Every February marks a momentous occasion as QUEST prepares to welcome two new cohorts. For QUEST students, faculty, and staff, the beginning of the spring semester is extremely busy, with the application closing right as the semester starts. There are hundreds of applications to review and a number of interviews to conduct over the next few months. None of this would be possible without the help of our very own QUEST student organization, QUEST Recruiting, a team at the forefront of this endeavor. I had the chance to talk to QUEST Recruiting Co-Lead Marvi Shroff (Cohort 42) about the behind-the-scenes work the team did to ensure a successful application season this year.
QUEST Recruiting’s overall goal is to get freshmen students to apply to QUEST, but year-after-year priorities change. To start off this school year, the team met for a Fall Kickoff event where they discussed major goals and expectations for the upcoming application season–one of which was to increase the number of applicants from the A. James Clark School of Engineering and College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. They strategized when to table, targeting times when core introductory classes, such as ENES100 and CMSC131, ended. They also frequented popular campus buildings from Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center – better known as ESJ – to Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building to the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering in an effort to turn out more applicants. They held four information sessions as well.
They were extremely successful this year, bringing in a total of 417 applications! Now that the applications are in, QUEST Recruiting has turned their attention to the group interview activity.
Along with tabling and hosting information sessions, QUEST Recruiting also chooses and facilitates the group activity that prospective QUESTees complete during their interview. While the activity itself remains a mystery, Shroff explained that the organization is currently in the process of testing and implementing this activity to ensure it integrates seamlessly into the QUEST interview. When asked about her favorite aspect of QUEST Recruiting, Shroff revealed that “one of the perks of this role [as Co-Lead] is to see the spark in a freshman’s eyes when they hear about QUEST and know that they are interested in the program. It is especially rewarding when you see them at tabling, then again at the information sessions, and finally at the interview. It is truly a full circle moment.”
A huge shout-out to QUEST Recruiting for their dedication and hard work this application season. We are so excited to welcome 90 new talented and capable leaders to our program later this spring!