With one semester ending and a new one beginning, it is time for the newest QUEST Cohort to begin their curriculum and QUEST experience. Cohort 38 started their journey at the beginning of the semester on January 20th and 21st with their orientation to the QUEST Honors Program.
Cohort 38 on the first day of 190H
Let’s start off by giving a HUGE round of applause to Cohort 34 for a wonderful conference last week! All of the posters and presentations were beautiful, and you could really see the hard work and dedication in every single one of them. For those of you who could not be in attendance, the bi-annual QUEST Conference was held in person, for the first time in over two years, at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center on December 9th. The Deans from the Smith School of Business and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences were in attendance. Dean Amitabh Varshney even said a few inspiring words to all of the students. Darryll Pines, the President of the University, sent a heartfelt note to the cohort, wishing them “great success…in future opportunities” and expressed confidence “that [their] experiences in the QUEST Program will serve [them] well.”
Cohort 34 at the QUEST Conference
After nearly two years of virtual classes, team meetings, presentations, and posters sessions, QUESTees were thrilled to be back in person this semester. I polled a few QUESTees with the question: “What was YOUR favorite QUEST moment of the semester?” Stories ranged from QUEST Camp memories to the recent BMGT 490H Conference. Read students’ favorite QUEST memories from the semester below!
“Early this semester, QUEST Recruiting had a little Chipotle hang out for us to get to (finally!) see each other in person. It was definitely one of my favorite QUEST moments because I had been working on Zoom with these people for a year and was super excited to finally get to hang out with them in person and overall just have a good time!” – Ishaan Kapur, Cohort 36
“My favorite QUEST memory of the semester was going to the Firefly Music Festival with 6 other members of Q34! We rented a big campsite and spent the weekend seeing a bunch of our favorite artists. It was so much fun spending time outside of the QUEST curriculum, especially because I had the opportunity to bond with 2 other members of my BMGT 490H team” – Kevin Senkus, Cohort 34
Cohort 37 at QUEST Camp
“I really enjoyed getting to bond with my BMGT 190H team during QUEST camp. I remember we did an activity where we wrote our goals on pieces of paper and threw them across a field. We had to find creative ways to carry our teammates across the field to help them pick up their goals, and I think this really brought us together and helped us build a strong friendship within the team!” – Meghana Padmanabhan, Cohort 37
“Early in the semester, I was in the QUEST Lab between classes, and I noticed some Q36 students struggling on a homework for the data class. Since I was the previous TA for the class, I was able to help them out and answer their questions which was super rewarding!” – Amod Mathur, Cohort 33
Former BMGT 190H Group “OktoberQUEST,” now 490H Students, Reunited with Mentor Gina Wingate at the QUEST Conference
“My favorite QUEST moment from this semester was during the QUEST conference when my BMGT 190H mentor, Gina Wingate, came back to see us give our capstone presentations. It was particularly rewarding because most of my BMGT 490H team was also on my 190H team, so she could see how we’ve grown through the QUEST program between our rough Circular Design projects and now with our capstones. After she saw all of her mentees present, she gave us homemade gifts with our 190H team name on it. Overall, it was so rewarding to see her and reflect on how much she helped me over the years whether she knew it or not.” – Advaith Bantval, Cohort 34
“I loved presenting our first BMGT 190H presentations. It was rewarding to present what we had put so much hard work into and getting dressed in a suit is always fun :)” – Sami Bouhussein, Cohort 37
“One of my favorite QUEST memories from the semester actually happened about a month before the semester began. About 10 members of Q34 came and spent the weekend at my lake house! We definitely had a lot of cohort bonding swimming, kayaking and boating with lots of water gun fights in between. For sure a weekend of QUEST that I will never forget!” – Jessica Yeager, Cohort 34
“It has been amazing to come back to school and learn alongside all my mentors, friends, and role models. I am so grateful for the QUEST community.” – Aaliya Hussain, Cohort 35
Kayla with fellow QUESTees!
“I have two favorite QUEST moments. The first was experiencing my first QUEST Conference in person. It was a really amazing experience because I was able to see how all of the QUEST classes came together for the BMGT 490H presentations. I also really enjoyed getting to meet all of the other cohorts of QUEST at the conference. My second favorite memory was the many different relationship-building moments that I’ve had related to QUESTees in my life. I live with two QUESTees, and it was always fun to come back to my place to debrief what I learned in class. I also really enjoyed meeting and mentoring my QUEST little who I share a lot in common with!” – Kayla Malone, Cohort 36
What was your favorite QUEST moment of the semester? Let us know in the comments. The staff at QUESTPress hopes everyone had an enjoyable semester and wishes you all good luck on finals!
Every semester, students in their final core course for the QUEST Honors Program work on a project with implications far beyond the classroom. The QUEST Capstone Professional Practicum, known by its course code 490H, enables students to add value to a corporate client by providing recommendations for organizational challenges.
Cohort 34 prior to their Status 1 Presentations this semester
With class registration for the spring semester coming up in the next month, many QUEST students must be wondering how to fulfill both major and QUEST requirements, while also attempting to make space for some cool gen-eds! As a requirement for the QUEST Honors Program, current students must take at least one QUEST elective. Luckily, I have heard nothing but positive experiences with all of the elective options. “Taking QUEST electives has helped me stay connected with the QUEST community and meet people from different cohorts,” said Mutaz Ahmed (Cohort 32). In order to relieve a bit of trouble or chaos from class registration, here is a collection of all the electives available only to QUEST students, including the number of credits, short descriptions, and even a few thoughts from past students!
Rock, paper, scissors. Improv. Boxed lunches. Pilot Products. All of these events over a two-day period can only mean one thing: It’s QUEST Camp season! After two semesters of a completely virtual experience, Cohort 37 was able to enjoy a semi-normal orientation, welcoming them into the world of QUEST. This year, QUEST Camp was held right here on campus, where students got to enjoy some typical camp favorites, while also trying some new activities. I, too, attended camp this semester as a 190H TA and seeing team bonding firsthand made me reminiscent of my own QUEST Camp experience.
Cohort 37 at QUEST Camp
Cohort 33 during QUEST Camp in August 2019.
Put on your best suit jacket and settle into your seats, because it’s that time of the year again: Cohort 33 is stepping through their routers and into a virtual semester of 490H this spring! Representing the culmination of four semesters of experiential learning under the guidance of the Quality Guild, the students will be applying the design thinking, process improvement, data analysis, and collaboration skills developed throughout the sequence of core QUEST courses. This semester’s clients are representing a particularly diverse range of industries from defense contractors to nonprofits. In just a few short months, students will be presenting their work with one of ten unique corporate partners.
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.
It is Cohort 32’s time to shine as they take on the QUEST Capstone Professional Practicum (BMGT/ENES 490H) this fall! Cohort 32 will have a chance to demonstrate all the skills they have developed over the last two years in disciplines such as data analysis and design thinking, as well as the virtual teamwork skills they have developed since March.
This semester has a wide variety of clients, from nonprofit organizations to aerospace companies. There are ten projects this semester with nine corporate partners: Casey Cares Foundation, Children’s National Hospital, Leidos, Materne North America – GoGo squeeZ, Northrop Grumman, Oceaneering, Sealed Air, Thales, and Tronox.
Casey Cares Foundation provides ongoing and uplifting programming to critically ill children and their families in seven states throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Washington DC, and parts of the Midwest. Their project involves recommending how to ramp up Casey Cares’ virtual offerings and make these programs more efficient and cost-effective.
Children’s National Hospital is another nonprofit partnering with QUEST this semester. Their project focuses on reducing patient wait times and increasing the efficiency of processes involved in in-person visits at the primary care centers. Lydia Hu (Cohort 32) said, “We’re excited to get to speak to the different clinicians and operational staff at the primary care centers to hear firsthand about their experiences in patient care delivery. It’s also eye-opening to be working with a healthcare provider right now to see the adjustments they’re making as demand for telehealth increases and vulnerable populations are at even greater risk of poor health outcomes.”
The team working with Tronox plans to identify inefficiencies in the accounts payable process and make recommendations to improve this process. Cam O’Meara (Cohort 32) said, “I’m most excited about the opportunity to use the data analysis skills I have learned in QUEST to discover how Tronox can improve its cash collection cycle. The company hasn’t looked through the data in this way before, so there is great potential to make some cool discoveries that can really benefit the company.”
The project with Sealed Air involves recycling the steam condensate from manufacturing, and they are also working with a QUEST alumnus, Joseph Dadzie (Cohort 23). The team will identify leakage points in Sealed Air’s condensate recycling process and develop a solution that will allow Sealed Air to reach a satisfactory condensate recycling rate. Mutaz Ahmed (Cohort 32) said, “The most exciting part of our project is the opportunity to learn in-depth about the processes taking place in a manufacturing plant and how, through data-driven insights, we can provide our client with important insights on their steam condensate recovery system.”
The project with GoGo squeeZ focuses on using historical data on price and performance to create carrier profiles and to determine how well that carrier is performing. The team is working with QUEST alumnus Max Cooper (Cohort 19).
The team working with Oceaneering (OTECH) is improving its risk management program by looking at one area where the risk management program worked well and one area where it did not work well. This team is working with QUEST alumnus Jeff Gamerman (Cohort 12).
Northrop Grumman, which has sponsored 21 projects since 2009, is working with two QUEST teams this fall. One of the projects focuses on creating guidelines to be used during various business decision opportunities, and the other focuses on assessing a supply base risk matrix.
The project with Thales Defense & Security, Inc. involves improving its design process and tools by incorporating analysis of defects and process improvements. They will be working with QUEST alumnus Steve Kutchi (Cohort 1).
Finally, the project with Leidos involves an improved process that would allow them to generate rough orders of magnitude easily for quicker turnaround.
Best of luck to Cohort 32 as they continue working on their recommendations! Final presentations at our virtual QUEST Conference will take place on Thursday, December 10th – be on the lookout for more details in the coming weeks!
It’s safe to say that life is a bit upside down for everyone right now. But Cohort 31 gets a special shout out for transitioning online during their QUEST capstone course, 490H. Despite some obstacles and adjustments, they have knocked it out of the park and completed their capstone projects. The QUEST community is extremely proud and excited to showcase all of Cohort 31’s hard work! The beauty of things changing so drastically is that we all have had to get a bit more creative on how we go about everything. Here is how 490H has been creative throughout the semester:
Virtual Status Updates were held via Zoom on April 15th
Cohort 31 students had a chance to talk with eight QUEST alumni who hopped on Zoom and provided the teams with feedback. An added perk was that alumni were able to join from all over the country and ranged from Cohort 3 to Cohort 26.
Most Outstanding Capstone Voting
21 alumni reviewed final presentations and voted for the “Most Outstanding Capstone” of Cohort 31. To put things into perspective, typically only about five alumni are able to come in person. We thank all of the alumni who volunteered this year – it was a tight race!
Poster Prints
Keep an eye out for Cohort 31’s posters all around the QUEST lab next semester. They were still completed and will be printed for everyone to see!
Virtual Poster Presentations
Cohort 31 participated in a virtual poster presentation on May 7th for families, clients, professors, and the cohort to formally present and celebrate the end-products of a semester of long hours on Zoom and grit.
Virtual Celebration
Last but not least, alumnus Danny Laurence (Cohort 19) has built a brand new website to virtually display Cohort 31’s capstone projects. Visit quest.umd.edu/capstone to check out all of Cohort 31’s capstone project presentations and posters. Congratulations, Cohort 31!
