, and impact in a digestible yet comprehensive way as well as providing a visual walkthrough of their dashboard prototype!
Team Laugh Now, QUEST Later presenting their capstone project.
The Best Poster award also went to Team Laugh Now, QUEST Later! Congratulations on the sweep, Srijay, Mansi, Jeannie, and Allie!
The award-winning poster on the capstone project for D&H Distributing.
Following the conference, Srijay shared, “I’m most proud of how we were able to center the voice of the buyer. It was really important to me that we were always going back to the people we were helping to ensure we were on the right track, and being able to talk to and work with at least 75% of all buyers meant that their experiences and insight were reflected in the dashboard; the extra buy-in and investment from the buyers in the dashboard’s success were also very much appreciated.”
The night closed off with a heartwarming speech from Cohort 33 student Tania Arya who reflected on her experience in QUEST the past two years. She spoke not only of the skills and perspective she’s gained through her QUEST classes but also of the influence the program has had on her personal development and relationships. Thank you for your words, Tania!
Tania Arya speaking to her QUEST peers and faculty.
When asked about his experience at the conference this semester, Ishaan Kapur of Cohort 36 says, “It was so great to see how much we are going to grow over the course of the next three semesters! I am so excited to continue my growth and participate in 490!” Thanks for being wonderful examples for younger QUESTees, Cohort 33!
Congratulations, Cohort 33! The QUEST community enjoyed learning about your capstone projects and are proud of you for providing quality work for your client despite the past year’s circumstances. Thank you to this semester’s clients and the Q33 Conference Planning Committee who made this event possible!
You can view more information on Cohort 33’s capstone projects at http://quest.umd.edu/capstone/.