From pie-making to fall hikes to costume parties to football, fall is a season filled with good food, spooky fun, and long-lasting memories. These four QUESTees had a lot to share about their upcoming fall season plans.
Diwali candle-lighting ceremony
This year, Diwali, the Indian festival of light, lands on Halloween. Priya Nayak from Cohort 43 will be heading back to her hometown to celebrate with her family and neighbors. During Diwali, Nayak and her family dress up in traditional Indian clothing, light candles, and set off fireworks together. Food-wise, they usually blend both American and Indian cultures. “We do classic pastas and pies as well as Indian dishes like mutter paneer, chana, puri, and aamil,” Nayak detailed. Though Diwali is nothing in comparison to Nayak’s favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. Nayak and her family all gather together to eat a variety of delicious meals. For dessert, Nayak and her cousin make their signature apple pie. Yum! Thanks Priya for sharing!
Nayak celebrating Diwali
Gil Vadel from Cohort 44 also has some exciting plans this fall. Typically, during fall, a season with multiple Jewish holidays, Vadel will go apple picking with his family on Rosh Hashanah as one of their family traditions. This year though, Vadel plans on spending time with his friends from UMD’s Running Club. As one of their off-campus activities, the Running Club enjoys hiking together. Vadel expressed his excitement about their plans to “climb Old Rag Mountain… because the leaves [will] be changing colors and will look really nice.” Along with being an active Terp, Vadel also plans on dedicating time this fall to looking for internships in preparation for the summer, having attended both the recent QUEST Corporate-hosted Networking Event as well as the college-wide career fair. Vadel is truly balancing both the academic and active lifestyle. Good luck with the rest of your semester, Gil!
Vadel (second from the right) with fellow members of Running Club
Even though Maryland’s Homecoming has just passed, many of our QUESTees had lots of fun celebrating. One QUESTee, Carter Gibson of Cohort 42, had the chance to tailgate with his fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, during Homecoming weekend. Besides tailgating, Gibson also plans to host a costume party with his friends this Halloween. When asked about any family traditions, Gibson talked about his mom’s famous pumpkin cake cookies, sharing that “[m]y whole family and roommates always look forward to them.” We were regrettably unable to obtain a sample, but those sound delicious and perfect for fall!
Gibson (centermost) with members from his fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon
Along with color changing leaves and chilly weather, fall would not be fall without its sports. Mohammed Abdulmujeeb from Cohort 44 is a member of both the intramural volleyball and flag football leagues and plans on spending his fall season on the field. He is especially looking forward to playing flag football as he enjoys spending time doing activities outside of school. “Being able to engage in friendly competition really allows me to relieve some stress after a tough week of classes,” Abdulmujeeb revealed. In addition to sports, Abdulmujeeb also plans on furthering his cooking skills by making dishes for friends and family, such as roasted chicken and apple pie. Sounds like a true fall experience!
Abdulmujeeb (down center) with his intramural flag football team
Wow, it seems like our QUESTees have a lot to look forward to this season! We hope that you all have a fun and exciting Halloween and fall this year!