QUEST Students, Alumni, Staff, and Faculty at the Homecoming Tailgate

Despite the cloudy weather and rain, the annual QUEST Homecoming Tailgate was a hit. On October 14th, QUEST students, alumni, staff, and faculty came together in Lot 11B for a day of fun. 

I had the pleasure of speaking with members of the QUEST Social leadership team as well as QUEST faculty to get the inside scoop about the tailgate and the planning that went into it. 

Abby Bond of Cohort 37, the QUEST Social Lead, said that planning starts at the beginning of the semester. A big part of the tailgate is the selection of activities that go into the event. “The biggest thing about the tailgate is how to make it a fun tailgate that people want to stay at.” 

Normally the QUEST tradition at the tailgate is a QUEST-branded cornhole. However, QUEST Social’s Anna Fulton (Cohort 42) came up with a brand new idea this year: caramel apples. Each person could melt their own caramel and stir it too. “We had a bunch of toppings ranging from nuts to Halloween-themed sprinkles so people could customize it,” Fulton said. “It was like a snack-tivity.” In fact, Professor Ashley’s favorite activity at the tailgate was making the famous caramel apples.

Professor Ashley holding his prized caramel apple.

While QUEST trains intelligent and professional students to put their best foot forward in the real world, QUEST also builds lasting friendships and forever bonds. Not only do current students attend the event, but alumni as well. When asked about her favorite part of the tailgate, Abby Bond said, “Absolutely seeing the alumni. Especially the recent ones – it feels like just yesterday that we were all still together in the QUEST lab.” 

Thanks QUEST Social for planning a great event! We hope to see everyone at the next Homecoming Tailgate!