Author Archives: Jessica Roffe

Catching Up with the Cohorts at Home

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I don’t know about you, but for the first time in a while, it almost feels like I have a little extra time on my hands since I’ve been away from the daily hustle of campus life. Whether it’s catching up on classes, spending time with family, or diving into those personal passion projects (doctors are reporting alliteration is a symptom of productivity), everyone has been finding new ways to use their spare time. Luckily for me, I had the chance to see what three current QUEST students have been up to over the last of couple weeks since we left campus! 

Adam Sarsony | Cohort 29 | Rockville, MD

All is well in the Sarsony house, where early in the mornings, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse–at least on the weekends. Adam is home in Rockville with his sister, who studies education in North Carolina, and his parents. It’s not unusual to walk into a simulated class, where his sister may or may not be recording a class session analyzing Laura Numeroff’s American classic, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, in English or Spanish. 

Adam Sarsony (Cohort 29)

As for his classes, his machine learning and business courses are tying in well to his projects, particularly his research with Dr. Purtilo of the Quality Guild, investigating how digital tools can be better used to make in-person all meetings more effective. Here, he partakes in week-long design sprints leading up to Friday presentations on his project, related to the live presentation feedback tool some QUEST students may have used in their 190H courses.  This tool allows users–presenters–to receive active feedback on their technical presentations so they can better understand audience understanding and attention. What better way than to ask them, right?

Work without play does not make a fun day, and Adam’s research hasn’t been his only personal interest. He’s actually rebuilt his personal website into a bit of a game using React. Check out Adam’s website here and some resources he shared to get started with your own site: 

  • humans.fyi: A collection of personal websites people have shared for inspiration
  • AWS Amplify : An easy platform to host your first site on, with a start-up guide using React here

Sam Pearlstein | Cohort 31 | Danville, CA

Even though some QUEST students might be ready to call it a night near College Park, the sun’s still shining bright in the Golden State, and Sam Pearlstein is still making the most of every day! Her days start with meetings staying on top of everything QUEST and end with plenty of time with her family now that she’s home. 

Sam Pearlstein (Cohort 31)

Sam was sure to voice how much she misses everyone in the QUEST Program, but luckily, she has still been able to stay involved while away from campus. She and her team are hard at work on their 490H project with their client Intralox, where they’re working with the conveyor belt manufacturer to analyze the use of Smartsheet, a data collection software. 490H is just one color on Sam’s palette of QUEST opportunities, as well–she’s also very involved with QUEST Recruiting and is serving as a mentor! As part of mentors class, she is co-leading a new effort to consolidate all of the current QUEST resources into one, easy-to-use platform: the QUEST Intranet! Be sure to check out the Facebook group to share your thoughts in a recent survey regarding the project’s development as well.

Out of the classroom, Sam’s been enjoying the time with her family and getting back to training for a half marathon, taking advantage of the sunny days to enjoy the fresh air on her runs. When she gets home to refuel, her and mom break open the recipe books and get cooking with Bon Appetit, where she’s discovered the perfect tostada recipe, which she highly recommends you try yourself.

Ayo Awobajo | Cohort 33 | Bowie, MD

They say work doesn’t feel like work when you’re doing what you love and back in Bowie, Maryland, Ayo Awobajo is doing exactly what he loves regardless of the circumstances, noting: “Although these are unprecedented times, there’s strength to be found. Reach out to someone, learn a new skill, do good work as we push through this as a community.”

Ayo Awobajo (Cohort 33)

He truly turns his words to work, digging deep into professional development and creativity at every chance he gets. Before he jumps into a business analyst internship with Tradeweb, a New York-based e-trade support platform, he’ll be spending the rest of his spring semester learning from mentors in externships with both J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Through these opportunities, he’s had the chance to see the day-to-day operations behind each company with a valuable emphasis on professionalism, and he’s sure to be Wall-Street ready in no time at all!

When he isn’t learning about the business world, he sets his sights to diving into it–Ayo actually started his own brand, Faith Love Optimism–the FLO, for short–this past November, a project nearly a year in the making. The uplifting lifestyle brand brings faith and joy to contemporary design, and now, he’s letting his creativity flo(w) as he prepares to launch a fresh series of designs in his Season 2 releases! Check out the start to his awesome clothing line on Instagram, and be sure to drop a follow for updates on their newest installments to the collection!


Priming Your Pitch: Tips From Hydraze CEO and QUEST Student Charles Grody

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Charles Grody (Cohort 29) has been to countless pitch competitions. He has pitched Hydraze to CEOs and executives of companies including Under Armour and Hungry Harvest and traveled all the way to Toronto for a competition over winter break. He’s perfected his pitch and everything that precedes it. Because we have tons of entrepreneurial minds here in QUEST, I figured that it would be cool to capture his formula for many successes during his time growing Hydraze. I asked Charles some questions and his responses follow:

Charles, right, with his winnings at the Do Good Challenge

How do you find a “good” pitch competition?

Charles suggested that being active and engaged in entrepreneurship programs is key. He said, “I recommend finding the resources on campus that support entrepreneurs. I found out about the Do Good Challenge and Pitch Dingman through the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EIP). Then, competing in the Do Good challenge opened up my eyes to other resources.”

How do you prepare the content for a pitch?

Charles broke this down into four main steps.

Step 1: “If I’m doing a presentation from scratch, I like to storyboard ahead of time and figure out what the flow is. Start with a hook to draw people in and the way to do that really depends on what your product is. It is good to evoke emotion. That may mean pulling on people’s heartstrings or being funny. I choose the latter as I am talking about toilets. Use the storyboard outline to make sure you hit all the key points of the pitch.”

Step 2: “Once you have an idea of what you want to communicate on each slide, build out the slide deck with appropriate content.”

Step 3: “Create a script. The bottom line is to get your message across. For me, that means a script word-for-word. But for others, that may mean having three key points that need to be mentioned.”

Step 4: “Practice! And that may not be necessary for everyone. You don’t want to lose the right tone or passion in the pitch but definitely prepare in the way that makes you the most comfortable.”

What does the team do together to get ready? 

“As a team, the main thing is a good balance between individual and team practice, both of which are equally important. There’s a team chemistry component that can only be figured out when practicing as a group. You don’t have to be super nice when giving feedback as honesty will lead to progress.”

How do you get in the right mindset on the day of a pitch?

“I have to trust myself. You have to go up there knowing that you’ve practiced and that you’re well prepared.”

Charles at the Pitch Dingman award ceremony

Any final notes or advice?

“There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter pitch. Every pitch should have something special to it and should be able to stand out in its own right and impress people. Pitch what works best with your company, your passion, your feelings, and you’ll be an all-star.”

We cannot wait to see where Hydraze goes and where the next pitch will be. If you have any questions, Charles is happy to chat. He can be reached at cdgrody@gmail.com.

Celine Moarkech (Cohort 29) is a senior studying Data Analytics in Biotechnology.

QUEST Students Lead Team to Alumni Cup Victory

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Congratulations to QUEST students Shannon Donaldson (Q29) and Hadas Elazar-Mittelman (Q30) on their team’s Alumni Cup victory! They led a team of eight Materials Science and Engineering majors in the design and assembly of a Rube Goldberg machine. 

Hadas (front left) and Shannon (front right) with their teammates

The Alumni Cup is an annual engineering design competition hosted by the A. James Clark School of Engineering and its Alumni Association. Students from each Engineering department create a machine that will exercise a fundamental task. In this year’s competition, students were required to build a Rube Goldberg machine with 20 steps leading up to a small basketball being dunked into a hoop. 

Teams had one week to design their machines, which also needed to showcase the disciplines of their respective engineering department. The machines were presented and judged at the competition on Friday, February 21 to conclude Engineers Week. 

Hadas (left) and Shannon (right) explaining their design

Shannon and Hadas led six other Materials Science and Engineering students in the week-long design, with about 20 people helping build the machine. Overall, Hadas and Shannon estimate the team spent at least 54 hours working on the machine! “While we were all in the same engineering major, everyone brought something unique to the table, and it was a humbling experience piecing everyone together into a functional team,” Hadas said.

Hadas thinks that her and Shannon’s experiences with QUEST helped them lead their team successfully. “QUEST teaches you valuable leadership and people skills both within the context of teams and personally,” Hadas said. “QUEST emphasizes that a team is only as strong as the sum of its parts, and to function as a good Alumni Cup team everyone needs to participate. It’s clear early on that every person is a valuable asset, and this concept is rampant in all QUEST curriculum.”

The names of the winning team members will be written on the Alumni Cup Trophy, kept in Glenn L. Martin Hall. Congratulations to Shannon and Hadas for their leadership and hard work!

Hadas, Shannon, and their teammates with the Alumni Cup!

Christina Giovanazi (Cohort 31) is a junior studying Finance and Operations Management & Business Analytics.

Opinion: To the Class of 2020

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A week ago, my sister sent me a short article that said “Dear Class of 2020, you entered the world during 9/11. You graduate during a pandemic.” My class will not be remembered as the Class of 2020, but as the Class of COVID-19. We will go down in history books as the only class that did not conventionally graduate. In two months, we were supposed to graduate side by side; instead, we will be isolating in our homes. In two months, we were supposed to hug and congratulate each other; instead, we are afraid to even be around one another.

But, the rest of the article read “No doubt these events will shape you. You see beyond borders. You savor the good. You relish healthy lifestyle habits. The celebrations may need to wait. And you are okay with that. We are proud of you.” This message did not really resonate with me, until the night when President Loh officially canceled the rest of the semester’s in-person classes and our Spring 2020 Commencement. While this did not come as a shock to me, it was, and still is, disappointing. However, health comes first. No one could have predicted a virus would shut down the entire world – causing panic and chaos across countries.

So, QUEST Class of 2020, I implore all of us to recognize our fortune – that we had the privilege to be both UMD and QUEST students. We have spent the past three and a half years growing up at UMD, surrounded by the amazing QUEST community. We will miss the classes and friendships that come along with QUEST and the QUEST lab, but the relationships and knowledge we built will supersede our four years of college. Our graduation has to wait because health should and will always come first. But during this time, we need to focus on what we gained from our time in QUEST and recognize that our graduation, or our graduation celebrations, are not what shape our time or ending to college. The relationships we have created, the experiences we have shared, and the opportunities we have built for ourselves should be what we remember and value from our time at UMD. While we cannot hold a communal commencement, each of us should recognize and celebrate our time as QUEST and University of Maryland students.

Best of luck to the Class of 2020, and Go Terps!

Kara Eppel (Cohort 29) is a senior studying Accounting and Information Systems.

Cohort 29 at the Spring 2019 QUEST Conference
Cohort 30 at the Fall 2019 QUEST Conference

QUEST in the City: D.C.

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QUEST students and alumni Sahil Rahman (Cohort 17) and Sameera Polavarapu (Cohort 27) at RASA in D.C.

On Friday, March 6th, QUEST students took a trip into Washington, D.C. to visit and learn from employees (mostly QUEST alumni!) at three innovative corporate sites. An eventful day, QUEST students came home with a wider network, new skills, and fun-filled memories. Thank you QUEST Corporate and representatives from the three sites for a trip to remember! 

The first company QUEST students arrived at was Fjord, the design and innovation consultancy of Accenture. The visit consisted of a welcome activity with QUEST alumnus Russell Lyons (Cohort 16) and a presentation about Fjord’s innovative design process, followed by a question and answer session with several employees. QUEST students then received a tour of the Fjord facility, which as Shefali Gupta from Cohort 33 describes, “was unlike any other office building I’ve ever seen!” Their office had an extremely open layout, allowing employees to work together in teams. Additionally, you could get a sense of their “work hard, play hard” culture, as they had a variety of games (including nerf guns!) out for employee downtime. 

QUEST students and alumnus Russell Lyons (Cohort 16) at the Fjord office in D.C.

The second stop of the day was at IBM, located adjacent to the White House. Students learned about design thinking and participated in an activity familiar to many QUEST students – The “Five Why’s?” The topic in question was also a scenario familiar to QUEST students: “Why do college students fall asleep in class?” Then, QUEST students formed small groups and got to network with various IBM employees, including those in software development, business analytics, and project management. 

QUEST students and alumni Elijah Biggs (Cohort 22) and Alexandra Malek (Cohort 25) at the IBM office in D.C.

The final (and most delicious!) stop of the day was at Rasa, a fast-casual Indian restaurant in Navy Yard. QUEST students got to meet and chat with co-founder and owner Sahil Rahman (Cohort 17) and head of marketing Sameera Polavarapu (Cohort 27) and try some of the delicious food. QUEST students learned about how the QUEST program itself influenced and drove the success of the start-up. Perhaps the most interesting point of discussion was Sahil’s motivation for opening the restaurant: to introduce others to Indian food and make it more accessible and less intimidating with certain ingredients everyone is familiar with. Sahil plans on expanding Rasa into more locations in the coming months.

QUEST students during the employee rotations at IBM

Every student who went on the QUEST in DC trip would agree that each of the company visits proved to be a unique experience, with wider perception gained at every stop. It’s always a rewarding experience to hear about how the insightful lessons we learn in QUEST classrooms are also echoed throughout Fortune-500 companies and start-ups alike. Thank you QUEST Corporate, especially trip lead Jack Curran (Cohort 34), for putting together such a fantastic event!

Tanu Kulkarni (Cohort 34) is a sophomore studying Finance and Operations Management & Business Analytics.

QUEST in the Community: Introducing QUESTServes

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Food recovered after the Maryland-Michigan State men’s basketball game on February 29th

Building, maintaining, and expanding relationships is a major piece of the puzzle behind the success of the QUEST Honors Program. From corporate partnerships to campus organizations, outreach lies at the heart of so much growth and opportunity–and now, a new QUEST organization is lending a hand in the effort! QUESTServes is a student initiative bringing together students from every cohort to enrich the College Park and greater communities through service, leadership, and outreach. The new student organization was started by Cohort 33 students Ryan Gerbes, Tori Miske, Mausam Patel, and Maggie Quinn and kicked off its journey last month by partnering with UMD’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network (FRN). 

QUESTServes and FRN collaborated on February 29th following the Maryland-Michigan State men’s basketball game during a Collection Event at Maryland’s Xfinity Center. They recovered leftover food from concession stands at one of the season’s biggest games. Volunteers were able to collect nearly 30 full units of recovered food, enough to provide well over 75 meals to those in need. After the food left our hands, it was donated to the Christian Life Center, which then redistributed meals to those in need via local food pantries and outreach groups. Moving forward, QUESTServes looks to create a long-term relationship with the Food Recovery Network by hosting a Recovery Event at the conclusion of the QUEST Conference each semester!

Following the recent amendments to the University’s schedule and new policies regarding public gatherings, the remainder of QUESTServes events have been postponed until the fall. But stay excited– the organization hopes to sponsor more FRN Recovery Events and register groups for both College Park Good Neighbor Day and Relay for Life next spring! In the meantime, plenty of events are planned for the fall for everyone interested in giving back–a Terp Thon team will be regularly fundraising throughout the year, leading up to the 12-hour dance marathon next March, with more information coming out regarding events hosted in September, October, and November soon! 

Interested in staying up-to-date on upcoming events and news? Join the QUESTServes Official GroupMe messaging board via this link. 

Have a collaboration or project you want to see happen in our community? Email suggestions to the official QUESTServes email: questservesoffical@gmail.com.

Ryan Gerbes (Cohort 33) is a sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering.

QUEST Explores FinTech at Capital One HQ

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The entire day, all I could think about was that it took just twenty-five years. Twenty-five years of innovation, creativity, and lots of brainpower for Capital One to become a major financial technology firm.

On February 21st, sixteen QUEST students had the opportunity to visit Capital One’s headquarters in McLean, Virginia. The day started with an overview and brief history of Capital One. We then had the chance to catch up with QUEST alumni and meet other Capital One associates. They led a panel and talked about the great aspects of rotational development programs as well as the unique things Capital One has to offer to their associates. From awesome “clubs” and opportunities to connect with leadership to a great cafeteria and gym, Capital One seems like a cool place to be.

Alumnus Eric Ding (Cohort 28) and current QUEST students at Capital One HQ

A highlight for many of the students was a simulation activity that showcased their problem-solving and teamwork skills, and if you’re David Rosenstein (Cohort 29), an amazing ability to draw numerous distribution curves in four minutes. David said, “Doing a simulation that Capital One actually uses in their interviews really made me reflect on just how much I’ve learned about teamwork and communication through QUEST courses. Hearing the recruiter comment on how electrified I got during the activity was a cherry on top of an incredible visit.”

Site visits offer an opportunity for our students to take their learning of an industry or specific corporation to a whole new level. By seeing Capital One’s HQ in person and connecting with associates, we got a true feel for what it would be like working there. 

While talking with Matt Ambrogi (Cohort 27), one of the QUEST alumni at Capital One, I asked what makes him want to take part in something like a site visit with QUEST students. He said, “I think that it’s cool that QUEST gives students opportunities like this. I wish I did more things like it when I was in school. There’s a big difference in having a hypothetical vision of a company and going and talking to everyone. It’s so beneficial!”

We closed out the day with an awesome tour of headquarters. There were spacious conference rooms, standing desks, ping pong tables, cafes, a gym, basketball courts, and many other exciting components to the workspace. 

QUEST students love the opportunity to see and explore different companies and get a chance to see the industries that they could one day end up in is really unique and eye-opening. Thank you to the Capital One recruiters and alumni for an amazing time!

If your company is interested in hosting a site visit for QUEST students, reach out to QUEST Assistant Director Jessica Roffe at jroffe@umd.edu.

QUEST Gears Up for Giving Day

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Cover Photo 2

For nearly the last thirty years, the QUEST Honors Program has fostered a special and unique community that we’ve all grown to love. QUEST has propelled so many of us into successful careers. This is no easy feat but from the dedication of our students, the Quality Guild, and overarching schools as well as our parents, corporate sponsors, and alumni, we have shown that teamwork really does make the dream work!

I can speak for myself about the transformation that I have undergone thanks to QUEST. I went from a biology student with limited networking skills and finite knowledge about anything outside of my STEM courses to someone who not only felt confident enough to create my own major but also someone who understands the value of interdisciplinary work. I’ve gained invaluable insight into the future of so many industries and a breadth of knowledge ranging from computer science and data analytics to business models and design thinking strategies. QUEST saw potential in me and I am so grateful, not just for the aforementioned but also and most importantly, for a chance to find so many like-minded, motivated and ambitious people that I’m lucky enough to call my friends.

For the upcoming year, QUEST’s goal is to work towards establishing an endowed fund to secure the financial health and stability of the program for many years to come! And that’s where we, the members of the QUEST community, come in. This year’s Giving Day is on Wednesday, March 4th. While it’s hard to quantify or to match what QUEST has done for us, we can certainly pay it forward. We can support the future of the program and enable incoming students to experience what we’ve been lucky enough to have. 

To support QUEST on Giving Day, visit go.umd.edu/gdquest. You can even make your own fundraising page in advance and share it with friends and family via email and social media throughout the day on March 4th. To create a fundraising page, click the Fundraise button at go.umd.edu/gdquest.

We are so thankful to all of those who participated last year. Here is why some of them gave to QUEST: 

“As the parent of a QUEST student who just finished his capstone, I saw first-hand the tremendous accomplishments of the various projects. Each presentation was delivered with excellent preparation, thorough analysis, and tremendous enthusiasm. The corporate sponsors seemed so impressed and thankful for their efforts. Most memorable was seeing just how many friendships had built up between the students during their QUEST experience. QUEST is truly an amazing organization and the embodiment of UMD’s mission to create Fearless Leaders.” – Roger Sturtevant, Parent of Jack Sturtevant, computer engineering ‘20 

“On engineering problem sets, we developed our individual technical skills. In QUEST, we had a safe sandbox to work on life skills: communication, collaboration, servant leadership, and growth mindset. I’m grateful for the friendship, mentorship, and community that QUEST continues to give me. It is a privilege to give back and invest in the next generation of students in this program.” – Luxi Wang, electrical engineering ‘12 (Cohort 17) 

Thank you so much to everyone in advance for all your contributions, not just on Giving Day but every day! 

Happy almost Giving Day, here’s to many more amazing years of QUEST!

QUEST Takes on Design and Innovation in Spain

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The QUEST to Spain trip returned this winter, allowing students the opportunity to explore the culture in Barcelona, Madrid, and Toledo! Students, both from within and outside of the QUEST Honors Program, spent 12 days in Spain to explore topics in innovation and design. 

Students at Park Guell in Barcelona

After having a great experience on last year’s QUEST to Japan trip, Lexi Paidas (Cohort 31) felt excited to have another opportunity to go abroad with QUEST. She enjoyed not only attending business visits in Spain, but also taking opportunities to explore the culture and architecture of the cities. “We spent a lot of time learning about timeless design. There was beautiful architecture that’s been around for years.”

Students at La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

One of her favorite parts of the trip was a day trip to Montserrat. “We saw a beautiful Basilica when we were about 1,000 meters up. It was a weird weather day, so when we stepped off the bus, we could barely see anything from the fog. The basilica coming out of the fog was beautiful.” 

Lexi enjoyed learning about the timeless design that went into building basilicas like this one. She said, “A lot of time and effort goes into minute details to make it last a long time, and there are no shortcuts. You create with the idea that what you’re creating is everlasting.”

Another highlight of the trip was the day trip to Toledo, where students learned about how the history of the city impacted its culture. “It used to be their capital city, so they had a lot of turnover,” Lexi said. “There’s still a lot of prominent sections with different religions today. It was interesting how you could see the influence of different religions in different areas.” Lexi added that Toledo is where Spain makes a lot of their marzipan!

The students who travelled to Spain are excited to apply everything they learned about design and innovation to their courses and beyond! Where will QUEST go next?

New Decade, New Cohort: Welcoming Q34 to QUEST

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Cohort 34 at QUEST Camp/Orientation

Welcome Cohort 34!

This semester, Cohort 34 embarked on the beginning of their long and rewarding QUEST journey. The semester began with a trip to Camp Tockwogh for QUEST Camp, where Q34 members met their teams, pitched pilot products, and had some good old fashioned peer bonding. Since then, Q34 students have been hard at work on their 190H projects, following this semester’s theme of “Living.” Being in Cohort 34 myself, I was able to poll many of my peers to hear about their QUEST experiences so far! Here’s what they had to say:

Julie Hirsch

Julie Hirsch:

“My name is Julie Hirsch, and I’m from Rockville, Maryland. Though I’m currently a Mechanical Engineering major, there was a period of time that I was debating between studying business and engineering. QUEST has been great because I’m still able to learn business skills and apply my engineering coursework to business cases. It’s also given me a community of people that have similar values and encourage me to work harder. So far, my favorite memory from 190H was bonding with my team and hearing what makes each of us unique. I’m looking forward to spending more time with them, including creating products that all of us are proud of.” 

Michelle Lui, second from left, with her teammates and mentor, Shannon Donaldson (Q29)

Michelle Lui:

“My name is Michelle, and I’m currently an Information Systems and Operations Management & Business Analytics major! I heard about QUEST from my older brother, who was in Cohort 26. BMGT 190H has been unlike anything I’ve experienced so far. I love how I can spitball a brand new idea, and actually have someone who’s studying engineering or computer science lay out specifications and the technical possibilities of it. I am already learning how to consider issues from new perspectives beyond a singular business mindset. Every single topic that I learn about in class, from the principles of design to building a quality product, I know will be directly applicable to solving problems in the professional world. I can’t wait to continue growing closer to my team and all of Cohort 34! I know I’m surrounded by amazing people, and I am excited to see what all of us are going to do over the next few years.”

Dhyay, top left, with his teammates and mentor, Ari Riske (Q29)

Dhyay Bhatt: 

“My name is Dhyay Bhatt, and I’m from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. I’m studying computer science here at UMD. I was initially attracted to QUEST because of its multidisciplinary nature, but also because I heard it was a lot of fun. So far, 190H has definitely held true to that! I’ve learned a lot about interview techniques, team dynamics, and design thinking, all while having fun with friends. Looking forward to the rest of the semester!”

Heather Bacon

Heather Bacon: 

“My name is Heather, and I’m majoring in Computer Engineering! I joined QUEST because I’m passionate about both business and technology and wanted to combine my interests while working on meaningful projects. QUEST has been really great so far. My favorite memory so far has been being the QUEST Lab Assistant, which has really given me the opportunity to get to know the Guild and QUESTees from other cohorts as well. This semester, I’m really looking forward to gaining applicable skills and bonding with my 190H team. Go Q34!”

Arpan Chavan:

Arpan Chavan

”Hi! My name is Arpan Chavan. I’m a sophomore majoring in Finance and Operations Management and Business Analytics, and I am from Montgomery, New Jersey. Personally, I really enjoy consulting, and QUEST seemed like a program that could really help me develop my skills. If I had to pick, my favorite QUEST memory so far has been doing improv at QUEST camp with my team, my mentor, and Dr. Armstrong! I know QUEST will help me tremendously, and I am looking forward to really improving any and all skills that I can.”

So far, it seems that all of Cohort 34 has been actively contributing to the QUEST community and learning a lot from Dr. Armstrong in 190H. I can’t wait to see where Cohort 34 goes in QUEST and beyond!