From lighting hairdryers on fire to meeting the university president and working for the QUEST program itself, the alumni of Cohort 1 of the QUEST Honors Program have had some memorable experiences. I had the opportunity to speak with three alumni from the first cohort: Missy Grace, a Finance major who went on to co-found the consulting firm Alpine Rewards; Brian Marquardt, an Electrical Engineering major and now Senior Director of Product Management at Google; and Debbie Feinberg, an Accounting major and the founder of consulting firm Maximize.

From floating on rivers to pub quizzes and waiting for sheep to cross the road, QUEST alumni are embracing unique experiences across the world. I had the privilege of speaking with three remarkable QUEST alumni who have ventured beyond U.S. borders, seeking careers and adventures abroad. Their stories offer valuable insights into cultural adjustments, career growth, and work-life balance in different parts of the world.

Eric Appelbaum (Cohort 28) moved from California to Switzerland. Kenny Lopez (Cohort 20) relocated from California to England. Rachel George (Cohort 21) left the DMV area to spend nine months in New Zealand. Each of them sought change—whether in lifestyle, work culture, or personal growth.

Eric described his motivation for moving: “I was in a mostly work-centric area. My life was becoming too focused on work, so I wanted to step back.” Kenny, on the other hand, sought greater diversity. “San Francisco started to feel too small. After three years, I had the entire city mapped in my head. It lacked diversity—both in thought and people.” Rachel, after working for a production company, wanted to take a leap and found an opportunity abroad that aligned with her interests. She explained that New Zealand’s flexible visa policies allowed her to work while traveling. “I was coming up on the age limit for it, so it was a do-it-now-or-never kind of thing.”

Adjusting to a new culture came with challenges. Eric noted the friction of being a non-native. “Every interaction is a bit harder when you’re not from there,” he shared. He also encountered unexpected language barriers: “I thought my German was good enough to get by, but then I encountered Swiss German, which is completely different and has its own challenges.” Rachel recalled adjusting to the slower pace of life in New Zealand: “The town I was living in had a population of 600, and sometimes you’d have to wait ten minutes because someone was moving their herd of sheep down the road.”

Work culture differences stood out to all three alumni. Eric noticed a stark contrast in job stability. “In San Francisco, people tend to jump jobs every few years for promotions. In Zurich, many of my co-workers have been with the same company for a long time. They balance being experts at work with maintaining a healthy personal life.” Kenny observed a different attitude toward work-life balance: “In the U.S., you’re always grinding. You might only get two weeks of vacation—if you’re lucky. But here, I have holidays, sick days, wellness days, volunteer time, and unlimited PTO.” Rachel echoed these sentiments, noting how New Zealand’s workplace expectations differed from those in the U.S. “I came from a fast-paced, strict-deadlines, client-driven background. But in New Zealand, there was a more relaxed approach. I’d message my manager, saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, I spent longer on this than I thought,’ and they’d reply, ‘No worries!’”

All three alumni encouraged current QUEST students to consider going abroad. Kenny acknowledged that the biggest challenge is often the fear of the unknown: “The hardest part is not knowing anyone. But I say dive in. It might seem scary at first, but you’ll have an amazing experience.” Eric emphasized the importance of patience: “Give yourself more time than you think. Living in a new place comes with challenges, and I’m glad I gave myself time to learn and truly experience life here.” Rachel highlighted the personal growth that comes with an international move: “It’s one thing to say, ‘I’m going to spend a year figuring out what I want to do next,’ and another to have the patience to accept that sometimes you don’t know what’s next. But it’s so rewarding.”

A huge thank you to Eric, Kenny, and Rachel for sharing their experiences and offering thoughtful insights on navigating professional and personal growth abroad!

I had the opportunity to speak with QUEST alumna Jacqueline Deprey, who graduated in 2020 and now works for Dropbox. Deprey is a proud member of QUEST Cohort 30 and says she is still close to her BMGT/ENES490H team – Sign Sealed Delivered (SSD).

Sign Sealed Delivered (SSD) getting boba together.

Currently, Deprey is working as a Senior Product Manager at Dropbox, where she originally worked as a software engineering intern. When asked how she moved up to product manager, she mentioned how she was able to ask questions organically regarding product decisions (from QUEST!). This helped with her transition as it showed her interest in the product.

As a product manager, she is involved in the testing of new products. Dropbox uniquely tests products in-house. When they target a smaller firm (for example, a finance firm), they test the product with their own finance department. This allows them to creatively test their product in a parallel market to work out any issues. This way, they can analyze how products are used internally for accurate metrics to understand how it will work on the outside.

SSD team jumping for joy in Van Munching Hall!

Dropbox uses OKRs, objectives and key results, to measure their performance. This is really helpful when testing new products, as this process can determine how the product benefits the specific department in meeting its goals. 

Currently, Deprey is working on a project called Dropbox Dash. This is similar to a search bar, except it will go through all the communications that you use to find the information you need. For example, if Deprey was looking for meeting notes for the month of February and she uses Outlook and Dropbox as her main sources of storage, this feature would allow her to search through all those drives. This project will be launched later in the year.

As a senior product manager, Deprey faces some challenges in her day-to-day life. All stakeholders involved in product development have different opinions and priorities. Product managers at Dropbox handle this dilemma by testing out their products in-house first. If dilemmas occur on the inside, they will only be magnified outside the company. 

She also mentioned that transparency is important when it comes to juggling priorities. If her team’s goals are different than the goals of another group of stakeholders, they are still likely mutually beneficial. This realization increases cooperation between stakeholders for a brilliant final outcome.

SSD working on BMGT/ENES490H together in Van Munching Hall.

When asked about her experience in QUEST, Deprey mentioned that she learned how to think critically. Instead of just worrying about the problems on top, she learned to dig deeper into the underlying issue. This is something that has given her an edge and allowed her to become a Product Manager so fast!

Some advice that she has for current QUESTees is to take it all in. QUEST is a special place with fun and driven people. She also advises current students to be like a sponge in this program, since you can learn a lot from others and use it to better yourself. Finally, your peers in QUEST are like mirrors, they reflect your best qualities back to yourself.

So QUESTees, be like Jacqueline Deprey and find your mirrors in QUEST and soak everything in!