Category Archives: Student Spotlight

Student Spotlight: Didac Hormiga & “Flee”

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Didac with his new App, Flee

 

Didac Hormiga is a junior in the QUEST Program (Q28), and he’s been working on his startup “Flee” for the past year! The work he’s done has allowed him to connect people in his community and push the event finding platform to the next level. Click below to learn more about his experience, and follow these links to download the app!

iPhone/IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flee-find-local-events/id1207597483?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flee.flee

 

What is Flee, and what value do you believe you provide your users?

Flee stands for “Find Local Events and Entertainment,” and we do just that. I started working on it during my sophomore year because I felt like I didn’t know what events were going on. It seemed like I was finding out about a lot of things after they had happened so regarding our value, I believe we’re expediting the event finding process and making it more social. We aim to help people find out where their friends are, where their friends are going, and determine the atmosphere before they arrive.

 

What’s contained in the latest update of Flee?

The big update adds a lot of different things to the experience. The main aspect of the update is the addition of a “Connect with Facebook” button that will allow users to connect their Flee accounts with Facebook and see which friends are on the app. When we first launched the app, we found that a lot of people couldn’t find their friends on the app. We had a native log-in so people had to search for friends by username which made the process a lot more difficult. This button should make the process easier and improve connections within the app.

We’ve also improved things on the back end and made changes to allow the app to run faster and smoother. The database and security have also been improved along with additions to the social experience. We added likes and comments on events and stories to allow people to interact with stories to improve the way users interact with each other on the app.

 

What were the things that went through your mind when making the decision to connect your app with Facebook?

There were a lot of strategic factors that went into the decision-making process. Choosing Facebook could lead to a lot of complications in our app, but after thinking about the future of our app, we determined it was worth the risk.

One big issue we foresaw was that our users would assume all Facebook events were present on Flee. Another issue was centered around the technical aspects of our product. By using Facebook’s API, we’ve connected ourselves to the company so if they make a change that could potentially hurt our app.

Initially, we tried to avoid the Facebook connection, but after hearing feedback from our users regarding the difficulties finding friends, we thought it made sense for us to work with Facebook and give our users the ability to gain more from the app and better connect with each other.

 

Where do you see the app moving forward?

The goal for Flee has always been to connect people to their communities. Regarding our next steps, it’s all going to be in the realm of facilitating the event finding process and improving the connections within communities.

 

What’s the biggest mistake you think you’ve made in the creation of Flee?

It’s been a long journey filled with many ups and downs, but I would say one of the bigger downs was when I connected my personal debit card to AWS instead of my business credit card. This resulted in a $10,000-dollar charge being placed on my personal card which was a hassle to get straightened out. Something I’ve learned is that anytime you’re signing a contract, or doing anything with your product, you must be detail oriented and make sure that you properly understand the terms of any agreement and its implications.

 

What’s been the greatest success you’ve seen so far? What’s the greatest success you hope to see?

The greatest success has been seeing my friends find events on Flee that they weren’t aware of, inviting their friends, and going to these events. It’s been a long journey to get to this point so it’s rewarding to see that type of support from my community.

In the future, I’d like to see growth and aim to impact more people around the country and around the globe. Right now, we’re pretty event focused, but I feel that in the future we’ll be able to broaden that focus and help people be more connected with their communities in all aspects of life.

 

Student Spotlight: Ishaan Parikh & His KPCB Summer Experience

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Last semester, we interviewed QUEST student Ishaan Parikh (Q28) before he left for the KPCB Design Engineering Fellows program this summer. It’s a very selective program that offers its participants a valuable opportunity to engage with the culture of Silicon Valley. Learn more about his experience below!

 

What exactly were you doing over the summer?

There were 2 aspects to my summer internship in Silicon Valley. First, was being a software engineer at Indiegogo. I was doing full stack web development for them, working primarily on their back end with some front-end work added in as well.

 

The other side of my summer was the KPCB experience that I shared with the 79 other fellows. We attended talks led by people like John Doerr (a partner at KPCB) and Mary Meeker (a partner at KPCB) along with other CEOs from the KPCB portfolio companies. Outside of the professional sphere, I was also able to develop close relationships with the people in my cohort. We went paint balling, hiking, sailing, and were able to have fun as a community!

 

In what ways, do you think you were able to step out of your comfort zone?

In the context of the internship, I had not worked with any of the languages or frameworks to the extent that I did this summer. It was also challenging being thrown into the deep end on my project. My manager switched teams during my summer which left me as the only engineer with experience on the project. This gave me the opportunity to take a leading role and teach the other engineers what I had been doing.

Outside of that, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I was constantly meeting people, both professional and personally. There were multiple chances to attend talks and take advantage of being in the Valley. 

 

What was something new that you realized after your experience this summer?

Something that struck me this summer was the difference in team dynamics when comparing a work environment to a school. At school, people often end up dividing the work evenly by doing a little bit of everything. There might be implicit roles, but the lines are blurred a bit due to everybody’s ability to contribute to one part or another. This summer, I was in an environment where everyone on the team had assigned roles, and it was important to take control of your own work stream. At times, I had to stop from overextending myself and trying to fill the role of a PM or designer.

 

How did you feel about the diversity within Silicon Valley in reference to racial, gender, and ideological aspects of the culture?

Silicon Valley is definitely lacking in diversity, but having said that, a lot of companies are introducing diversity initiatives in hopes of turning things around.

Regarding my experience at Indiegogo, I felt that the company was very diverse. One of the founders was a woman, and they had multiple diversity and inclusion groups. My mentor over at the company was a woman who was an insanely talented engineer and taught me a lot over the summer.

The KPCB program was also 50/50 men/women which was really cool since it allowed me to meet a lot of people and learn from them. I noticed that I enjoy myself a lot more when I am surrounded by diverse groups of people and able to learn from them.

 

Where do you see Silicon Valley moving in the next 5 years in terms of the types of ideas and problems people might be trying to solve?

I want to preface my answer by saying that I don’t feel I know enough to accurately make any judgement on the future of the Valley, but I have seen a trend towards companies that are less flashy, but more impactful.

I met a lot of interesting companies in the KPCB portfolio and one meeting that stuck out to me was Nuna Health. They’re a data company that stores data for Medicare and Medicaid which isn’t flashy work like the things you’d see at Facebook, but it’s just as important.

I hope that in the coming years, we see more companies that are using tech to do something good. I think current grads should be looking out for companies that will provide them with opportunities to make an impact and bring about change in their communities.

 

After your experience over the summer, what do you believe your next step is going to be?

I love coding! I love the way your mind has to operate when working through questions, and I also love being able to make something that people are going to use. For now, I plan to continue coding while I still can. In the future, I could see myself moving up to more high level stuff, but for right now, I just want to keep coding.

 

Summer Recap: Internships

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QUEST students are well known for being involved and on the go during the semester, and we certainly don’t stop once school lets out. From systems engineering in San Francisco (Renee Adkins, Q23) to reimagining the orchestra right here at home (Sarina Haryanto, Q26), QUEST students have made a splash all over the country. For more details on what everyone’s been up to this summer, check out the #QUESTinterns series on Instagram!

QUEST Camp: Memories from Cohort 29

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By: Celine Moarkech (Q29)

Q29 at QUEST Camp

Early wake ups came a few days early for Cohort 29 students this semester because on August 24th, they headed to YMCA’s Camp Letts for their new member orientation.

As everyone walked into the meeting room that morning with sleeping bags and large backpacks, it quickly became clear: they were meeting their newest family members at UMD, people that they hoped they could laugh with in the QUEST lab and build something great with in 190H. Eyes scanned the room to find familiar faces but to also study the new ones. All that was known is that everyone was now in QUEST. That was about it. However, that was also about to quickly change and that one commonality was about to flourish into dozens.

The first day started with the expected icebreakers like pretending to be mystical creatures and speedy games for learning everyone’s name. Shortly after, the students were split into their teams for the semester. Groups then split off to do puzzles and some high and low ropes courses. It was a great opportunity to get dragged through mud resembling peanut butter, to be tumbled on by a fellow team member, and to be contorted in the most strange ways. But more importantly, it was when trust developed, when people cheered their new friends on, and when Q29 started to really come together.

In between the activities and camp style meals, teams developed team names and introductions while also having their first shot at developing a product together. Come the night time, everyone gathered around the campfire to roast s’mores and to introduce their teams. There were the ExtraterQUESTrials, the Best QUESTern, Clair-voyance (in honor of their mentor), and many more. Each introductory skit was funnier than the last, and the evening was filled with laughs. Following the campfire, teams regrouped one last time to work into the night on their first-ever product presentation together. Q29 student David Rosenstein said, “The true highlight of the two-day experience was bringing our idea to life. It was unbelievable to see some people who have always been leaders step back and count on and work with their team members.”

The next morning, Q29, along with their mentors and the Quality Guild’s judges sat at the picnic tables to present their projects. Products ranged from the FriendDex to an app on UMD’s dining hall nutrition to a cup that maintained its user’s ideal temperatures. It was a creative first round of projects and only a glimpse into what the next few years hold for Q29.

Having completed orientation, Cohort 29’s students are officially integrated into QUEST! Q29 may have concluded their orientation, but they are back with great memories and have started developing friendships that will live long beyond their time in QUEST. As David (Q29) ended, “aside from free food and time in the QUEST lab, I’m most excited to be surrounded by the best people at Maryland!” QUEST really is a community full of great people, and the journey has just started for its newest members!

Meet the New Faces of Q29/30!

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By: Matthew Masison (Q27)

This March, QUEST admitted 90 new students into Cohorts 29 and 30! We look forward to welcoming them into the QUEST community. I reached out to three new students, Haley, Cavan, and Barret, to learn more about them and what they hope to gain from QUEST.

Haley Greenspan

Hometown: Columbia, MD 

Cohort: 29

Majors: Finance and Computer Science

Things Haley does on campus: Phi Chi Theta business fraternity, peer mentor, intramural volleyball

Fun fact: Accidentally slammed the door on Britney Spears

What Haley hopes to gain from QUEST: As part of the Business, Society, and the Economy scholars program, I live in the same dorm as and take classes with only business majors. While it helps in making friends with people with similar interests, I think QUEST will be a great opportunity to make both new friends and experiences outside the business school.

Message to new cohort: Congrats on making it in and I’m excited to meet everyone!

Future aspirations: Unsure of what I want to do right after college, but I would eventually like to work in finance for a film production company.

 

Cavan Morley

Hometown: Los Alamos, New Mexico, but I moved to Jessup, Maryland around seven years ago. 

Cohort: 29

Majors: Mechanical Engineering and Government and Politics

Things Cavan does on campus (clubs, activities, etc): I can usually be found studying. Otherwise, I am relaxing with friends.

Fun fact: I have a first degree black-belt in martial arts.

What Cavan hopes to gain from QUEST: I was concerned that college would provide me with a great deal of technical experience but not much practical experience. I hope that QUEST can make up for the latter through project management, teamwork, and real world projects.

Message to new cohort: I can’t wait to meet everyone and get started!

Future aspirations: I hope to pursue a masters in either mechanical or aerospace engineering, eventually going into aerospace as a career.

 

Barret Rus

Hometown: Reisterstown, MD

Cohort: 30

Major: Finance

Things Barret does on campus: Maryland Images Tour Guide, Club Climbing Team, TAMID Group, Change the World Consulting, Terrapin Trail Club, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, Sophomore Wall Street Fellows

Fun fact: Last semester, with Terrapin Trail Club, I hiked 45 miles in one day and completed the Four State Challenge.

What Barret hopes to gain from QUEST: I want to interact in a community of innovative and passionate individuals who are able to share their interests and ideas with me, see problems from unique mindsets, and build my network on Maryland’s campus and beyond.

Message to new Cohort: Embrace the QUEST community. Q30 brings together some of the top leaders, innovators, and thinkers across three prestigious schools on Maryland’s campus. Get to know people outside of your major and outside of your school. Ask questions, build new ideas, and constantly work with your QUEST peers to better the world around you.

Future aspirations: I want to go into the field of management or strategy/operations consulting, hopefully working for one of the Big 3 consulting firms. After making connections in the industry, I want to pursue my passion for politics and work in the lobbying field or for the State Department. My dream job is to be the United States Ambassador to Australia.

Thanks Haley, Cavan, and Barret, and welcome to all of our new students!

Ishaan Parikh: KPCB Fellows Spotlight

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By: Chineme Obiefune (Q25)

QUEST student Ishaan Parikh (Q28) was one of only two UMD students accepted into the KPCB Design and Engineering Fellows this summer. This program has just a 5% acceptance rate across the country! Learn more about Ishaan’s plans this summer below!

Congrats on your acceptance! What KPCB track are you in?

There’s the design track, the product track, and the engineering track. I decided to pursue the engineering track.

What is it that drew you to the program?

I’m a computer science major, and I really want to be in Silicon Valley and get into the startup culture, but I don’t want to dive too deeply into the coding aspects of it. I find coding interesting, and I think it’s the backbone of many companies, but I want to experience the entrepreneurial part of things.

KPCB understands the need to mold these two disciplines and will be giving me the opportunity to intern with their portfolio companies and receive advice from the founders of these companies. I see this as a chance to learn from the founders of the companies and build my network with the people in my cohort and the Venture Capitalists in the program as well.

Do you know what company you’ll be interning with?

I’ll be at a crowd funding startup called Indiegogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/#/picks_for_you).

Where do you see this taking you in the short term (after summer) and the long term (after graduation)?

I’m interning with a lot of cool people from across the country. UMD only has a few people in the program, but there are over 50 other interns from the country who I hope to connect with. In the short term, I’m hoping to make friends and gain an immediate network of people.

In the long term, I’m confident that these people will go on to do amazing things so I’m looking forward to learning from them. I know they all share the same goal of potentially starting a venture or being involved in the startup sphere, and I can’t wait to interact with them.

How do you think QUEST and your other activities at UMD are preparing you for your internship?

QUEST and the Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship are teaching me a lot about the design process, which is going to be very important if I want to start a company. I’ve learned about empathizing, defining, and prototyping, which I’m sure will be beneficial during my time in the program.

What advice would you give to those interested in the KPCB fellows program?

Reach out to me when I come back from the summer and be sure to talk to other fellows at Maryland to hear their experience. I know they want more Maryland people so check out the website and apply!

Senior Spotlight: Michelle He

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By Grace Cha (Q24)

For this month’s senior spotlight, I had the wonderful opportunity to get the scoop on Q23’s Michelle He. You’ll notice her 490H team’s winning poster hanging brightly in the QUEST Lab – a poster that she helped her team design last semester for their project with Caterpillar.

Photo of Michelle He

Michelle He, Gelato Aficionado

Originally from Rockville, MD, Michelle will be graduating this May with a degree in Marketing and Information Systems. Her interests and hobbies include long-distance running, drawing and painting, losing at trivia nights, hiking, and attending dog meet-ups (even though she doesn’t own a dog). Some of her ambitious goals as a senior are to reach Yelp Elite status (Michelle: “Please like my reviews, guys!”) and to successfully complete a headstand by the end of the year.

Michelle has kept herself busy these past four years. Apart from QUEST, she also completed Smith’s Design Fellows program due to her interests in marketing and graphic design. She served as the Community Service Chair and VP of Marketing for SUSA, the Smith School’s student governing organization. She also is an active member of the professional business fraternity Phi Chi Theta and leadership society Omicron Delta Kappa. Currently, she designs various marketing materials for the Smith Undergraduate Office. Outside of the business school, Michelle works at the Eppley Recreational Center, and this past spring break, she led a community service trip in Baltimore focusing on socioeconomic equity.

The highlight of her college career was her study abroad trip to Milan, Italy for an entire semester in Spring 2016.

“Going to Italy was amazing. I took a picture of every gelato I ate abroad,” Michelle said, proudly smiling. She took a grand total of 42 pictures.

Post-graduation, Michelle will be working full-time for Deloitte Consulting as a Business Technology Analyst in the DC Metropolitan area.

“I decided to go into technology consulting because it provides the flexibility to apply different skills to a wide range of projects,” Michelle explained. “I ultimately want to pursue a career in design and technology, and I think Deloitte Consulting would be a great start to achieving that goal.”

However, Michelle isn’t quite just ready to jump into full-time employment. This upcoming summer, Michelle will be biking over 4,000 miles in a span of 70 days from Baltimore to Portland for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. After hearing about her Alternative Break co-leader’s experience running for the same organization, Michelle was inspired to do the same.

“This trip combines many different things I’m passionate about – traveling, fitness, and my commitment to giving back. It gives me the opportunity to connect with people all over the country and learn their stories… Ultimately, I think this would be a meaningful and epic way to end my senior year.”

The bike ride begins when she and other participating cyclists dip their wheels in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Over the span of 10 weeks, Michelle will be raising money and awareness for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, only bringing a small duffel and a sleeping bag. Staying at local YMCAs, churches, and community centers along the way, Michelle will also be donating time to cancer communities in select cities.

“I actually just got my bike last week. I’ve never owned a bike until now, but I’ve been taking cycling classes to prepare,” Michelle said. “I feel so conflicted. I’m excited for the summer to start but not excited for my final year at Maryland to end.”

And although there isn’t much time before graduation arrives, Michelle attributes a lot of her success to QUEST and its supportive community.

“I had my first internship at Booz Allen Hamilton with a QUEST alum, who is still very much involved. From there, QUEST helped secure my next internship. I know alumni all over the world who I can connect with,” Michelle said. “Actually, people in QUEST were some of the first to donate to my account for the Ulman Cancer Fund – that means a lot to me. It’s reassuring to know that the QUEST community still stays strong after graduation.”

For incoming and current QUEST students who luckily have a bit more time in their college careers, Michelle also imparts some advice.

“Hang out in the QUEST Lab between classes. Go the the QUEST-sponsored events and meet people you wouldn’t have talked to before. Bond through the joys and sorrows of a long team meeting because those are the moments you’ll remember by the end of it.”

If you are interested in supporting Michelle He on her bike ride for the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, check out her fundraising page here.

QUEST Team Wins Deloitte National Case Competition

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By Matthew Masison (Q27)

Every spring, Deloitte hosts a consulting case competition for undergraduate students. The competition is for freshmen and sophomore students and takes place in two stages – one local competition and a national competition. This year, a team made up of QUEST students entered the competition and took home the top prize. How did they do it? I talked with one of the team members to find out.

The team consisted of 4 sophomores from Cohort 27: Alex Tran, Brooke Nesselt, Conor Casey, and Josh Cocker. The team knew each other pretty well and made Nationals the year before but did poorly. Their team chemistry came up a few times during my talk with Alex. He identified their ability to work well together as one of the major advantages they had over other teams. That, combined with the insights into team dynamics that they learned from taking 190H, was one of the major factors in their success.

The event is held at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas, which according to Alex, “is basically a resort.” The team had a lot of fun running around the campus from break room to break room, trying the snacks in each of the different themed rooms. These distractions didn’t affect their performance too much though, as they worked hard until well after midnight practicing their presentation.

The UMD Team at the Deloitte National Undergraduate Case Competition

Alex highlighted a couple of different ways their experiences in QUEST, namely 190H, helped their team achieve a drastically different result than their freshman year. Other than learning the value of communication and good team dynamics, they were also more familiar with the ideation process. More than that, they had learned not to “force the use of the quality tools, but let ideas flow.” Another important thing 190H taught them was presentation skills, especially how to prepare a good slide deck. These were the main areas of improvement over last year, and the results speak for themselves.

The other main difference from last year was confidence in themselves. Their freshman year they “went in thinking that [they] had no chance going up against students from Berkeley and Cornell.” Alex stressed how much QUEST has enabled them to be confident in their abilities and gave them an advantage over other high performing students. He stated, “QUEST students have an edge. Students from Cornell were smart, but they didn’t have as much experience with team dynamics or the ideation process.” Alex closed with something that is very applicable to all of us in QUEST. He reminds us to “make the most of your QUEST experience. You can definitely apply the things you learn here in the real world.” QUEST has a lot to offer students that really put effort into learning and developing skills that are presented to them. Thanks Alex for reminding us about that, and congratulations to Alex, Brooke, Conor, and Josh!

 

Senior Spotlight

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By Jason Ho (Q24)

It’s March. The white walkers have begun to melt and cool breezes blow upon us. In light of this wondrous time of the year, another phenomenon has also commenced; the rollover of this year’s graduating class of QUEST! As their names are etched into the alumni books and their cohort photos mysteriously disappear from the labs, the QUESTees of Cohort 23 & 24 pack their bags and bid their farewells. However, it is not without a few words of wisdom. In this article, we shine a light upon two budding seniors, Andrew Lee (Q23) and Michael George (Q23), as they lay upon the QUEST community their stories of how they got to where they are today and what they have to look forward to in the next chapter of their lives.

Tell us a lot about yourself.

Andrew Lee: I’m a senior Computer Science major in Cohort 23 currently TA’ing 190H. I’m originally from the Philadelphia area, but I came to UMD because of the great computer science program. After going through the STS Scholars program, I wanted to be a part of another community and applied to QUEST. I like to eat, travel, play board games, poker, tv shows, football, go to concerts, ultimate frisbee, video games, music, exercising, and golf.

Favorite food: Sushi (check out Daikaya in DC if you haven’t been)
Favorite place I’ve travelled: Taipei
Favorite board game: Catan
Favorite poker: Texas Hold ‘Em
TV show: West World *waiting on Game of Thrones to come back

Michael George: I am a senior Computer Science major in Cohort 23 and I am also a member of QUEST Recruiting and a PM on QUEST Dev. I love technology and that’s part of the reason why I decided to become a Computer Science major. Otherwise I really enjoy sports, especially football, baseball and basketball, and I’m slowly getting into soccer. I also really enjoy listening and creating music. I play a little guitar, drums and bass and I enjoy singing as well. For this last year, I’ve gotten very fond of Chance and have been listening to Coloring Book almost all of the time.

A lot of QUEST students are hungry and ambitious for the road ahead. Once before in those shoes, can you tell us now about your experience as you applied to different jobs?

Andrew Lee: Going through QUEST really opened my eyes up to all the different roles I could do outside of a typical software development job. After interning 2 summers as a software engineer, 1 summer as a project manager, and 2 QUEST capstone projects, I applied to a variety of jobs within the consulting, product management, and software engineering fields. Getting rejections really sucked at first, but after the first few, you become sort of numb to it. Gradually, a few offers started to come in, so I really had to ask myself what I really wanted to do after college. It was easy to show enthusiasm during interviews at all these different companies for different positions because I actually was interested in doing a variety of roles. During October-November, I had at least 2 interviews a week and it was almost like taking another class. In the end, I figured that even if I eventually wanted to go into consulting, management, or product management, it would be best to first hone my computer science skills at a software development position. I chose to go with the software position with IBM because it touches on 2 technologies I’m interested in going further with: AI and Cloud.

Michael George: Honestly, as a Computer Science major at Maryland, they prepare you well to be a software developer, but I remember realizing that I was not very passionate about it and that I couldn’t see myself doing that for a career. Thankfully because of QUEST and the Silicon Valley trip, I learned about Product Management and I was instantly infatuated with the idea of becoming a Product Manager. I started looking for full time positions as a Product Manager, but most companies usually promote you to that position after working as a Software Developer or proving yourself in some other area first. As I did not see that many options, I started to apply and interview for Software Engineering roles but nothing was really working out and I remember feeling discouraged. It was at that point where I received some of the best advice/encouragement that I’ve ever had and the timing of it made it impactful. A QUEST alumnus told me to never settle and not to worry because at some point it will all work out. Finally, I got an interview with Microsoft for a Program Manager position and thankfully, I was extended an offer to do something that I am very passionate about.

So now that you’ve made it, enlighten us about which lucky companies will be taking you in and what you’ll be doing there.

Andrew Lee: I’ll be working as a Cloud Software Engineer in the IBM Watson space. This means I’ll be working on developing cloud infrastructure to support Watson applications. IBM is currently focusing on really expanding their Cloud and Watson cognitive capabilities and services, so I’ll be in the middle of all that. I’ll be based out in the Astor Place office in Manhattan if anyone wants to come visit me.

Michael George: I’ll be working as a Program Manager at Microsoft, and I will determine the team that I will be on in the next few months. As a Program Manager, you oversee a specific feature or application and you are constantly working with engineering, design, and business teams to refine and improve your product for your target users.

If there is one thing about your company that made you go there, what is it?

Andrew Lee: The opportunity to build out their services, infrastructure, and applications. IBM is rapidly expanding the products they’re offering, and this is a great opportunity to be a part of creating their new flagship products. IBM is also doing some really cool things through Watson such as cancer research and sentiment analysis.

Michael George: Microsoft is at an awesome place as a company right now, with a relatively new CEO that has changed the culture of the company and new products that are revolutionizing the markets that they are in, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of that.

What advice do you have for students looking to find positions like yours?

Andrew Lee: Network, network, network. QUEST, friends, and mentors are all excellent ways to meet new people that are already in jobs that you’re potentially interested in. Just applying online has maybe a 10% response rate, but during the fall semester interview season, there were so many opportunities to network and do interviews. If possible, try and get your job search done in the fall when most of the opportunities are still open. Don’t be afraid to take as many interviews as possible and study up for appropriate interviews (whiteboard coding, case interviews, etc). For those of you interested in software development, I recommend Cracking the Code Interview and the website Leetcode. Also, try to plan your interviews around classes, and keep in touch with professors when you miss class. Definitely try any company you’re interested in. The worst they can say is no.

Michael George: Network and get involved. I can’t stress how important networking was for me during my job search. Take advantage of all the QUEST events and meet not only alumni but also students from other cohorts. There is so much talent within the QUEST program and you never know when you may need to rely on that one senior you met from cohort 23 to get you an interview at a company that you are really interested in. In addition to that, getting involved in different organizations can help you with talking points and just gaining relevant experience. With Recruiting, I learned a lot about giving a good elevator pitch and being a PM with QUEST Dev was a great talking point during my interviews. I also using Cracking the PM interview because it provides a lot of great insights for preparing for a PM interview. Most importantly, just relax!

Now that the hard part is over, let’s talk about the fun stuff. What’s the plan for when you graduate?

Andrew Lee: My start date isn’t until late August, so I’ll probably try to travel, golf poorly at the UMD golf course, and see friends until then. I’ll probably bounce between my Commons apartment and my parent’s home in Philadelphia. After that, I’ll be in New York City.

Michael George: Currently, my start date is early July so most likely June will be spent catching up with friends and family. I’ll be moving to Seattle, WA and I expect that there will be a QUEST to Seattle trip at some point (@Jessica Macklin).

QUEST Student Chandler Pierce Develops New App

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By Jacob Wilkowsky (Q19)

Chandler Pierce (Q23) was recently featured in the Diamondback for developing the app, Peer Pressure. Chandler, an accounting major in the Smith School, collaborated with his brother (coding) and a friend (illustrations) to bring the game to reality. Read more about Chandler’s app here. (Angela Jacob, Diamondback)

http://www.dbknews.com/2017/01/30/drinking-game-peer-pressure-umd/