The QUESTServes team stands with one of the trees they planted on Morrill Quad on April 23rd
With spring in full swing on UMD’s campus, we’ve been fortunate to resume some socially-distanced outdoor events to reunite our QUEST community. Student organization QUESTServes was recently able to host its first in-person event of the year – just in time for Earth Day! On Friday, April 23rd, QUESTServes partnered with the UMD Arboretum to help beautify the campus. I had the opportunity to take a break from Zoom classes, get some fresh air, and help out the QUESTServes team!
It’s May in College Park yet again, which means it’s time for QUEST to say goodbye to a couple of cohorts of amazing seniors. Senior year has looked different than we had expected, but QUEST is proud of our seniors for crossing the finish line! I had the opportunity to speak with some of my fellow classmates about their plans after graduation and reminisce about our time in QUEST!
Priscilla (top) with the team of Cohort 33 students she mentored at QUEST Camp in August 2019
Priscilla Lee (Cohort 32) will be finishing her Masters in bioengineering at UMD in the fall and then starting at Accenture Federal Services this winter! What she will miss the most about QUEST is seeing QUEST members around campus! “Everyone’s so involved and it’s so nice seeing people around (or in Zoom rooms). I will miss being part of the undergraduate community but hope to stay a part of the alumni community in the future.”
Priscilla’s favorite QUEST memory: “Gathering in the QUEST lab before classes! There was usually free food laying around to snack on, and it was so nice talking to members of all cohorts, even if it was only for a few minutes!”Continue reading →
Cohort 34 member Joe Houghton (right) with his Maryland Impact Project Team from Snider Consulting Group.
There are over 800 clubs at the University of Maryland, and a new student consulting group filled with QUESTees is determined to help them! Snider Consulting Group (SCG) uses skills in process improvement, marketing, and research to support their clients: the student clubs of UMD. I had the opportunity to speak with a few QUEST students involved in this exciting new organization that helps support the campus community.
One of the best aspects of the QUEST community is the willingness of our 1,400+ alumni to give back and help current students as they explore different career paths. Instead of having students independently search for mentors by combing through the QUEST Directory, QUEST Corporate launched a new mentorship program this semester for students to learn one-on-one from QUEST alumni.
43 current students participated in this amazing new mentorship program. Based on students’ responses to a questionnaire – and with the help of Assistant Director Jess Roffe – relevant alumni mentors were hand-picked for each of the students. The program consisted of three meetings: an informal get-to-know-you, a resume review and mock interview, and a session on exit opportunities and how to move relationships forward. I reached out to a few QUESTees to learn more about how their interactions with their mentors went!Continue reading →
Lina Bauer (Cohort 26) and Zach Azrael (Cohort 27) discuss their experiences in the consulting industry during the QUEST Career Paths Night.
In another virtual semester, QUEST Corporate continues to thrive in providing engaging events for QUESTees to network with alumni. The most recent example of this was the QUEST Career Paths Night on Thursday, February 25th.
It’s hard to believe that almost a year has passed since our “extended spring break” turned into the beginning of our “new normal.” As a student (hopefully) graduating this semester, I wanted to reach out to the leading experts in leaving college in the midst of a global pandemic: QUESTees who graduated last May. I had the opportunity to catch up with a few of them on how they’ve adapted, and I gained some helpful advice along the way!
Ari (front row, right) and her roommates – many of whom are QUEST alumni – celebrate the holidays.
Cohort 32 pose during their 190H Poster Session back in spring 2019.
At the bi-annual QUEST Conference on Thursday, December 10th, Cohort 32 presented for the last time as QUEST students. It was an evening filled with amazing presentations as the students virtually shared the work that they did for their clients throughout their semester-long capstone projects.
We can all agree that the University of Maryland looks a bit different this semester, and it’s been a long time since most QUESTees have seen each other in-person. Despite no longer being able to see each other at events in the QUEST Lab or around campus, QUEST Social and QUEST Creative have been hard at work to keep the QUEST community engaged!
On Friday, September 11th, QUEST hosted its sixth annual QUEST Corporate Networking Event! Due to social distance restrictions, the event looked different this year, as it was completely virtual. However, the online nature of the event allowed more employers to attend than ever before – a QUEST record-setting 31 companies!
It is Cohort 32’s time to shine as they take on the QUEST Capstone Professional Practicum (BMGT/ENES 490H) this fall! Cohort 32 will have a chance to demonstrate all the skills they have developed over the last two years in disciplines such as data analysis and design thinking, as well as the virtual teamwork skills they have developed since March.
Cohort 32 at QUEST Camp in January 2019, how time flies!
This semester has a wide variety of clients, from nonprofit organizations to aerospace companies. There are ten projects this semester with nine corporate partners: Casey Cares Foundation, Children’s National Hospital, Leidos, Materne North America – GoGo squeeZ, Northrop Grumman, Oceaneering, Sealed Air, Thales, and Tronox.
Casey Cares Foundation provides ongoing and uplifting programming to critically ill children and their families in seven states throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Washington DC, and parts of the Midwest. Their project involves recommending how to ramp up Casey Cares’ virtual offerings and make these programs more efficient and cost-effective.
Children’s National Hospital is another nonprofit partnering with QUEST this semester. Their project focuses on reducing patient wait times and increasing the efficiency of processes involved in in-person visits at the primary care centers. Lydia Hu (Cohort 32) said, “We’re excited to get to speak to the different clinicians and operational staff at the primary care centers to hear firsthand about their experiences in patient care delivery. It’s also eye-opening to be working with a healthcare provider right now to see the adjustments they’re making as demand for telehealth increases and vulnerable populations are at even greater risk of poor health outcomes.”
The team working with Tronox plans to identify inefficiencies in the accounts payable process and make recommendations to improve this process. Cam O’Meara (Cohort 32) said, “I’m most excited about the opportunity to use the data analysis skills I have learned in QUEST to discover how Tronox can improve its cash collection cycle. The company hasn’t looked through the data in this way before, so there is great potential to make some cool discoveries that can really benefit the company.”
Cohort 32 students met their clients during the September 9th virtual kickoff meeting
The project with Sealed Air involves recycling the steam condensate from manufacturing, and they are also working with a QUEST alumnus, Joseph Dadzie (Cohort 23). The team will identify leakage points in Sealed Air’s condensate recycling process and develop a solution that will allow Sealed Air to reach a satisfactory condensate recycling rate. Mutaz Ahmed (Cohort 32) said, “The most exciting part of our project is the opportunity to learn in-depth about the processes taking place in a manufacturing plant and how, through data-driven insights, we can provide our client with important insights on their steam condensate recovery system.”
The project with GoGo squeeZ focuses on using historical data on price and performance to create carrier profiles and to determine how well that carrier is performing. The team is working with QUEST alumnus Max Cooper (Cohort 19).
The team working with Oceaneering (OTECH) is improving its risk management program by looking at one area where the risk management program worked well and one area where it did not work well. This team is working with QUEST alumnus Jeff Gamerman (Cohort 12).
Northrop Grumman, which has sponsored 21 projects since 2009, is working with two QUEST teams this fall. One of the projects focuses on creating guidelines to be used during various business decision opportunities, and the other focuses on assessing a supply base risk matrix.
The project with Thales Defense & Security, Inc. involves improving its design process and tools by incorporating analysis of defects and process improvements. They will be working with QUEST alumnus Steve Kutchi (Cohort 1).
Finally, the project with Leidos involves an improved process that would allow them to generate rough orders of magnitude easily for quicker turnaround.
Best of luck to Cohort 32 as they continue working on their recommendations! Final presentations at our virtual QUEST Conference will take place on Thursday, December 10th – be on the lookout for more details in the coming weeks!
