December is the peak of the holiday season and amongst the excitement, University of Maryland seniors are looking forward to the gift of winter graduation. This winter, QUEST is celebrating 12 talented and successful students who will be beginning their post-undergrad adventure. I spoke to 3 graduates who reflected on their experiences both in QUEST and as students at UMD.
Looking back on their years at the University of Maryland, our graduates shared their fond memories and challenging obstacles. Annabelle Baer of Cohort 32 will walk across the stage this week, receiving degrees in Computer Science and Finance. When asked about her most rewarding time in college, she responded that it was her last semester because she was able to “finally see [her]self being able to solve problems and think about concepts in both of [her] majors in new ways as a result of all the cumulative knowledge over the past four years.” Annabelle also recounted the joys of hosting potluck dinners with friends throughout her years and advises current students to avoid spreading themselves too thin with clubs as she did during her freshman year. When asked about which part of her college career was the most challenging, Annabelle explained that “it was honestly the first few Computer Science required courses. Even though they were intro-level courses, I had never taken Computer Science before and had to figure out an entirely new way to think about new problems. It is really cool looking back now on concepts that used to be so difficult to comprehend but are now second nature after working through the struggle!” Years later, this second nature will show as she begins her job working as a Software Engineer for Goldman Sachs in July. Congratulations, Annabelle!
Annabelle Baer (Cohort 32)
Dillyn Payne, another Cohort 32 senior, recounts a different struggle: forming a routine and managing her time in the college environment: “Coming from high school, I did not know how to best manage my time or when to stop studying, so it took a while to adjust to this new environment.” However, this quickly changed as Dillyn learned to juggle multiple responsibilities, including QUEST, becoming the president of Theta Tau, and joining the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society, among others. When asked about her favorite memory from QUEST, Dillyn explained that her favorite memory was QUEST formal: “It was so much fun to hang out with everyone in Cohorts 31 and 32 for an evening outside of completing assignments together!” Outside of QUEST, Dillyn’s favorite college memory is when she studied abroad. “I went to Australia in January 2020, right before COVID started. It was amazing to travel to the other side of the world with a group of strangers and be immersed in another country. I enjoyed being independent and challenging myself to get outside of my comfort zone, and I look forward to doing it again in the future sometime soon!” Dillyn will soon get to experience this independence outside of her comfort zone as she begins her role at Northrop Grumman as an Associate Electrical Hardware Engineer in Baltimore. We wish you the best, Dillyn!
Dillyn Payne (Cohort 32)
The last graduating senior I talked to was Cohort 33’s Varun Singhai. Varun is a Computer Science major who had applied to QUEST because of the “soft skills [he] knew [he’d] gain and wonderful people [he’d] meet.” Both of these held true as soon as he began BMGT 190H, where he recounted all of “the consistent late-night meetings [his] BMGT 190H team would go through and the collective struggle we all got to share!” Aside from class, Varun also explained that it was “valuable seeing the presentation and soft skills [he] learned from QUEST reflect well in [his] internships.” When asked if he could change anything in his college career, Varun recounted, “I wish I could join more organizations outside of school. I think I could have gotten more involved and made more friends as a result. I also advise all current QUEST students to make as many connections as they can and learn as much as they can from the projects; the skills you learn reflect well in the real world.” Varun will continue to have a chance to use these skills as he moves to New York City to work as a Software Engineer for Google. Congratulations, Varun!
Varun Singhai (Cohort 33)
We would also like to congratulate our additional graduating seniors this winter:
- Mutaz Ahmed (Cohort 32), B.S. Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science
- Vivekjyoti Banerjee (Cohort 34), B.S. Computer Science and Mathematics
- Aaron Kurtz (Cohort 33), B.S. Finance
- Alyssa Miller (Cohort 32), B.S. Criminology & Criminal Justice
- Srivats Narasimhan (Cohort 31), B.S. Computer Science and Finance
- Don Omeili (Cohort 31), B.S. Electrical Engineering
- Morelle Tchuindjo (Cohort 31), B.S. Mathematics
- Siddharaj Vaghela (Cohort 34), B.S. Computer Science
- Sapna Bagalkotkar (Cohort 33), B.S. Computer Science
The entire QUEST Community is so proud of our twelve graduating seniors and can’t wait to see all the big things you do post-graduation. Stay in touch, we’ll miss you! Congratulations! #theQUESTneverends