QUEST is excited to be returning to Brazil for our 2026 winter study abroad trip for the first time since 2011! Almost 15 years later, I took a journey back in time with QUEST alumnus Vikram Bhandari (UMD ’13, Cohort 18), who attended the 2011 trip.
When Bhandari, founder of the Campus Maps app, reflected on his time at the University of Maryland, he described it as a period of exploration. While initially hesitant at the idea of going abroad alone, Bhandari said that the spirit of carpe diem took over and led him to the QUEST trip to Brazil in 2011—a two-week trip that he now counts among the highlights of his time at college.
“We got this incredible access,” he said. “Factories, major companies, executives—things you’d never normally see as a student.” The students visited numerous companies—from accounting firms to manufacturing plants. Among those visits was a Johnson & Johnson plant, where students observed toothbrushes being produced from giant rolls of paper, and a battery factory where workers shoveled raw lithium on the floor by hand into machines. “It completely changed the way I thought about production,” Bhandari said. “In class, you imagine everything as perfectly automated. But seeing how much human intervention goes into everyday products—quality checks at every step, not just at the end—reshaped how I think about building things, even in my own company.”
Other stops included meetings with executives at Goldman Sachs, Accenture, Deloitte, and multinational companies. Bhandari remembers being amazed by how much customer needs drove strategy. “It wasn’t just about listening,” he said. “It was about going beyond — anticipating what people would want before they asked for it. That connected directly back to what we learned in QUEST about the voice of the customer.”
But the trip wasn’t just about business. In Rio, students explored historic churches, tried street food—which had some regrettable effects for Bhandari—and even visited the Maracanã soccer stadium while it was still under construction. Nights out in the city, including a memorable visit to the Sky Bar overlooking São Paulo’s skyline, deepened his cultural immersion. “It really felt like we were on top of the world,” Bhandari said.
The experience broadened his perspective on the world. “College is a sheltered environment, even with all its opportunities,” he reflected. “Brazil showed me another way of living, a different world. Talking to people on the street in broken Portuguese and them talking to me in English—it was beautiful. That kind of exposure is what makes your education complete.”
For today’s students considering the upcoming winter Brazil trip, his advice is simple: Go! “The trip changed how I see the world. It made a lasting impact on my life.”
QUEST Faculty Member David Ashley and Program Manager Emily Marks will lead this year’s trip. Marks shared, “QUEST has a ton of exciting plans for our program in Brazil this January. We will be going on some incredible site visits to learn about the manufacturing, agricultural, energy, and banking industries in the country. High-level executives and industry professionals will host us at places ranging from a renewable energy company to an airplane manufacturer to a coffee farm, giving us valuable insight into these diverse industries. We will also be doing plenty of fun cultural activities, including site seeing around São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, visiting the city’s gorgeous beaches, taking the cable car up to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugarloaf Mountain, and sampling delicious Brazilian food.”
Check out the full trip itinerary here, and be sure to apply by September 30th! Reach out to Emily Marks at ekmarks@umd.edu if you have any questions.