Category Archives: Inside the Guild

Congratulations, Seniors!

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Article by The Quality Guild

With the graduation season upon us, the members of The Quality Guild would like to extend their thoughts and congratulations to the seniors of QUEST who will be graduating this May.

Members of Cohort 17

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To the QUEST graduating seniors,

Congratulations on your graduation! You are all such talented individuals and I am confident that we will see great things from you in the future. As you prepare to move on to the next chapter in your lives, be sure to remember the lessons, skills, and most importantly, the relationships that you gained while in QUEST and at the University of Maryland. We are so proud of your accomplishments and are looking forward to hearing about the exciting adventures that lie ahead!

~Kathryn Weiland

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Dear graduating seniors,

Congratulations! You’ve completed your QUEST student experience, you’ve earned your diplomas, and you’ve done so much to benefit the QUEST program and the University of Maryland, as a whole. While I’m sad that we won’t get to see each other in Van Munching Hall as often, I am so excited to welcome you to our alumni community! Be sure to keep us updated as your amazing futures unfold!

~Kylie Goodell

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Dear Cohort 17:

Congratulations on your tremendous accomplishments over the last three years!  We appreciate your energy, your ideas, and the many other contributions you have made to the QUEST program.  Your hard work not only helped you learn but also helped many others.  The road bends, and we cannot see too far ahead, but I hope that you will continue to learn from, serve, and love those with whom you travel.

~Dr. Jeffrey W. Herrmann

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Congratulations Cohort 17! You are the first cohort I have had the pleasure of seeing through the entire QUEST experience, so your graduation is definitely bittersweet!

I wish you great success and encourage each of you to follow your heart even when it leads to the road less traveled.

~ Melanie Ashton

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Dear Cohort 17,

Now the fun really begins! Remember when we surprised you by making you present to KPMG on your first day of 490? We hope that these experiences helped prepare you for all the challenges you’ll face in the “real world.” Some students find they have a bit of a bumpy landing when they graduate – you’re on your own, and your friends aren’t surrounding you the way they did in college. Don’t worry! It’s important for you to move on to new things so you can grow and adapt. And in a few years time, you’ll love the new path you’re traveling. We’re always here for you at QUEST to grab a coffee, have lunch, and chat when you need us. Best wishes – we’re so proud of what you’ve done as Terps, and we can’t wait to see what new trails you blaze. I’m proud, too, to be part of the class of 2012 with you!

Love, Nicole

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Congratulations on your graduation from QUEST!  You have accomplished great things while you have been students in our program and you are leaving a lasting legacy for all the cohorts that follow in your footsteps.  Thank you.

I hope that your accomplishments within QUEST will always propel your professional careers and personal lives to new heights!

We are proud of you.  We will miss you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bailey

Congratulations QUEST Seniors

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A Letter to Cohort 16 from Dr. Bailey, QUEST Executive Director


Congratulations QUEST Seniors!

Spring is a bittersweet time of year for our QUEST community.  We say goodbye to our QUEST seniors while we say welcome to our incoming cohort of students.  The juxtaposition of our feelings of sadness and excitement were very apparent at the QUEST Student Organization (QSO) barbeque on May 7th when our outgoing seniors (cohort 16) and our rising sophomores (cohort 19) were in attendance.  Fortunately good weather, good food, and lots of fun helped us forget any feelings of sadness and enjoy a few more moments of celebration before we say goodbye to our QUEST seniors.

I’m so pleased at how well our QUEST seniors have done in the job market this year.  Many of our students will be working for companies that already have a strong relationship with QUEST including Accenture, Booz Allen, Cognizant, Deloitte, PwC, and Lockheed Martin.  Many other students will be working for outstanding companies that will help launch their careers and give them opportunities for continued learning including Cisco, ExxonMobile, Google, Microsoft, and Morgan Stanley.  Still others have decided to pursue graduate school (including Maryland, MIT, and Virginia), become a Fulbright Scholar, or Teach for America.  A more complete list of opportunities our seniors will pursue can be found here.  Whatever the opportunity, I’m so pleased that our seniors have decided to follow their passions and define their own career paths.

The significance of our QUEST seniors is a reflection on the success of our community and also a high standard for our returning QUEST students.  Since our community emphasizes action learning and engages our alumni, faculty, staff, and corporate partners, many people and organizations can delight in the trajectory of our seniors after graduation.  Many seniors told me that they were able to draw upon their QUEST experiences in job interviews to help find an opportunity that best fits their passion.  Fortunately, many of their companies saw the value of learning in multidisciplinary, team-based, action-learning settings since it reflected their work environments.  Furthermore, our seniors could draw upon their accomplishments and missteps in the QUEST program to approach the challenges of their new opportunities with confidence, flexibility, and humility.  Thank you to all of you who have helped our seniors reach this milestone.

To our QUEST seniors, please accept my congratulations on behalf of our community.  You make us proud!

Dr. Bailey

QUEST Seniors celebrate after receiving their medallions at QUESTpedition

QUEST Seniors celebrate after receiving their medallions at QUESTpedition