In a competition where strategy met speed, a team of QUEST students rose to the challenge with focus and collaboration. Representing both the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the A. James Clark School of Engineering, and the QUEST Honors Program, Civil and Environmental Engineering major Oluwatobiloba Oloye (Cohort 42), Information Systems and Finance double majors Marvi Shroff (Cohort 42) and Meilin Yuan (Cohort 42), and Mechanical Engineering major Yesha Shukla (Cohort 42) claimed first place at the 2025 UPitt FreeMarkets Race to the Case Competition – a unique, high-intensity supply-chain-focused challenge that tested not only analytical thinking, but also endurance, composure, and teamwork under pressure.

Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business on October 18th, the competition blended rigorous business analysis with the thrill of a timed race. Over three intense rounds, teams literally raced from building to building: receiving a prompt in one location, reading it while sprinting to the next, and submitting their work at a third location under a strict time limit. For the UMD team, it was an experience unlike any they had faced before. “We’ve never been in a competition that made us physically move around campus while solving business problems, and it pushed us in a whole new way,” shared Shroff. “It wasn’t just about having the right answer, it was about staying calm and strategic under pressure.”

Each stop presented a new business scenario, demanding both technical knowledge and creative flexibility. The final round required teams to develop a supply chain optimization strategy for a multinational corporation grappling with sustainability and cost efficiency. With limited time and mounting pressure, the UMD team drew on the very tools that had become second nature to them through QUEST: structured problem solving, systems thinking, and data-backed storytelling to which judges praised their presentation for being both analytically rigorous and strategically cohesive.

Despite the frantic pace, the UMD team quickly adapted. Between rounds they refined how they collaborated: splitting work strategically instead of trying to tackle every problem as a full group. “Usually in QUEST classes, you work as one unit,” Yuan explained. “But after the first round, we changed formation and divided tasks based on strengths. That decision made the rounds much more efficient.”

For this team, though, the victory was rooted in something deeper than preparation alone, but rather it was built on years of shared growth. Having first met as teammates in BMGT/ENES 190H, their very first QUEST course, the group had already spent a semester learning to analyze problems, debate ideas, and deliver polished client presentations together. That early foundation became their biggest advantage. “Because we’ve worked together since our first QUEST project, we understand each other’s work styles.” Shukla shared.

Even so, familiarity didn’t mean the process was effortless. The physical and mental challenges of the competition tested their patience and pushed their communication skills to new limits. “There were definitely moments when the pressure got to us,” Oloye reflected. “But we learned to slow down, listen, and trust each other again, and that’s where our teamwork really grew.” That trust became a defining factor in their performance. As Shroff emphasized, “There were times when we genuinely had no choice but to depend on each other’s work and skills. We couldn’t double-check every detail—so believing in the team was the only way forward.”

Beyond strengthening their bond, the experience offered professional lessons that will stay with them long after graduation. “We learned how to think fast without sacrificing quality,” Shroff said. “In the real world, decisions often need to be made under pressure, and this competition was the perfect simulation of that environment.” 

Beyond strengthening their bond and the first-place prize, the experience left a lasting professional impact. The team noted gaining deeper insights into how businesses must balance agility with precision – a lesson that extends far beyond the classroom. “It reminded us that good ideas mean nothing without execution under real pressure,” Shukla reflected. “This competition taught us how to think quickly, trust each other, and deliver under constraints, skills we will need to carry into our future careers.”

The victory also reinforced what they believe makes QUEST students stand out. “It was a full-circle moment,” Shroff said. “Everything QUEST teaches, from structured problem-solving to polished presentations, came together seamlessly, even if getting there wasn’t effortless.”

When asked what advice they would share with future QUESTees, the team was unanimous: take the leap. “Don’t be afraid to sign up for these competitions,” Yuan encouraged. “You truly have nothing to lose. Seek discomfort. If you’re already presenting in class, you can do this.” Shroff added, “We’ve done around ten competitions now, and you only get better by trying, learning from other teams, your mistakes, and from the pressure itself.”

Their story is a testament to what makes QUEST students stand out: a drive to challenge limits, support one another, and embrace every opportunity to learn. For future QUESTees, it is a reminder that success is not found by standing still, but sometimes you will have to race for it. 

A project that began as a struggle to find good study materials for a business class has blossomed into an Edtech startup aimed at helping students and teachers alike. Kavin Seralathan, a junior information systems major in Cohort 44, has created a software program called Puddle. Seralathan’s program uses artificial intelligence to generate practice problems based directly on teacher’s materials from their learning management systems (like Canvas). Not only that, but the software also gives feedback to teachers on what students are struggling with and allows them to fine tune their teaching. 

In an interview with Seralathan, he talked about how he came up with the idea for the startup. “One of my classes was this business class right? And I wasn’t getting practice questions to prepare for the exams,” he said. “You want to get practice questions to do well on an exam. And you know, it was bad because the only thing the professor told us to do was read the textbook.” Because he couldn’t get help from his professor, he decided to create his own custom GPT to create practice questions based on the textbook. This led to him getting some of the best exam grades in the class, and many of his peers asked him how he did it. 

With this initial interest from his classmates and the improvements on his own grades from using the custom GPT, he began wondering how this service could be expanded and improved. He started asking how he could create a service that would also benefit the teachers creating these courses. While there are other Edtech AI tools that can be used by students for studying, Puddle is unique in that it also gives teachers feedback on what their students are struggling with. It allows teachers to better understand their students, and as Seralathan shared “put the ‘why’ behind the grade and improve student learning through practice and deep insights.” The program analyzes what students are getting wrong and allows teachers to understand why they might be struggling in class overall. In the end, it only helps to get students practicing while also showing teachers what they can emphasize better in class.

Puddle is currently going to be implemented in multiple different private schools in the next couple of weeks. Seralathan has worked with 32 different teachers gathering feedback and insight into his program and has been using the qualitative data collected to improve Puddle. Some teachers are eager to implement the program, and there will be continued work on the program to further improve and tailor it to students and educators. 

Seralathan hopes to see Puddle continue to grow and improve over the next couple of years. He hopes that it can join the likes of Quizlet and Khan Academy as one of the biggest resources for studying with the added benefit of also actively engaging educators within the program. Puddle is meant to be a tool with practice problems and creates a better learning environment, integrating both teacher and students into its program. This way, students get practice and teachers can understand students’ grades more thoroughly. Puddle has only just begun making ripples in the sea of new Edtech advancements, and it shows no signs of slowing.

If you’re at all inspired by Kavin’s story or have an interest in educational technology, Kavin is always happy to connect. As he works to grow Puddle, he’s actively seeking a technical cofounder to continue improvement. Feel free to reach out to him at kseralat@terpmail.umd.edu to learn more or explore ways to get involved.