Author Archives: Heather Bacon

Farewell from the Editors-in-Chief

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Dear QUEST Community and QUESTPress readers, 

As we send out our last issue of the school year, we wanted to write a special farewell and thank you for serving as your QUESTPress co-leads. First, we wanted to thank our dedicated readers. While we enjoy sharing stories about the QUEST community, they don’t deliver impact without the curiosity and support from all of our readers. It warms our hearts when our stories spark conversation in our community. We also appreciate all of the QUESTees that have been featured or interviewed for an issue – your passions inspire us all! 

Tanu Kulkarni (left) and Heather Bacon (right)

Second, we wanted to thank our wonderful QUESTPress staff. This year, we took on an entirely new staff, and they were all so dedicated and willing to learn the second they joined our team. We’ve been proud to watch their writing skills grow as they develop their unique voices. They truly exemplify the qualities of compassion, creativity, and intellectual curiosity that we strive for in the QUEST community. Aside from the articles they write, our staff members have worked to establish a bond over the past year, making our meetings a breath of fresh air. We can’t wait to see how our staff continues to grow, especially under the leadership of our next co-leads, Sona Chudamani (Cohort 37) and Andrew Sien (Cohort 36)! Best of luck! 

We also want to thank our QUEST staff advisor, Jessica Roffe, for all of the support she’s given us this past year. Jess continuously serves as an ear for news within the QUEST community, looking to uplift the accomplishments of both students and alumni. In addition, Jess always makes sure we are putting out the most polished version of our issues by providing edits and suggestions, which is not always an easy task. We also want to thank QUEST’s Program Coordinator Rachel DiDonna for bringing together all of the student organizations’ leaders to ensure collaboration and share best practices. Lastly, we wanted to give a shoutout to the other student organization leaders – you’ve all been a pleasure to work with and we’ll miss you all! 

As our term comes to an end, we wanted to share some of our favorite QUESTPress memories and the impact they’ve had on us. 

Heather Bacon, Cohort 34: 

I joined QUESTPress in the fall of my junior year when Tanu convinced me by telling me how much fun it is. While I was hesitant to join as an upperclassman, the rest of the staff made me feel like I fit right in 🙂 One of my favorite QUESTPress memories was writing my first article about Cohort 12 alumna Amanda Nachman’s new book “Qualified” where she helps young adults realize their full potential and achieve their career goals. You can read the article here! As someone who felt lost about my career path at the time, I felt inspired by her journey and how she’s used that wisdom to help others. Over the years, I’ve found that interviewing alumni has been one of my favorite parts of QUESTPress – there is always so much you can learn through their experiences. In addition to the connections I’ve formed with alumni, bonding with the other student leaders has also been a highlight as a co-lead. I would always look forward to seeing all the student leaders at our monthly meeting. My favorite meeting was when we did a Trader Joe’s potluck!

Tanu Kulkarni, Cohort 34: 

I joined QUESTPress in the fall of my sophomore year before I had even taken the introductory QUEST course (BMGT/ENES190H) after meeting co-leads Celine Moarkech (Cohort 29) and Kara Eppel (Cohort 29) at the QUEST Student Involvement Fair. Though I had no prior writing experience, Celine and Kara had me writing articles off the bat, allowing me to quickly find the fun in writing. QUESTPress was my first taste of the QUEST Community, and I am so grateful for the relationships I’ve formed through it. I’ve interviewed many students, alumni, and faculty throughout my time, and many of these interviewees have become friendly faces who I still keep in touch with. I couldn’t imagine my time at UMD without this fun, creative outlet and the team I worked alongside. Thank you for everything, QUESTPress! 

Though this is our last issue, our chapter with QUESTPress is far from closed. We will always look fondly on the skills we gained and the relationships we formed. QUESTPress has never been a responsibility, but rather an outlet to express creativity and expand beyond our comfort zone. We hope that you all continue to remain curious and engaged within the QUEST community. We’ll miss you all. 

Lots of love, 

Tanu and Heather 

Tanu Kulkarni (left) and Heather Bacon (right)

Celebrating QUEST’s Evolvement Over the Past 30 Years

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Having just admitted Cohorts 39 and 40, it’s fitting to reflect on how QUEST has evolved over the years. I was able to talk to four different alumni, ranging from Cohort 2 to Cohort 29 about their experiences in the QUEST program. It was evident that while specific programming and courses may have changed, the same impact remains. 

Vikas Majahan from Cohort 2 was a student in QUEST during the period it was under the IBM grant and was called IBM-TQ. For those unaware, the QUEST program was formed in 1992, with a 1-million dollar grant from IBM as a part of their Total Quality Management (TQM) initiative. Majahan entered the program as an engineering major, and QUEST helped him realize that while his skillset was analytical, he could also use those skills in accounting/business. Following his graduation, he began working as the Assistant Director of IT for the Smith School of Business. After leaving this role, he gained experience in tech and cybersecurity-focused roles at companies such as Microstrategy, PwC, AARP, and a cybersecurity consulting company called Likeminds Consulting. Majahan began working for the American Red Cross in 2015 and is currently the Chief Information Security Officer.

Vikas Majahan (Cohort 2)

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Celebrating 30 Quality Years of QUEST

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Since its beginning in 1992, the QUEST Honors Program has taken in 38 cohorts of students, providing tangible professional skills, friendships, and memories to last a lifetime. QUEST students have worked with 117 unique project sponsors on 276 different projects, using problem-solving skills to develop real-world solutions to complex challenges. This year, QUEST is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and there will be multiple ways to get involved in the celebration! 

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QUEST Alumni Undergo Impressive Career Transitions

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During your college and early professional years, it’s common to feel that the career decisions made now are indefinite and will affect you in the years to come. While it’s important to prepare yourself to secure post-graduation plans that align with your goals, QUEST alumni themselves show that where you begin your career journey is not the end all be all. I was able to speak with 3 successful alumnae who have undergone career changes recently in order to learn from their journeys. 

Mary Smith (Cohort 29)

The first alumna I had the pleasure of speaking with was Mary Smith, a member of Cohort 29 who graduated in Spring 2020 with a Mechanical Engineering degree. While in college, Smith got experience working in industry by interning at Oceaneering for two summers and a winter term. During her first summer with Oceaneering, her role was within Quality Engineering, but she completed her second internship within Mechanical Engineering. When considering post-graduation plans, Smith said that she knew that she “already had an established role at Oceaneering that she could jump back into” and that it would be an awesome first job. Thus, she accepted a full-time position and started as a Mechanical Engineer in July 2020. Unexpectedly, about a year after starting at Oceaneering, Smith’s engineering teacher from her high school approached her about an open teaching position. Smith explained that it was a very tough decision to take the teaching position because she “knew it was a dream job but didn’t want to toss aside a career in industry so early.” One of the deciding factors that went into her decision was that she knew that the school, Archbishop Spalding High School, was a great place to teach and she wasn’t sure if this opportunity would arise again. 

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QUESTees Favorite Fall Tunes

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In the midst of a semester, a good music rotation is key. You need your songs for walking to class, studying, hanging out with friends, or for relaxing after a long day. We polled QUEST students on which songs have been essential this fall and compiled them in a playlist linked HERE for everyone to enjoy! This playlist is collaborative so please add your favorite songs! Read below to hear more about why QUEST students have been enjoying their selected songs.

QUEST Fall Collaborative Playlist

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Seattle to San Antonio: QUEST Students Recap their Summers

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With QUEST being filled with such ambitious students, it’s no surprise to hear about the impressive and exciting summers its students have! Not only do students gain a variety of internship, research, or work experience, they also make sure to have fun. 

Michelle Lui (Cohort 34) interned at Discovery, Inc. as a data science intern working on the Food Network Kitchen app. This was her first experience working in the tech industry, whereas her internship last summer was in consulting. She said, “My favorite part was being able to work with consumer data and conduct behavioral analysis on app interactions. It was also so interesting seeing all the data that is collected and processed behind the scenes in order to make continuous improvements to the product.” Outside of her internship, she went on multiple short trips to new cities including Boston, Portland, New York City, and Ithaca to see friends from both high school and college. During her time in Seattle, she visited the Discovery, Inc. office in person, hung out with fellow interns that lived in the area, and even went to the QUEST meetup where she met someone from Cohort 1! In between, she caught up on some summer reading and says, “If you’re looking for recommendations, my favorites were Pachinko and The Namesake.”

Michelle strolling the streets of NYC this summer

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QUEST Social Fosters Community with Masquerade Picnic

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QUEST students with Dr. Bailey at the QUESTSocial Masquerade Picnic on April 24th

In addition to the professional and academic opportunities, one of the great things about QUEST is the community aspect. The Masquerade Picnic, hosted by QUESTSocial, gave many students the opportunity to reconnect with people they hadn’t seen in over a year!

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QUESTech Hosts Inaugural Datathon

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The 2021 QUESTech Datathon, the first-ever data competition hosted by the QUESTech student organization, challenged students to gain more technical experience, regardless of skill level. The Datathon was held from February 14th to 20th and was sponsored by Fifth Tribe, a digital agency in DC. 

When I asked QUESTech co-leads Tania Arya (Cohort 33) and Amod Mathur (Cohort 33) what inspired them to plan the Datathon, they explained how they were originally planning to host a Hackathon during the spring semester last year. However, due to COVID, it was postponed to a later date. Fortunately, the event came together once Khuram Zaman, CEO of Fifth Tribe, reached out to QUEST with a dataset that he thought could be implemented into a Datathon challenge.   Continue reading →

Cohort 36 Takes On QUEST Camp

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Cohort 36 takes their group photo at virtual QUEST Camp.

All QUEST students can remember the mixed emotions of experiencing orientation: the anticipation of meeting your team and the excitement of finally experiencing what the program is like. This semester, although Cohort 36 completed orientation virtually, all of those familiar emotions remained. As a mentor for Cohort 36 myself, I can say that the week was a success on all ends. 

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