Let the Creativity Flow: QUEST Creative’s Journey to Bring our Community Closer Together

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QUEST provides a lot of opportunities for student involvement. The program’s various clubs give students the chance to work with QUESTees across cohorts, get to know staff and faculty members outside of the classroom, and make great connections with alumni. The clubs provide great diversity in terms of what they offer, so whether you like to create functional web applications, write and publish stories, or even plan fun events and activities for students, there is a club for you. Currently QUEST has seven extracurricular clubs comprising of QUESTPress, QUEST Dev, QUEST Development Series, QUEST Corporate, QUEST Social, QUEST Recruiting, and the newest addition, QUEST Creative.

QUEST Creative was formerly called QUEST Marketing. QUEST Marketing’s primary job was to design and create posters and fliers for the Quality Guild and QUEST student organizations. Despite its success, the club wished to expand its scope in order to be more inclusive to other forms of art other than graphic design. QUEST Marketing was known for creating beautiful, artistic posters that grabbed attention and instilled awe, so the team members kept this in mind as they went about rebranding the club. The team members wanted the club to be known for its creativity, and in order to emphasize this trait, they changed the club’s name to QUEST Creative and made its ultimate goal to “expand and encourage creativity and the desire to create in all shapes and forms” (Ivy Xia, Q25).

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Each month, QUEST Creative follows a specific theme that gives them inspiration for what to teach their members during general body meetings and how to create events that cater to all QUEST members. This month’s theme is arts and crafts, and in honor of that, QUEST Creative’s first event was a paint night that took place on March 1st. Matthew Masison from Cohort 27, one of the students who led paint night, noted that the event was very successful. All spots were reserved well before the week of the event, and it was QUEST Creative’s first time bringing the QUEST community together on a large scale. Matthew saw that many of the attendees were from older cohorts (25, 26), and told me that QUEST Creative will market more to the newer cohorts (29, 30) as well. Next month’s theme will be on poster design, as QUEST students are preparing for their poster presentations in their 190H class.

QUEST Creative is off to a great start, and after speaking with Ivy Xia from Cohort 25, I learned a bit about what kind of measures the club is taking to ensure that their success is prolonged. Ivy mentioned that she and the team are working on ways to give their goal more structure in order to benefit the club’s members and the QUEST community as a whole. She also told me about how the club is beginning to prepare for its spring recruiting launch and that she hopes the large-scale events QUEST Creative will hold in the future will raise awareness of the club and attract prospective members.

As QUEST Marketing became QUEST Creative, its objective went from developing aesthetic projects for student organizations and designing merchandise for corporate partners to engaging the entire QUEST community to think creatively and bond over beauty. Now their general body meetings not only comprise of gaining skills in functional programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Adobe XD, but also learning about other forms of creation and preparing for community-wide events. If interested in attending these meetings, you’re in luck. QUEST Creative is looking for members who share the team’s passion for learning new skills and creating works of art in many different mediums. Their application can be found at ter.ps/joinqc, and if you have any questions, email qcreativeumd@gmail.com.

Where Are QUEST Students Going Over Spring Break?

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Every student can agree that we cannot wait for spring break! Spring break is week-long relaxation period from schoolwork, early morning wakeups, and time commitments. This week, I went around QUEST asking students what their plans are for spring break!

Traveling

Roger Mao (Q29) exclaimed, “I am going to Barcelona with a friend for spring break! I am super excited to moped around the city, eat cultural foods, and of course watch the FC game! Also, on my way back to America, my friend and I are going to visit the blue lagoon in Iceland which I am psyched see!”

Jack Sturtevant (Q29) said that he’ll be visiting the Bay Area with QUEST to Silicon Valley. “I cannot wait to visit Facebook and eat some of the famous Clam Chowder and sourdough bread from Boudin. Thanks QUEST!”

Giving Back

Shanaya Mullan (Q29) explained that she is going to Houston, Texas for Harvey relief. “I am excited to help repair a community that has lost so much to this natural disaster.”

Family

Haley Greenspan (Q29) said that she’s just hanging at home for spring break and spending time with family and friends. “I really miss my bed and home cooked meals, so I’m basically counting down the days for break to start!”

Adam Hostetter (Q29) expressed that he cannot wait for spring break! “My sister is supposed to have her baby this week so when I go home I plan on spending my time with her and my newborn nephew! I even bought him a Terp beanie-baby!”

Spring Break

Whether QUEST students are traveling somewhere cool or just taking the time to relax, everyone cannot wait for spring break!

 

Reflecting on QUEST’s First Winter Orientation

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QUEST Camp (or Orientation) is the first introduction students have to the culture of quality and innovation within QUEST. In only two days, teams are formed, relationships are made, and pilot products are pitched. All these activities prepare the students for not just 190H, but the program as a whole.

I spoke to four students who recently went to QUEST Camp to gain a better understanding of how they feel it’s shaped their experience so far. Cece and Andrew are both members of Q26 and are mentors for Q30 this spring. Carly and Barret are both members of Q30 and just started 190H this spring.

Carly (third from right) with her team and mentor!

Questions for the Q30 Students

What pushed you to apply to the QUEST program?

Barret – I wanted to be surrounded by some of the most ambitious and knowledgeable students at UMD and use this community to grow my personal skill set.

Carly – Everyone who I had met at the business school had been driven and had already gotten heavily involved with multiple organizations within Smith. I had also been searching for a community of people to be with that would inspire me to think outside of the box and talk about important issues. QUEST seemed like the perfect opportunity to meet those kinds of people and really expand my way of thinking.

When you first heard about QUEST camp, what were you expecting?

Barret – A bunch of team building exercises and ice breakers. I was excited to meet my team and my cohort, but I thought the ice breakers were going to be cheesy and repetitive.

Carly – I was expecting a lot of ice breakers and tents when I first heard about QUEST camp. Also, we were the first cohort that was going to be going in the winter, and I figured we were going to be absolutely freezing and outside the whole day. I think that most of my cohort knew very little about QUEST camp so we would be surprised when we got there. None of us were expecting to get so close to our team so fast or to be inspired by design thinking within the first hour of being there.

What was the most exciting part of the experience?

Barret – My team, Q Debut, won the pitch competition with our idea Drop Stop, which is a rubber lip that is placed on the end of gas nozzles to ensure that no gas is spilled onto the ground. This helps the environment and then saves money. I never win anything, so it was nice to see our team achieve some early success.

Barret presents during the pilot products presentations

Carly – The most exciting part about QUEST camp for me was learning about the values of all the people in my team. I was surprised that most of us valued time management and careful planning which made me excited to enter into group projects with them. I’ve never been in a group project where I really thought that everyone as going to put all of their effort into it. I’m excited to work with my team and learn more about areas I know absolutely nothing about.

What part of the camp pushed you the farthest out of your comfort zone?

Barret – The improv. I hate dancing/acting in front of other people, but my team just went for it full speed, and we had a great time. The activity definitely brought us closer together as a team and might have helped contribute to our success in the pitch competition.

Carly – One problem my team really struggled with was coming up with problems before we came up with solutions. QUEST really challenges you to go beyond surface level thinking and find the root cause of problems before trying to solve them. This is something I hadn’t thought about before and definitely has challenged me to reflect more on my day-to-day life. Our mentor constantly kept putting us back on the right track when we would get derailed.

How do you think the QUEST camp experience is going to help you as you move forward through the program?

Barret – QUEST is all about the people, and whether or not you have a good experience can depend on whether or not you have a good team. My team is closer because of camp, and I hope this carries into the semester.

Carly – As we move forward into the semester, I know that I have already learned the basic idea of QUEST from the days spent at QUEST camp. It was made extremely clear to us that everyone who has been through the 190H-490H experience (our mentors) has grown immensely from it. The professors that joined us at QUEST camp were so excited to welcome us into the program and appeared extremely passionate about the work they do here. It’s clear that the program really impacts students, and QUEST camp has definitely laid the foundation for that learning.

 

Questions for the Mentors

What do you think of the staggered QUEST camp model (excursions in the summer & winter)?

Cece – As a member of Q26, I experienced the old model. It was nice to be able to spend part of a day with our sister cohort Q25. However, during the semester, my cohort, including myself, felt detached from QUEST. I think this new model allows for there to be a natural flow and connection between what is learned at QUEST camp and what is experienced during 190H.

Cece (bottom middle) with her team

Andrew – I think that this model worked out well, given the circumstances! I think it provides the new spring cohort with a smoother transition into their QUEST journey with 190H following shortly after. Some of the activities had to be changed around for weather-related reasons, but I thought that the new activities (i.e. improvisations instead of high ropes, bonfire inside instead of outside) that replaced the summer ones were still effective and fun in their rights.

What was the hardest part about going through QUEST camp as a mentor?

Cece – As a team member and participant of QUEST, the activities are structured to help you break down barriers and build bonds with your team. As a mentor, you have to understand and recognize that. Therefore, I had to determine what my role should be in every activity to ensure I was assisting but not partaking in their QUEST camp experience as if it was my own. It was hard to find that line and make sure not to cross it.

Andrew – It was hard to hold myself back from acting like a team member, especially during the pilot products activity. Having gone through 190H, 390H, 490H, and other courses having team-related projects, I was caught by surprise at the difference the role of a mentor entails rather than being simply a team member. However, it soon became an easy adjustment to overcome, learning to leverage my previous experiences and insights to these situations.

In what way did your team exceed your expectations?

Cece – I worked with my team in brainstorming ideas for the Pilot Products but let them build the idea by themselves. So it wasn’t until the following day that I saw their full presentation, and it was better than I expected. The skit was funny and well planned and they communicated important information in a succinct way. It was better than my 190H team and our “nano-fibers.”

Andrew – Letting the team take most of the initiative to develop their product, I was surprised and excited to see the level of aptitude that this team had, both individually and collectively as a team. They developed ideas and built off each other’s idea for what they presented at QUEST camp without any knowledge of the lessons they’ll learn in 190H. In addition, they all indicated that each of them shared an attribute of effective and clear communication, something that will be vital to their success with the QUEST Honors Program, and it clearly showed when I was and wasn’t with them. 

How do you think the QUEST camp experience is going to help you as you move forward as a mentor?

Cece – It helped me begin to understand what my role is as a mentor. Making sure to be helpful but not helping will take a while to learn. It also helped me build a bond with my team. Playing the different games and getting more comfortable was important for my team to experience and myself as a mentor.

Andrew – The opportunity to meet my team and see how they function together provided me a clear idea of my role and position I need to have as their mentor this semester. Being able to see them work together as a team in a stress-free, grade-free environment provided me insight into better understanding the backgrounds of each team member, as well as served as a basis for which all my mentees can improve upon for the semester.

Andrew and his mentee, Kevin, during Improv

QUEST Visits Booz Allen Hamilton’s Innovation Center in DC

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Does your workspace have robots, an augmented reality (AR) system designed to help aerospace engineers, or non-hackable security systems? Sadly, mine does not, but Booz Allen Hamilton’s offices do!

On Monday, February 12th, QUEST students were invited to tour the Booz Allen office located in the heart of DC. Walking into the workspace, it looked like we were entering an urban tech hub. The workspace was HUGE and very interactive. Some rooms were set up so you could write on everything, the walls, tables, floors, etc. However, the majority of Booz Allen looked like one big room that allows for different consulting teams to collaborate and talk with one-another, maintaining a very fun but productive environment.

Students received tours of the center

So, what do they actually do at Booz Allen? Before I toured the office, I thought Booz Allen was just another consulting firm. Wow, was I wrong! While it is consulting, Booz Allen uses the newest innovative technology to help with everyday problems. For example, how do you train a military soldier to stay composed while approaching a battle, a navy sailor to know what it’s like underwater in a submarine, or an airman in the Airforce to remain calm when jumping out of a plane? Using a Virtual Reality (VR) system, Booz Allen has constructed software that allows people to know exactly what it feels like to perform these tasks. In addition, by adding sensors that stimulate other senses such as smell and touch, Booz Allen has constructed a way to trick the brain into thinking that the experience is real.

I got a chance to test out the VR system myself!

Have you ever felt sound? Soon enough, you may! Booz Allen has created a device that allows you to operate different devices by hovering your hand over a panel vibrating from sound. Imagine, instead of all those buttons on the dashboard of your car, there was just one panel. This panel, operated using sound, would allow you to control the heat, sound system, or even make a phone call!

At Booz Allen, I really learned that the future is not as far as we may think. Written on the wall of Booz Allen is a quote from Abraham Lincoln – very fitting for an office located in the heart of DC – and it says that “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” At Booz Allen, the technologies of the future are only days away.

QUEST alumni and students

Thanks to our Booz Allen alumni, Nicole Lach (Q22), Danny Laurence (Q19), Eric Hamel (Q19), and Andie Rauta (Q14), for hosting us and to the QUEST Corporate student committee for setting this up!

QUEST Explores Online Mentoring Platform, Brazen

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If you read the article “The Alumni Network,” you know that QUEST’s focus on community involvement isn’t just targeted towards students, staff and faculty. QUEST is a program that keeps giving back to its community far longer than the average four-year lifespan of a college student. Through social events, anniversary gala celebrations, and electives taught by alumni, QUEST provides opportunities for everyone to interact and bond over shared values of quality, teamwork, and learning.

But what if you’re not in the area anymore, yet you still want to stay in touch with what’s going on in QUEST and help students back in Maryland make the most of the opportunities QUEST provides? Fortunately for our alumni who are out of state, or even out of the country, there is now a way to conveniently interact with members of the QUEST community in a quick, efficient manner.

Introducing Brazen. Brazen is an online platform that allows recruiters, job seekers, students, and of course, members of a community, to interact with one another over chat. Each online event is booked for a certain period of time, and there are several booths staffed by mentors, or whoever is giving out information. Each attendee has a short description in their profile about themselves so that more time is spent on answering the questions participants have for each other rather than on introducing themselves, since the chats are limited in length. QUEST has used this platform twice so far, the first for connecting alumni, and the second, for prospective QUEST students to speak with members of QUEST recruiting. The video below explains more about how Brazen works.

The first Brazen session was on the topic of whether or not QUEST alumni should go back to school. There were four booths of alumni who already received or were in the process of getting their graduate degrees. Two booths were staffed by Smith Graduates and Clark Graduates who received or were working towards an MBA, and two were staffed by graduates from all schools who had Masters, JDs, or PhDs. Alumni seeking advice were able to chat with those stationing the booth and receive advice.

One participant, Andrew Lee from cohort 23, said he took part in the session because he wanted guidance from those who followed a similar path as him. Andrew let me know that it was great hearing about what other alumni did to get where they are today, since it helped him better understand what steps he can take to pursue his passions. However, he said, “The most important thing [I] learned was to really take your time to learn and understand the subjects you are passionate about.”

The second Brazen session was for prospective QUEST students to talk to members of QUEST recruiting to learn more about the program, get application help, and learn about what a day in the life of a typical QUEST student is like. The mentors for this session were members of QUEST recruiting, including Noah Vernick from Cohort 28 and Silvia Caceres from Cohort 27, who enjoyed answering questions about their personal QUEST experiences and what makes the program really stand out to them. Noah found the Brazen platform user-friendly and easy to use and said he was a fan of the timing feature since “it keeps sessions productive and makes both sides accountable for being efficient.”

QUEST is always looking for new ways to bring the community together by finding topics that people share interests in and can bond over. To ensure that future Brazen sessions are just as exciting and full of participants as the first two, QUEST needs to pick topics that many people would be interested in learning about. QUEST can take this platform to many places, such as using it for alumni at certain companies to speak to students interested in internships or full-time positions, as well as for students to get a chance to speak with members from cohorts before them to learn more about how they handled their team projects.

If you have any ideas, feel free to share them in this google survey: https://goo.gl/forms/6OXZPbaYI9TLSM4Y2. We look forward to hearing your great ideas and implementing them when it’s time for the next discussion!

Rasa: Alumnus Sahil Rahman’s Venture Into Indian Cuisine

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By: Jacob Wilkowsky (Cohort 17)

Thanking Khawaja as I exited his Toyota Corolla, my first steps in the Navy Yard (DC) provided a much-needed opportunity to stretch. The trip from New York was uneventful, and surveying the sprawling lawn and views of the Anacostia river, I was glad I made the voyage. Although six minutes early, I decided to enter the large, bright blue door to Rasa. There I found Sahil Rahman, co-Founder of Rasa, member of QUEST Cohort 17, and co-TA of BMGT190H for my cohort (19), busily organizing his staff and rearranging the restaurant for lunch service.

Sahil offered a warm welcome and seating as I waited for the restaurant to begin service. I dropped my belongings off in a nook and surveyed the menu. I chose as my main a pre-made bowl, ‘Aloo Need is Love’, composed of sweet potato tikki, coconut ginger sauce, supergrains, charred eggplant, picked radish, and masala beets. To drink, a mango lassi. Both were delicious, quickly prepared, and reasonably priced. Although I hoped to savor the meal and take copious notes of each bite for my future audience… it didn’t work out – a testament to Rasa’s supreme quality and my lack of self-control.

Luckily for me, a top critic in The District and a bevy of other publications have since extensively covered Rasa, including the Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema, The Washington City Paper, EATER, and On Tap Magazine. These articles aptly describe Rasa’s interior, which “deftly fuses whimsy with comfort,” the bond of Sahil and his Partner Rahul Vinod, who know each other since childhood, and their journey to the kitchen, starting in the kitchens of their fathers’ restaurants. I can attest to the rich experience chronicled by these critics, and I can’t wait to visit again soon.

QUEST Students Spend Winter Break Traveling the World

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Many students look forward to winter break to be done with final exams and back at home catching up on TV shows and drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace. The much needed rest that has seemed an eternity away for the last month is finally in reach. With this said, many others get excited for the opportunity of no school to be busy in a different way. Whether that was being in Iceland spotting icy mountains or hanging out in the desert with camels, you know that QUEST students couldn’t sit still. Here are some of QUEST’s students’ highlights from their adventures over break:

 

Some of our QUEST students got to spend even more time together embracing QUEST ideals on the QUEST to Spain trip. They got to check out design thinking and the process behind it all over Barcelona and Madrid. Ari Riske from Cohort 29 loved getting to know more people in the QUEST program as well as all about Spain’s culture. Ari said, “Design was everywhere. We explored it in the architecture of hospitals and the Sagrada Familia as well as in wineries.”

 

Doron Tadmor Taking in the Views

Q29’s Doron Tadmor spent about half of his break backpacking through Chile. He said that discovering the affordable flight tickets opened the door to practicing his Spanish (being that he is a Spanish minor) as well as visiting a startup incubator in Santiago. Doron recounted that in the Patagonia region in Torres del Paine, “The views were by far the most amazing [I’d] seen. Mountains and the bluest glaciers surrounded [me] and the weather changed every five seconds from rain to sun to snow to hail.”

 

QUEST Students Together in Israel

Birthright also led some of our QUEST students on a memory-filled adventure through Israel. Melissa Maurer (Q29) said, “My favorite part was Tel Aviv because it was fascinating to see such a modern city unlike any of the other places we went in Israel. It has a lot of fun things to do. The Dead Sea was so cool because you were always floating and had to make a conscious effort to stay vertical.”

 

Chineme Obiefune (Q25) and a few other QUEST students found themselves in Iceland. Calling it their own QUEST adventure, Chineme described his trip to Iceland as “an experience that took [me] out of [my] comfort zone in many different ways. The temperature felt like it was below freezing and the roads basically had no speed limit, but the biggest thing was the environment. Everywhere you looked it was clear that the structure of all the buildings and the products that were being produced were influenced by the environment and the culture of Iceland.” He advises any future visitors to Iceland to “bundle up and make sure that you go with friends because there will be a lot of long car rides during your stay.”

 

There you have it. Some of the wildest adventures our students embarked on this past winter break. Get inspired and go on your own trip soon! I’m sure any of these people would argue that it’s worth the long plane rides any day!

Springing into a New Setting – QUEST2Spain!

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The QUEST2Spain course pioneered this past winter, where 20 students, both from within and outside of the QUEST Honors Program, spent 10 days total between Barcelona and Madrid to learn about design and innovation. Personally, I spent some time in Spain before and after the trip so that I could get fully immersed into the Spanish culture and setting, as I had just finished a quite stressful semester filled with the 490H capstone, the first part of the Aerospace capstone, and a plethora of concerts and recitals. Having the opportunity to travel to Spain, especially being my first time, was an unforgettable experience that, if offered in the future, I highly recommend anyone with the time and money to do!

I was honestly quite blind going into the course, to the point that I didn’t even realize the geographic locations of the cities we’d visit until I arrived. However, I had traveled to Europe in the past, so I did have a couple things I’d expect from European culture. To my surprise, there were many differences that I didn’t expect, ones I learned from self-travel and during the course. From the midday siestas businesses would take, to the times of meals being shifted over around 3 hours, and even the intimate interactions in public and at the dinner table, it provided a change in perspective and insights to situations that I took for granted back in the US.

Continuing with this theme of “surprise,” the course itself exceed the expectations I had prior. Starting out in Barcelona, we explored an array of sites and experiences, which ranged from visiting Gaudi’s works such as La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and Casa Batlló, to makerspaces in El Poblenou district, as well as a visit to Art Cava, a Cava maker, just outside Barcelona. Each day had a different focus, whether it was appreciating impact artists in Barcelona, or a comparison to the old vs. new traditions, or even digging into the intersection of art, science, and tradition. We even had the time to interact with students, undergraduate and graduate, from universities around the city, whether it was over tapas or participating in design thinking workshops.

Moving inward towards Madrid, the trip became a lot more relaxed, but at the same time introspective. Prior to the course, Dr. Armstrong and Dr. Suarez gave each of us a journal, and each day, they’d give us one or two prompts which we would have to answer. In Barcelona, they focused more on the themes mentioned above. However, when we got to Madrid, they became much more introspective and required us to dig answers and insights from our surroundings. With the activities ranging from interviewing locals at the Flee Market to taking walks around El Retiro Park, it provided a nice “break” from the hustle and bustle back in Barcelona, but at the same time, provided insightful experiences that I cherished.

Having been back now for over a month now, I feel very privileged and fortunate to have gone on that trip! It truly was unlike any experience that I had previously, and it was an honor that I could have two professors that I admire, Dr. Suarez and Dr. Armstrong, co-lead the course. It rejuvenated my intellectual curiosity for what’s out there beyond UMD and the United States, and if offered in the future, it’s an experience that I, 100%, would recommend anyone to do!

If you’d like to see additional blog posts that I wrote on during the trip, you can check out this link here!

Four QUEST Students Selected as Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars

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Four QUEST seniors, Chineme Obiefune (Q25), Sarina Haryanto (Q26), Miriam Silton (Q26), and Cece Ukejianya (Q26), were selected as 2017-2018 Philip Merrill Scholars. This award is bestowed to only three students per college and recognizes students for their outstanding achievements throughout their undergraduate career at UMD. Additionally, as part of the award, winners are able to recognize their mentors and teachers from K-12 and college who have helped them get to where they are today. The QUEST student winners represented a few of those chosen from the Robert H. Smith School of Business and A. James Clark School of Engineering. I had the recent pleasure of interviewing three of the award winners from QUEST: Chineme, Sarina, and Miriam.

Sarina Haryanto (Q26) and her mentors at the Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars Event

How did you get selected for the Presidential Scholars Award?

 Sarina: While I don’t know the exact details of how I was selected as a Presidential Scholar, I am aware that selection is determined through a nomination process. I received a letter from the Office of the Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Studies towards the end of the spring 2017 semester. Thank you to the individual or group in the Smith School who nominated me as a Presidential Scholar. I appreciate the recognition of my academic excellence and engagement in the Smith School. In addition to connecting with my peers in the QUEST and Smith communities, I believe that developing relationships with the wonderful and supportive Smith faculty and staff since my freshman year played a major role in this award.

Miriam: In the spring semester of 2017, I was notified by my advisor that I should apply for this award. After seeing what it was for, it was mainly for honoring mentors and teachers who have helped me along the way, and I don’t think they get enough recognition most of the time. So it was an opportunity for me to put in some work to do the application, and in the end, having [the teachers] know they’re appreciated, as well as providing a scholarship from my school to come to the University of Maryland. I was fortunate enough to be chosen for the award and help benefit a bunch of people as well.

Chineme: I got selected for the program by being nominated by the business school. To be completely honest, I don’t know about the specifics of the nomination process, but I work in the Smith Office of Undergraduate Studies with Dean Mullins so I have a feeling that may have had something to do with it.

Can you tell me about the teachers/professors that have influenced your academic career? 

Chineme Obiefune (Q25) and his mentors at the Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars Event

Sarina: In fifth grade, Miss Stuart nurtured my joy of reading and writing. I recall wandering around the media center and leaving with a bundle of books (Magic Tree House and the Alice series were some of my favorite reads!). I also remember reading The Phantom Tollbooth and writing my first “research paper” on grizzly bears in her class. Last year in SIF, Dr. Kirsch encouraged me to explore how business can create social and environmental impact. I loved engaging in SIF class discussions and learning new concepts that challenge my perspectives. Dr. Kirsch also provided my SIF team the opportunity to present our social enterprise ecosystems paper at a research conference in Italy.

Miriam: The K-12 mentor I chose to honor was my Calculus teacher from high school. She was an engineer for a few years and then switched career paths to become a high school teacher. She managed to make Calculus fun for me which stopped me from hating math. She encouraged me to pursue independent study Calculus 3, which helped prepare me for college, as well as showed me that women can go into engineering. She also provided the insight into the possibility of becoming a high school teacher or college lecturer in order to give back to the community in the same way.

Chineme: Life can be challenging, but I’m blessed to have mentors that I can look up to and consult for advice when it comes to making big decisions. Ms. Irene Bademosi was one of my strongest supporters in high school. When people underestimated my potential, she made sure I never undervalued myself. She taught me to hustle for what is mine and to be grateful for all the blessings that I receive. Here at Maryland, Dr. Pamela Armstrong helped to give my career some direction. I came to college not knowing where I fit in the world of business, but after joining the QUEST program and working with Dr. Armstrong, my path became much clearer. She exposed me to design thinking and the importance of empathy in business and modeled these behaviors in all aspects of her life. Both Ms. Bademosi and Dr. Armstrong have made valuable contributions to my life. I’m still figuring a lot of things out, but with their guidance, I am confident that I will be able to navigate the multitude of decisions awaiting me in the years to come.

How has this award influenced you academically, professionally, personally, etc.?

Miriam Silton (Q26) and her mentors at the Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars Event

Sarina: This award has made me realize and better appreciate the role of educators in my life. All too often people focus on the result rather than the process. For example, college students can be obsessed with grades. I value academic excellence and am interested in graduate school, so of course, I strive to do well in my classes. However, exploring things out of curiosity and intrinsic motivation is so much more fulfilling than “checking the box” for required classes.

Learning and sharing knowledge outside of the classroom goes a long way. My mentors have inspired me to embrace lifelong learning and explore a different kind of supply chain, “the education supply chain.”

Miriam: It was nice to be recognized in a way that gave credit to those mentors who’ve helped me get to where I am today. It made me stop and think and really look back and think who I want to pick out and honor. So by looking back and thinking of all the teachers that I’ve had and how much I’ve grown since first grade walking into public school for the first time, it really made me appreciate things, especially at this point in my college career as I’m getting ready to graduate and move forward and provide mentorship to other people.

Chineme: This award has been most influential personally. It’s forced me to reevaluate myself and figure out how to improve all aspects of my life. The people that spoke at the luncheon were smart, poised, and passionate. Listening to them speak and receiving this award was another reminder of how much more I need to learn and experience in life to truly call myself successful.

 

Congratulations to these QUEST seniors for being selected for the award. A comprehensive list of the awardees from each college can be found here.

QUEST to Leidos: Site Visit Recap

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By: Caitlin Thompson (Q28)

On November 3, 2017, QUEST students from all majors and cohorts had the opportunity to visit Leidos in Gaithersburg, MD. Prateek Sayyaparaju (Q28) organized the visit through QUEST Corporate, a student organization within QUEST. Prateek worked with QUEST alums Ilan Gold (Q22) and Krishang Sharma (Q23) and Anh Tran from Leidos to finalize the logistics prior to the event. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Prateek and other students to recap this exciting visit.

Approximately twenty students, joined by QUEST executive director Dr. Bailey and program manager Jessica Macklin, traveled to the location. Upon arrival, the group was greeted and given the opportunity to mingle with current employees.  They were then presented with a quick overview of the company and the Gaithersburg location.

The visit centered around Leidos’ focus on air traffic control engineering and systems. In order to give the students a better understanding of the types of projects they work on to provide successful air trafficking, the large group was divided into four teams.

Each team rotated through four different demonstrations. During one rotation, students were surrounded by 180 degrees of screen to simulate the experience of being in an air traffic control tower. Students were able to act as controllers while interacting with the products. Leidos also invites actual controllers to test equipment through this system in order to receive useful feedback.

When asked about this opportunity, Jeffrey Zhao (Q28) remarked, “It was extremely enlightening being able to see and test out four of Leidos’ Skyline product line applications. Skyline is Leidos’ international air traffic control enterprise software.”

With this, Leidos adopts many of the same principles of QUEST. They are innovative by always designing more efficient products to keep integrating and stay above the competition. They are also customer focused while empathizing with their end users throughout the design process.

Overall, the trip was very successful. According to Prateek, “Everyone learned a lot, had fun while doing so, and became interested in a company that they may not have known much about before.” By the end, students were eager to seek out internships and discover other future opportunities. They were also excited to share their experience with the QUEST community.

For example, Akshay Guthal (Q27) said, “The Leidos trip was a cool experience because going in, I didn’t know much about air traffic control. They gave us a tour and showed us different software features and even let us play around with some air traffic control applications. Overall, it was cool to learn so much about an industry that I had no idea about from such a successful company.”

Roger Mao (Q29) also responded saying, “Leidos is a very interesting company with a lot of tech and infrastructure that supports our daily lives that I never knew about. It was such an interesting and eye opening visit.”

Thank you Leidos for hosting QUEST!