As a tour guide here at the University of Maryland, I always highlight the QUEST program. One of the first things people always ask is my favorite part about the QUEST program. My response never changes- the people that you meet in QUEST are not only driven, but they are also great people that will change the world. A QUEST alumnus that embodies this perfectly is Blake Bonita.

Bonita (third from left) with his 490H team at their QUEST Conference

Bonita was a member of Cohort 21 and graduated in 2016 with a degree in Accounting and Finance. Following graduation, he has traveled all around the world and worked at the White House, Deloitte Consulting, Marine Corps, and LinkedIn. Additionally, this fall, he will be pursuing an MBA at the Wharton School of Business. While he has been very successful in all his endeavors, the best part about him is his humility. It was clear from our interview that he has always stayed grounded and true to himself throughout all these experiences.

I was able to speak with Bonita about his experiences at Deloitte and the Marine Corps. Originally, he joined Deloitte because consulting offered diversity, working with a breadth of clients across industries. Each project Bonita worked on offered the ability to meet new people, travel the world, and tackle various issues. His experiences at Deloitte allowed him to develop a great skill set for identifying problems and developing solutions. Bonita mentioned that in this role, he used many of the skills learned in QUEST. Specifically, he said, “The ability to understand a problem, ask the right questions, think systematically, use data, propose solutions, etc. will always be useful, at work and in your everyday life. Long live QUEST.”

After leaving Deloitte, Bonita entered the Marines as an Infantry Officer and Rifle Platoon Commander out of a sense of service while also seeking a challenge. A surprising amount of what he learned in the classroom and in a professional setting applied while taking care of his Marines such as dealing with uncertainty. One lesson that he took away from the experience was summed up by the quote, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” He told me to always plan for everything, but if or when nothing goes to plan, the planning you did will prepare you best for whatever you encounter.

Bonita during his time in the Marines

At the end of our interview, he advised current QUEST students, “Take every experience as just that: an experience. There are good experiences and bad experiences, but every experience teaches you something. Certainly, cherish the good and move on from the bad, but don’t forget to reflect, understand, and learn from every experience. Having a positive and resolute attitude goes a long way towards happiness and success.”