Category Archives: 25th Anniversary Gala

QUEST’s 25th Anniversary Gala – A Night to Remember

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QUEST celebrated 25 years of continuous improvement with over 420 alumni, current students, parents, corporate partners, and UMD friends on October 7, 2017! Jacob King (Q27) provides his account of the evening below.

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Walking into the grand new lobby of The Hotel at the University of Maryland, we were ushered upstairs to the ballroom level where we were immediately enveloped into a different time era. It seemed as though we were thrust back 60 years as all the males were dressed to the nines and women were in dresses to the floor, taking stunning pictures off the balcony overlooking the valet. Overhead were enormous twinkling glass structures that added to the ambiance as we walked into the ballroom itself. As I grabbed myself a drink from the bar, I looked around at all the fabulous people around me, all the brilliant QUEST students and alumni dressed up to celebrate the anniversary of this wondrous organization that brought us together. I began to walk around to catch up with old friends who had graduated, and I was astounded to see the turnout of not only current cohort members from 25-30, but members of cohorts from the very beginning. I was even introduced to people from cohorts 5,13,18,19 and 20.

It is one thing to network and make acquaintances, but it is another to talk to QUEST alumni about your story and how your time in QUEST is benefiting you. The cocktail hour quickly elapsed, and as we sat down for the main event, we had no idea just how humbling and inspiring our speakers were about to be. With our emcee, the chairman of the QUEST Alumni Board, Mr. Ricky Wilson, the night kicked off without a hitch. While it makes sense to have the three deans represented from the three schools (business, engineering and computer, mathematical, and natural sciences), the speeches they delivered were completely awe-inspiring as they praised not only the program, but told stories of how QUEST has helped shape the best students within their schools.

Corporate partners were recognized for giving back to QUEST over the years. Leidos, IBM, and Orbital ATK were announced as Corporate Visionaries; Lockheed Martin was recognized as a Corporate Innovator; and BD, dlhBowles, Pwc, Unilever, and Tulkoff Food Products were recognized as Corporate Catalysts.

Jerry Goodman and ToniAnn Thomas from IBM then went on stage to announce the winners of the IBM Design Challenge. Team International Business Men took home the grand prize, a trip to the IBM Global Headquarters in NYC. Team members included: Conor Casey (Q27), Tim Chen (Q28), Cameron Harner (Q25), Varun Mohan (Q28), and Jeff Zhao (Q28). To learn more about the IBM Design Challenge, click here.

It soon came time to recognize the alumni from QUEST who strove to push past the normal call to action that comes with graduating from this honors program. To Jason Gates (Q16), who pushed the original 190H course to its fullest extent and sought innovation through his own career, the QUEST program awarded the Innovative Professional Achievement Award. For the individual who has helped QUEST increase its corporate visibility, the program awarded Steve Kutchi (Q1) with the Outstanding Corporate Connector Award. Presented next was the Outstanding Service Award to Danny Laurence (Q19), Bryan Towns (Q7) and Ricky Wilson (Q6) for giving back to the program. For early career achievements, the Outstanding Young Alumna/us Award went to Linda Rassenti (Q17).

Winners of the Alumni Awards and the presenters

Next, three alumni, Debbie Feinberg (Q1), Vlad Tchompalov (Q14), and Addrenia Smith (Q18), provided remarks on their time in the program. As those in the audience listened to the stories of these alumni and their seemingly unachievable success or commitment to the program, one could see the passion start to bubble and the gears start to turn as current students tried to devise ways to achieve these same heights. As I started to leave the event, I turned around and looked at those around me: the alumni who are following their dreams and the students who are building passions and elevating themselves to get there. That is the beauty of QUEST. It is not in the rigorous coursework or the extracurricular activities or even the prestigious faculty (no matter what Dr. Suarez says). The people are what make QUEST great- the congregation of like-minded scholars who are hungry to learn and vicious in the classroom, yet collaborative and intuitive, with a drive to push those around them to new heights. This positive feedback loop of each QUESTee helping one another and giving back has led to the placement and growth of hundreds of alumni, with many more to come.

Here’s to the first 25 years of QUEST, and another 25 or more of great students, faculty, alumni, and corporate partners! To check out more photos from the Gala, click on this link!

IBM Design Challenge Kicks Off

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By: Matt Masison (Q27)

On Thursday, September 7th, QUEST hosted IBM executives as they helped kick off the IBM Design Challenge, a case competition to go alongside the upcoming 25th Anniversary Gala on October 7th. 25 years ago, the QUEST (IBM-TQ) program started with a grant from IBM, and IBM is reconnecting with QUEST in our 25th year. Throughout September and early October, IBM is hosting a design challenge centered on the theme “The World is Flat,” highlighting the interconnectedness of the present age. At the kickoff event, students were presented with a wide variety of different examples of how IBM has found solutions to problems centered around connecting people. Now, eight student teams will work with alumni mentors throughout the month to find a solution of their own and present it to IBM judges on the day of the Gala.

QUEST Students and Alumni Getting Fired Up for the IBM Design Challenge at the Kickoff Event

The eight QUEST teams presented their preliminary pitches on Thursday, September 14 to the IBM judges. Jerry Goodman, Smith School alumnus and IBM partner that is spearheading the challenge from the IBM side, said that both he and his team were thoroughly impressed with the creativity of the idea pitch presentations. Now, each team will use the feedback to improve upon their solutions and start to develop a prototype. On September 28th from 5:30-7:30 PM, all QUEST students and alumni are invited to attend the prototype testathon in VMH 2333 to provide feedback for the teams.

The month of hard work will culminate with a final presentation of each team’s product or service on October 7th from 2-4:30 PM in ESJ 1224. We hope to see many students and alumni cheering on the teams in the audience! Student teams will wait patiently for the announcement of the winner that night at the Gala. The month ahead looks like a lot work, but also a lot of fun, especially for the winner. The entire winning team will be given a tour of IBM’s New York innovation center.

This next month is going to be a wild ride, and we can’t wait to see what the teams come up with!

The World Is Flat: IBM Design Challenge!

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By: Andrew Jones (Q26)

On May 1st, representatives from different sectors of IBM came to UMD to introduce QUEST students to the IBM Design Challenge, leading up to QUEST’s 25th Anniversary Gala this fall.

Jerry Goodman from IBM engaging students about the IBM Design Challenge

The Challenge is purposely taking place during 2017, which marks QUEST’s 25th anniversary year. The QUEST Honors Program initially started with a generous gift from IBM, and since then, has grown to a program with a significant impact both within the UMD campus and around the country. Competitions like the IBM Design Challenge allow for students to engage with the material they’ve learned in the classroom setting and allow them to create something meaningful that can have impact on their surrounding communities.

As representatives emphasized during the information session, IBM has gone through a shift in the culture and approach they take when innovating new solutions and services. In conjunction with selling servers and software, IBM is creating user-centric designs to empower both people and businesses. From the collaborative work environments at IBM, where they incorporate many of the design thinking ideas such as creating teams of individuals from different backgrounds and getting consistent feedback from potential users in their lo-fi concepts, IBM has been successful with their latest innovations such as the Under Armour Application which truly reflects the users’ needs.

The IBM Design Challenge serves as a means to engage students and alumni in IBM’s focus on user-centric solution design. As of last week, students and alumni can sign up with teams of 3 to 5 members. On September 7th, the event will begin and students will have one month to design a solution or service around the theme, “The World is Flat.” The one-month competition will consist of a pitch to IBM judges, a “testathon” of prototypes, and final presentations during the day on October 7th with winners announced that evening at the QUEST 25th Anniversary Gala.

Winners of this design challenge will have the opportunity to visit IBM Watson in New York City. The winning team will have the chance to immerse themselves with this new culture at IBM, seeing first-hand the shift in culture and approach IBM has taken in their solution innovation. On top of this, the visit will help open doors for networking and potential job/internship opportunities at IBM. For everyone else that participates in the competition, they will be able to attend the QUEST 25th Anniversary Gala free of charge.

Don’t wait to sign up, sign up here: Student sign up! Alumni sign up! All interested in participating are also encouraged to sign up for this Facebook group, where we will be posting updates over the summer.