As the school year drew to a close, QUEST Social planned a variety of events to celebrate the hard work of all the QUEST students and  welcome the new students in Cohort 43 and Cohort 44 who were recently accepted to the program in March. 

A QUEST Social member, Anna Fulton, gave her own take on how these events panned out, ranging from everything from the spring formal to the senior send-off and end-of-the-year picnic. First off, Fulton discussed the formal, which was on Thursday, April 18th. 

“Formal was honestly a lot of fun! We changed up our menu this time because we know that food is a big incentive for people to come, and I think people really enjoyed it!” The attendance for the formal was also noteworthy; Cohorts 41 and 42 had the highest attendance, with the seniors following closely as this was their last opportunity to mingle with their fellow QUEST friends. However, Fulton noted some possible changes for the future formals.

 “Even though I would say it was a success, we definitely want to have an incentive for people to show up more on time; the event was only two hours, and some people arrived so late they couldn’t stay for very long!”

Shortly after formal, QUEST Social held its annual ice cream social to welcome in the new cohorts and give them a chance to meet current QUEST members. It was definitely a hot afternoon, so ice cream from the Maryland Dairy was a great way to keep QUEST students feeling cool and refreshed. Fulton was especially pleased with the outcome of this event. “We had such a big turnout, and it was so amazing to meet the new cohorts. I’m really excited for them to be a part of this community. They all seem incredibly passionate about the program and are super sweet.” She also mentioned the importance of having the current QUEST members mingle with the freshmen as this gave the new cohorts an opportunity to ask questions and feel more included.

QUEST students outside VMH at the ice cream social event

Last, but certainly not least, QUEST Social hosted the End Of Year Picnic on May 4th. Although it was originally planned to take place outdoors in the Washington Quad, it sadly rained again this year and was relocated inside Van Munching Hall.

 “I swear, it rains every single time on the End Of Year Picnic! It’s tradition at this point,” shared Program Coordinator, Emily Marks.

Program Coordinator Emily Marks with senior Sareet Nayak (Q38) receiving an Outstanding Service Award at the End of Year Picnic

Regardless, Fulton said they were able to work around the weather and decided to order pizza and snacks for the picnic instead of grilling outside. But more than that, Fulton felt lucky to be a part of the community and watch the seniors receive their awards as they move onto a new chapter of their lives. “It was honestly so interesting to watch the seniors get their awards. Just a week ago, we were welcoming the new freshmen and now we were saying goodbye to the seniors. It sort of feels like we got to witness a whole little QUEST lifecycle.” 

We will definitely miss all of our seniors. They were our mentors, our TAs, and students that QUEST will always look up to and remember. Although QUEST Social doesn’t have any more events planned due to summer being on the horizon, Fulton did mention the big/little program that will be in place for the new cohorts. 

“We’re planning to send out a form over the summer for the new cohorts to be matched with a big. This allows them a chance to feel more comfortable in the program and have a friendly face to remember before going to orientation.”

To wrap up, QUESTPress wishes everyone an amazing summer break! Whether you’re traveling, doing an internship, seeing friends or family, or just chilling at home, everyone has worked so incredibly hard this year and deserves a break.