Category Archives: QUEST News

Congratulations to QUEST’s December 2021 Graduates

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December is the peak of the holiday season and amongst the excitement, University of Maryland seniors are looking forward to the gift of winter graduation. This winter, QUEST is celebrating 12 talented and successful students who will be beginning their post-undergrad adventure. I spoke to 3 graduates who reflected on their experiences both in QUEST and as students at UMD.

Looking back on their years at the University of Maryland, our graduates shared their fond memories and challenging obstacles. Annabelle Baer of Cohort 32 will walk across the stage this week, receiving degrees in Computer Science and Finance. When asked about her most rewarding time in college, she responded that it was her last semester because she was able to “finally see [her]self being able to solve problems and think about concepts in both of [her] majors in new ways as a result of all the cumulative knowledge over the past four years.” Annabelle also recounted the joys of hosting potluck dinners with friends throughout her years and advises current students to avoid spreading themselves too thin with clubs as she did during her freshman year. When asked about which part of her college career was the most challenging, Annabelle explained that “it was honestly the first few Computer Science required courses. Even though they were intro-level courses, I had never taken Computer Science before and had to figure out an entirely new way to think about new problems. It is really cool looking back now on concepts that used to be so difficult to comprehend but are now second nature after working through the struggle!” Years later, this second nature will show as she begins her job working as a Software Engineer for Goldman Sachs in July. Congratulations, Annabelle! 

Annabelle Baer (Cohort 32)

Dillyn Payne, another Cohort 32 senior, recounts a different struggle: forming a routine and managing her time in the college environment: “Coming from high school, I did not know how to best manage my time or when to stop studying, so it took a while to adjust to this new environment.” However, this quickly changed as Dillyn learned to juggle multiple responsibilities, including QUEST, becoming the president of Theta Tau, and joining the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society, among others. When asked about her favorite memory from QUEST, Dillyn explained that her favorite memory was QUEST formal: “It was so much fun to hang out with everyone in Cohorts 31 and 32 for an evening outside of completing assignments together!” Outside of QUEST, Dillyn’s favorite college memory is when she studied abroad. “I went to Australia in January 2020, right before COVID started. It was amazing to travel to the other side of the world with a group of strangers and be immersed in another country. I enjoyed being independent and challenging myself to get outside of my comfort zone, and I look forward to doing it again in the future sometime soon!” Dillyn will soon get to experience this independence outside of her comfort zone as she begins her role at Northrop Grumman as an Associate Electrical Hardware Engineer in Baltimore. We wish you the best, Dillyn! 

Dillyn Payne (Cohort 32)

The last graduating senior I talked to was Cohort 33’s Varun Singhai. Varun is a Computer Science major who had applied to QUEST because of the “soft skills [he] knew [he’d] gain and wonderful people [he’d] meet.” Both of these held true as soon as he began BMGT 190H, where he recounted all of “the consistent late-night meetings [his] BMGT 190H team would go through and the collective struggle we all got to share!” Aside from class, Varun also explained that it was “valuable seeing the presentation and soft skills [he] learned from QUEST reflect well in [his] internships.” When asked if he could change anything in his college career, Varun recounted, “I wish I could join more organizations outside of school. I think I could have gotten more involved and made more friends as a result. I also advise all current QUEST students to make as many connections as they can and learn as much as they can from the projects; the skills you learn reflect well in the real world.” Varun will continue to have a chance to use these skills as he moves to New York City to work as a Software Engineer for Google. Congratulations, Varun! 

Varun Singhai (Cohort 33)

We would also like to congratulate our additional graduating seniors this winter: 

  • Mutaz Ahmed (Cohort 32), B.S. Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science
  • Vivekjyoti Banerjee (Cohort 34), B.S. Computer Science and Mathematics
  • Aaron Kurtz (Cohort 33), B.S. Finance
  • Alyssa Miller (Cohort 32), B.S. Criminology & Criminal Justice
  • Srivats Narasimhan (Cohort 31), B.S. Computer Science and Finance
  • Don Omeili (Cohort 31), B.S. Electrical Engineering
  • Morelle Tchuindjo (Cohort 31), B.S. Mathematics
  • Siddharaj Vaghela (Cohort 34), B.S. Computer Science
  • Sapna Bagalkotkar (Cohort 33), B.S. Computer Science

The entire QUEST Community is so proud of our twelve graduating seniors and can’t wait to see all the big things you do post-graduation. Stay in touch, we’ll miss you! Congratulations! #theQUESTneverends

QUEST Highlights of the Back-In-Person Semester

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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! 

Cohort 34 Students Prepare for the Upcoming QUEST Conference

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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

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QUEST Social Fosters Community with Masquerade Picnic

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QUEST students with Dr. Bailey at the QUESTSocial Masquerade Picnic on April 24th

In addition to the professional and academic opportunities, one of the great things about QUEST is the community aspect. The Masquerade Picnic, hosted by QUESTSocial, gave many students the opportunity to reconnect with people they hadn’t seen in over a year!

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Knock Knock Give a Sock: QUESTServes Organizes Sock Collection Drive

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QUESTServes partnered with Knock Knock Give a Sock to host a sock donation drive between March 8th and 12th!

QUESTServes, QUEST’s newest student organization, just wrapped up its Knock Knock Give a Sock event. One of QUESTServes’ main initiatives for this year was to begin to partner with organizations outside of the University of Maryland’s campus and give back. They were able to accomplish this goal when QUESTServes student Ryan Goodman (Cohort 36) had the opportunity to meet with the founder of Knock Knock Give a Sock, Adina Lichtman. Adina had started the charity when she was in college, where she physically knocked on students’ dorm room doors and asked for sock donations. She was able to collect thousands of pairs of socks for homeless shelters this way. Though QUESTServes wasn’t able to knock on dorm room doors this semester, they were still able to collect hundreds of pairs of socks for local homeless shelters over the past few weeks! I caught up with Ryan Gerbes (Cohort 33), the QUESTServes lead, to learn more about the project. 

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Congrats to the QUEST Grads, Class of 2020

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You might be thinking, “Class of 2020 is over with. We’ve moved on to Class of 2021.” But let’s not forget about the elite, underdog class that is winter graduates. Okay, perhaps I am biased because I am a part of said group. But nonetheless, I wanted to take a second to shoutout the underrated Class of Winter 2020, and more specifically the incredible group of QUEST students that will be leaving the University of Maryland after this semester to pursue life outside of undergraduate school, whatever that life may be.

Neil Duggal (Cohort 31)  

Eitan Isser (Cohort 32)

Pranav Kuruba (Cohort 32)

Alec Lahr (Cohort 31)

Arianna Minas (Cohort 32)

Rohan Mishra (Cohort 32)

Lexi Paidas (Cohort 31)

Adam Sarsony (Cohort 29)

James Wang (Cohort 29)

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Alumni Get Creative in MasterClass Events

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We can all agree that the University of Maryland looks a bit different this semester, and it’s been a long time since most QUESTees have seen each other in-person. Despite no longer being able to see each other at events in the QUEST Lab or around campus, QUEST Social and QUEST Creative have been hard at work to keep the QUEST community engaged! 

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A Virtual Hug to Cohort 35!

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There’s nothing like the excitement of QUEST camp to get the semester going. It doesn’t matter if camp is at Camp Letts or at Camp Zoom, getting welcomed into the QUEST community is such a wonderful time for a new cohort. And it’s safe to say that Cohort 35 has made history with its virtual camp. Nonetheless, our favorite QUEST camp traditions were still continued along with some new activities. Despite some modifications, pilot products, skits, and improv were still fan-favorites – and Cohort 35 was even able to do a virtual escape room! 

The week before the semester began, camp lasted between 10am-1pm or 2:30pm with optional 7-8pm activities from Monday through Friday, so students had extra time to get to know each other. Lunches were arranged so that individuals with similar interests, majors, etc. were all jumbled together to have a chance to meet. Of course, the logistics were very different from other years, but the commitment to giving QUESTees a memorable experience shone through the entire week. 

Some feedback from Cohort 35 member Aaliya Husain included, “The genuine care that the QUEST community demonstrated for our cohort throughout the week was a great start to the semester and my time with QUEST. I can’t wait to get to meet everyone in person!”

This experience could not have been accomplished without compassionate educators and mentors. Regardless of Zoom fatigue, mentor Kurnal Saini (Cohort 33) mentioned that “the team building exercises Dr. Armstrong and Rachel planned were very successful in bringing the teams together.” 

“As a mentor, it was very rewarding for me to see how a new team and new cohort were able to become noticeably more comfortable around each other over the course of 5 days, despite only meeting virtually,” said mentor Grace Zhang of Cohort 31.

Lastly, mentor Gesna Aggarwal (Cohort 32) emphasized that even with its differences, camp went very smoothly. Special shoutout to Gesna because she was on my 190H team!

To Cohort 35 – the next couple years in the QUEST program will be some of the most formative in your life. Take advantage of being surrounded by amazing, motivated, intelligent, and talented individuals. Push each other and enjoy every minute. Welcome!

QUEST is Just A Zoom Call Away

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If you’re reading this, I hope that you are hanging in there at home and making the most out of your time. An important thing to remember is that the QUEST community is still here for you, and there are so many exciting activities being held to spend time together while apart! A poll was sent in the Facebook group to gauge people’s interests in various online events. QUEST held several this month and will continue to hold virtual events moving forward:

Campus Recruiter Panel
The panel was held on April 20th and featured recruiters from Stanley Black & Decker, Adobe, and Accenture. There were 25 students on the call who had the chance to submit questions and hear from recruiters. Students were then divided into breakout rooms to have smaller group conversations with a recruiter!

Student Leaders Panel
A presentation was given on April 30th from QUEST students who are also student leaders on campus! Doron Tadmor (Q29), Gesna Aggarwal (Q32), Eitan Isser (Q32), Rishik Narayana (Q31), and Jacqueline Deprey (Q30) all answered questions about the organizations they are involved with including TAMID, Bitcamp, Images, SGA, Technica, ODK, and Survivor Maryland.

Trivia Nights and Movie Nights
QUEST Social hosted movie and trivia night events! Dr. Bailey led the trivia night as alumni and students were separated into breakout room teams to answer questions – a super fun way to test your trivia knowledge and get to know peers and alumni.

Exit Interviews
Exit interviews were conducted online via Zoom. Jess Roffe, our assistant director, met with over 50 seniors to gather feedback on their experiences and test their QUEST knowledge with one final team activity.

Office Hours
The Quality Guild has pivoted to online Office Hours, which will continue over the summer. Sign up to meet with Dr. Bailey, Dr. Armstrong, Jess, or Rachel to discuss whatever is on your mind.

Senior Sendoff
Here come the water works. Senior Sendoff is a tradition held every year to honor the graduating seniors of QUEST that have dedicated so much to our community. The farewell is typically an event in D.C. but was modified to fit the current circumstances. But don’t worry, this year’s event had tons of laughs and tear-jerking moments as we honored Cohorts 29 and 30.

Over 50 graduating seniors attended the Zoom call, which was led by two seniors, Joyce Zhou from Cohort 29 and Olivia Wolcott from Cohort 30. There were nostalgic slideshows, “thank yous” from various QUEST members, superlatives voted on by the cohorts, and last but not least, awards from the guild. Congratulations to the following seniors who earned the prestigious awards:

At the end, Cohorts 29 and 30 were separated into their own breakout rooms to celebrate with one another and reminisce one last time as an undergraduate cohort together.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! We will miss your leadership, dedication, and most of all, seeing you around the QUEST Lab. An extra thank you to Kara Eppel and Celine Moarkech (both Cohort 29) who have led QUESTPress for the last few years and have put their all into this student organization! We will miss you!

Keeping Up With Their Capstone

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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!