Jeff Lue (Cohort 16) was preparing for a meeting with his boss a few months ago when suddenly it dawned upon him – he did this exact project in college. After pulling out his laptop and meticulously searching through old notes, he finds his QUEST presentation! During the meeting with his boss, the two laugh about how he ended up living one of his college dreams.

Lue’s career started with him working for a local firm. He loved the team that he was working on and the memories he made. However, Lue had an adventurous and entrepreneurial side of him that he wanted to explore so when he got the chance, he took it. Lue uprooted his entire life and moved out to Vermont with his significant other and has not looked back since.

So let’s get back to how his QUEST project became relevant to his career. Since college, one of the things that bothered him the most is when he would go to conferences or networking events as he always found them to be so awkward and stiff. He felt like when he walked out of the events, he never made any real connections and didn’t actually know anyone. That is why he became involved in See Change Sessions, a bi-annual conference that is focused on making real connections.

His QUEST project, over ten years ago, for the Designing Innovative Systems course (BMGT/ENES 390H) was strikingly similar. It was about making a system to help the recruitment process be less awkward and stiff. Sound familiar? The proposal his team came up with was to have recruiters go on trips with potential employees to see what they are really like. On a day to day basis in his new job, he is planning out trips to go skiing, wakeboard, camping and so much more.

Lue loves what he’s doing for See Change Sessions. However, in the afternoon, he works a second job at a start-up called Wasted that aims to improve the portable bathroom industry. They do this by making them more eco-friendly by creating fertilizer out of waste. He summarized this part of his life well, “If I can have people make a small change that has a big impact on the world then I have done something special.” Through this work, he is achieving his goal one person at a time. 

Lue also recently became a graduate student which has given him a new perspective on his time as an undergraduate. He wants current QUEST students to take advantage of everything that they have at their fingertips: getting involved in QUEST, joining clubs, and more. He said he learned this in his time joining the lumberjack team at his new university. Thanks for catching up with QUESTPress, Jeff! It was a pleasure to speak with you.