Rock, paper, scissors. Improv. Boxed lunches. Pilot Products. All of these events over a two-day period can only mean one thing: It’s QUEST Camp season! After two semesters of a completely virtual experience, Cohort 37 was able to enjoy a semi-normal orientation, welcoming them into the world of QUEST. This year, QUEST Camp was held right here on campus, where students got to enjoy some typical camp favorites, while also trying some new activities. I, too, attended camp this semester as a 190H TA and seeing team bonding firsthand made me reminiscent of my own QUEST Camp experience.
Cohort 37 at QUEST Camp
Day one of QUEST Camp started with a round of ice breakers and then an introduction to students’ teammates and mentors. This years’ mentors are an energetic bunch and the Cohort 37 students tapped into that same energy when coming up with their creative team names. Some team names from this semester are Ryan SeaQUEST (a reference to their mentor and Cohort 33 student Ryan Gerbes), Zesty QUESTy, Don’t QUEST With Us, and We the QUEST Music. Most of the afternoon was spent at Eppley Recreation Center, where Dr. Armstrong led her iconic Improv activities, including “Yes, And?”, “I am a Tree,” and Mirroring. After improv, the students transitioned to a group of team bonding exercises at the low ropes course outside of Eppley. Day 1 ended with the teams working on their Pilot Products, getting their first real glimpse into the brainstorming and design process.
After a night of rest and recovery, the Cohort 37 QUESTees came back to camp on Day 2 ready to move! Students learned lessons on team norms and dynamics, which has already been useful as they’ve begun to work on their first 190H project. They then presented their pilot products, ranging from apps that help with networking to a new kind of 3D printer. The winner of this year’s pilot product competition was “The Gaia Bag,” a trash bag that used biotechnology to break down the waste within it. The last event of QUEST Camp was the campus-wide scavenger hunt. Students had one hour to tear through campus, finding buildings such as the Rossborough Inn, the Xfinity Center, the point of failure, and the QUEST Lab.
It was an exhilarating two days, filled with many laughs, new memories, and hopefully the most wonderful start of the QUEST experience. We can’t wait to see you grow, Cohort 37!