QUESTing for Success: The Power of Community in QUEST

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This month, I had the pleasure of speaking with some inspiring QUESTees about how the QUEST community has been a key element to their success. Let’s see what they had to say about their QUEST journeys so far!

Faith LeBrun of Cohort 41 says that working in QUEST teams has helped her become a better leader and team member. “QUEST has strengthened my communication skills, especially in teams with diverse perspectives. Moreover, it has helped me get better at managing my time, developing project ideas, and delegating tasks.” QUEST has also inspired her to reach out to her peers and the QUEST alumni network for interview techniques. 

LeBrun (Cohort 41) with her BMGT190H team

Similarly, Abby Bond of Cohort 37 has learned a lot by networking with QUESTees both in and out of her major. “I was able to reach out to alumni in a plethora of roles and figure out what I wanted in a career. Through those professional interactions and interactions with our clients in classes, I’ve built confidence in my professional communication skills. Now I am able to present my best self and communicate my goals more effectively, which has helped me find roles that are best suited to me.” She also notes that the very nature of multidisciplinary teams has given her the opportunity to “communicate complex ideas simply by breaking them down into palatable ways.”

Bond (Cohort 37) giving a presentation at her previous internship

QUEST not only gives us opportunities to learn from our amazing alumni, but also from our peers currently going through the program. Sometimes, they can give the best advice!

Sebastian DeCady of Cohort 41 says that his peers have inspired him in many ways. One piece of advice that he’s gotten is to “be comfortable being uncomfortable.” He says, “This advice has propelled me further than I ever imagined, allowing me to look at my weaknesses as opportunities to build new strengths.”

DeCady (Cohort 41) with his BMGT190H team

Ume Habiba of Cohort 38 says that the most beneficial advice she’s received is to take advantage of all opportunities, whether or not they align with your immediate goals. “I think this was very valuable to me and my career because I was able to try different things and broaden my skillsets in different roles.”

Habiba (Cohort 38) with her BMGT490H team

Bond thinks that sometimes inspiration can be hidden. “I am constantly inspired by QUESTees around me. Seeing how they are driven by their passions and how they are able to be such caring, fun people inspires me to be my best self. I am so grateful for the friends I have made through this program.”

The Importance of Balance in the Life of Akshita Alousyes

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If there’s one thing that I could say about Akshita Alousyes, it’s that she means business. I guess that’s perfect since she is a business major. But seriously, as an Information Systems and Accounting double major in Cohort 40, she is definitely busy. So, let’s see how she can prioritize commitments during the chaos of midterms and all the other stress that school can bring. 

Akshita Alousyes (Cohort 40)

To start, she walked me through a typical day in her life. When first asked what a typical day looks like, she responded by saying “AHH, terrible,” giving a little chuckle. She enjoys her busy days, but she acknowledges that they can bring some stress and be overwhelming at times. Alousyes starts her day bright and early between 6-7 AM. Although her classes do not start until 11 AM, she likes to wake up early to give herself some time to get ready for the day and mentally prepare for what’s to come. 

She notes that once she is out, she typically doesn’t come back to the apartment until the end of the day. Her classes typically end in the late afternoon, and she enjoys getting her work done in between classes. After her long day, Alousyes has her little “social hour.” This is the time she makes to meet up with her friends, call family, and just have some quality time with the people that she loves. Last but not least, Alousyes heads to meetings with her business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, or a rehearsal with her dance team here at UMD.  

Although Alousyes appreciates her time with friends and loves to make the most of the clubs she’s involved in, she makes sure to dedicate some well-deserved “me time” at the end of the night. She’ll typically turn on a show and snuggle up in bed after doing her daily skincare routine.

Alousyes at the McKeldin Mall

When asked how she manages her busy schedule, she emphasized the importance of her health. “What I’ve noticed is that the days that I don’t sleep, eat, or exercise well, it ends up slowing me down. When I make time for those things, I feel like everything else just falls into place. I have the energy to do everything I need to, and my mood is so much more calm and positive.”

It was inspiring talking to Alousyes; she’s the definition of discipline and motivation while being a kind-hearted person. To close out our conversation, she shared an interesting fun fact: “This is gonna sound a little crazy, but I may have broken my foot when trying to do a TikTok dance…”

That’s Akshita Alousyes for you: a little bit crazy but always driven to get the task done, even if it means breaking her foot for it!

QUEST Goes Behind the Scenes at PepsiCo

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This past February, QUEST Corporate planned an exciting site visit for QUEST students to PepsiCo’s Cheverly Bottling Plant. This was an incredible opportunity for the current sophomores and juniors in QUEST to take a tour of the production floor and get a glimpse of the inner-workings of a factory operation.

The QUEST team outside of PepsiCo’s Cheverly Bottling Plant

Upon arrival, QUEST students got to hear from a panel of production managers and quality control specialists about what it’s like to work at a production plant. Then, after a little bit of safety information, they were ready to put on some hair nets and venture onto the production floor! Students were able to witness and learn about how the different types of soda that PepsiCo sells are bottled and packaged. They also learned about all the flavors that PepsiCo offers and how they go into the drinks.

QUESTees suited up and ready to go to the production line!

Christopher Yeh, a sophomore Information Science and Supply Chain Management double major from Cohort 41 said, ”My favorite part of the site visit was being able to walk through the bottling production line! I’ve never seen anything like it and our guide took the time to explain how each section connected to the next. It was all super interesting.”

The site visit finished off with a Q and A session, which allowed students to gain more insight on the bottling process and PepsiCo’s Cheverly operations. It definitely sounded like a fun and informative site visit, so we want to give a huge thanks to QUEST Corporate and PepsiCo for organizing it!

QUEST Alumni and Their Journeys to Success

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One thing about QUEST students – we are all overachievers, both in and out of college! Two QUEST alumni were even included in the Terrapin Club 30 Under 30 Class of 2024 for having a major impact in their communities and careers while supporting the university and embodying Maryland Pride. I was able to connect with them about their journeys through college and where they ended up.

Bradley Polkowitz of Cohort 35 is a 2023 alumnus who majored in OMBA and Marketing. During his freshman year of college, he heard about QUEST through a member of Cohort 29 (David Rosenstein) and was instantly sold. He was especially excited since some friends were also applying with him. Polkowitz was interested in expanding his network and diversifying his skill set through hands-on learning, which is a main pillar of QUEST. During his time at UMD, Polkowitz was a busy man! He was the Founder of the Sports Management Program, Co-Founder and President of the Maryland Sports Business Conference, and President of the Sports Business Society. After graduation, Polkowitz ended up at the National Football League (NFL) where he is currently working as a League Sports Betting Analyst in their Rotational Program. When asked about his journey so far, Polkowitz said: “The most exciting part of my career thus far has been the impact I have had in the sports industry at both UMD and the NFL. Although I just graduated, I have left a lasting impression at UMD and played a pivotal role in growing the sports community on campus. It brings me so much joy seeing my friends and peers succeed in the sports industry. Similarly, with the NFL, it is so exciting to be around the game and learn from industry leaders. I am humbled and honored to have an opportunity to work for the NFL and mentor my peers along the way.”

Polkowitz and his BMGT490H team during the Cohort 35 QUEST Conference

Avi Kozlowski of Cohort 24 is a 2017 alumnus who majored in Finance and Accounting. His inspiration for joining QUEST was his older brother, who was also in the program and spoke highly of his experience. During his time at UMD, Kozlowski was involved with many clubs, including TAMID Investment Club, Hinman CEOS (Temporary) Business Honors, DUNK, UMD Hillel, UMD Chabad, and Real Estate Club. After graduating, Kozlowski began working at Greystone as a Production Analyst, where he has stayed for the last 7 years and risen to Managing Director and Loan Originator. When asked about his professional journey over the last 7 years, Kozlowski said this: “I’ve hit that turning point where I know the ins and outs of the debt financing industry and I’m able to help clients with their current debt structure and business plans, as well as guide them towards the best product for their needs.” In 2023 alone, Kozlowski orchestrated the financing of 76 loans totaling to approximately $1.2 billion, underscoring his unwavering commitment to excellence and substantial contributions to the real estate finance landscape.

We at QUESTPress want to give a huge round of applause to these amazing QUEST alumni for all they have achieved thus far. We cannot wait to see who joins the Terrapin Club 30 Under 30 Class of 2025!

From Moon Mysteries to Space Exploration: The Journey of a NASA Co-Op Student

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Did you know that the Moon has one of the harshest thermal environments in the solar system? Apparently, because of its lack of atmosphere, rotational period, and thermophysical properties, surface temperatures on the sun-lit side of the Moon can exceed 240℉. In contrast, temperatures on the dark side and in craters can plunge to -300℉! This is an interesting fact that I was unaware of regarding our Moon that I learned when interviewing Brian Langbein, a student in Cohort 40 who is currently doing a co-op at NASA.

Langbein is working at the Goddard Space Flight Center located in Greenbelt, MD. This location is centered around unmanned scientific missions – like the Hubble or James Webb Space Telescope. Currently, the QUESTee is working in the Thermal Engineering Branch on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, an infrared space telescope set to launch in 2027, tentatively. 

Brian Langbein (Cohort 40) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Specifically, Langbein’s team works to ensure that the sensitive technology in the telescope can withstand the intense thermal loads experienced in orbit over a million miles from Earth. Since every piece of technology has a temperature requirement to be able to function properly, this is imperative to the success of the infrared telescope. His job is to run thermal simulations, analyze test data, and generate temperature predictions to fine-tune the team’s spacecraft thermal model. 

Outside of his position, Langbein has the opportunity to talk with multiple professionals about their respective fields. It is a great way to learn more about space and the niche technology that goes into exploring it.

Langbein in protective equipment.

As for the future, Langbein hopes to continue his career at NASA and one day contribute to manned missions, such as the Artemis Project. This co-op is a way for him to learn and grow within NASA, so he can have an impact on as many NASA missions as he chooses to work on. Best of luck to Brian this semester as you complete your co-op! 

Welcome Back to QUEST, Dr. Fox Troilo: Our Newest 190H Instructor

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This semester, Cohort 9 QUEST alumnus Dr. Fox Troilo is making his return to the University of Maryland to be the newest BMGT/ENES190H instructor! He is co-teaching the QUEST introductory course with Dr. Ben Huffman. I had the opportunity to chat with him about his past experiences and life post-college, as well as his reason for returning.

Dr. Fox Troilo

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QUEST Jets Overseas During Winter Abroad Course in Japan and Korea

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Over winter break, 29 students across the QUEST program immersed themselves in the cultures and industries of two East Asian countries through the study abroad winter elective.

This year, the program took them to tour the cities of Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea with an overall theme of looking at innovation and automation and how they have been incorporated into the culture and society of the two cities. Over the ten days, the class allowed students to dive into the cultures of these cities, as well as hear from representatives of numerous companies. 

Watching a matcha tea ceremony

The class visited larger well-known corporations, like Nissan and Samsung, as well as some start-up companies across multiple industries. 

The class at their site visit to SBS

I was able to talk to Shareen Ahmad, an Operations Management and Business Analytics and Supply Chain Management major from Cohort 41, who went on the trip. Her favorite site visit was to Astroscale, a space debris removal company. She found it inspiring to see their work towards sustainability. “It had a lot of legal, financial, and social considerations, and I loved their passion for taking on such a challenge,” she shared. Students even got to simulate the process of how Astroscale works to remove space debris.

Not only were the QUEST students learning about how business and industries worked, but they also got to see firsthand the social and cultural impacts. Students were surprised to see the difference in culture compared to the US. As Ahmad put it, “There was a big focus on social harmony and collectivism.” 

Overall, many students loved being able to interact with the local cultures, seeing cafes, shopping districts, food markets, and lots of entertainment! With the destination of the winter course changing each year, there is always more for future QUESTees to experience abroad. For more photos from the trip, click here.

Meet Chris Huie-Spence: An Out of This World Alum

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Over 600 people have been to space and accomplished QUEST alumnus Chris Huie-Spence (Cohort 15) is one of them! This month, QUESTPress had the pleasure of interviewing astronaut and aerospace engineer Huie-Spence, who is currently a Senior Manager of Business Insights at Virgin Galactic. He supports commercial strategy and corporate development, spanning the gap between engineering and business while enabling the executive leadership team to make data-informed decisions. We discussed everything from his passion for increasing Black representation in aerospace and leadership to his trip to Space.

Huie-Spence with Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson

Huie-Spence, a member of QUEST Cohort 15, graduated from UMD in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. While at UMD, he participated in the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center as part of the National Science Foundation’s LSAMP Undergraduate Research Program. He was inspired to pursue a degree in aerospace because he grew up obsessed with flying machines and understanding how things work. He also loved Star Trek which seeded his imagination for what the future could be like: a future that he could help create. Before joining Virgin Galactic, he worked at Bell Flight Engineering on various rotorcraft programs and as a simulation engineer developing flight crew training simulators. When he joined Virgin Galactic in 2016, he led the Flight Sciences External Loads Engineering discipline for six years. He is very familiar with Spaceship VSS Unity and Mothership VMS Eve and worked on nearly every component of the Spaceship and mothership design. He describes the coolest experience of his career being his trip to space! He served as a mission specialist on Unity 25, Virgin Galactic’s final test flight of Spaceship Unity, where they evaluated and recommended improvements to the customer experience before the Spaceship entered commercial service. He said the trip was “the coolest and most extreme experience… professional or otherwise. The whole experience is beautifully suspenseful, thrilling beyond your wildest dreams, and the most powerful and humbling human experience anyone can have.” He is motivated to make space travel accessible for more people to experience. 

Huie-Spence on his spaceflight

Huie-Spence has done a lot during his career and has found that his greatest accomplishments span from technical accomplishments to leadership accomplishments. While working at Bell Labs, he derived the flight control kinematic equations for the Bell V-280 tiltrotor flight control computers that will become the future of Army aviation and certified Bell’s first full-motion pilot training simulator with Spain’s European Aviation Safety Agency. As a leader, he is proud of helping to establish Virgin Galactic’s Flight Sciences Department where he led different engineering disciplines, recruited talent, established both best practices and engineering processes. He is dedicated to increasing Black representation in the aerospace field and leadership, which is why he co-founded the Black Leaders in Aerospace Scholarship & Training (BLAST) Program. He is also a member of the Clark School’s Early Career Distinguished Alumni (ECDA)!

Huie-Spence with BLAST Scholars at their leadership summit

QUEST has had an important impact on Huie-Spence, complimenting his engineering background to become a better problem solver. QUEST has taught him the importance of focusing and understanding a problem first before just jumping in. The concepts of idealized design help him approach every problem, professionally and personally. QUEST also helped immensely with honing his communication skills, allowing him to communicate technical information with a non-technical audience. Specifically, he said Blue Ocean thinking was one of his favorite takeaways from QUEST as it provides a framework for innovation and invention. He wants future QUESTees to focus on the fundamentals of their chosen industry and never stop learning. Huie-Spence believes QUEST is a great preparation for the real world because engineering and technology are fueling a majority of the growth in business. He wants students to see how they can use the principles of QUEST to design their career and their life. Thanks to Chris for a great interview. We wish you all the best!

Senior Samantha Taskale Reflects on her Journey Through QUEST

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Hi all, my name is Samantha Taskale, a graduating senior majoring in Computer Science. As a proud member of Cohort 38, I’ve recently completed my capstone class, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter with the QUEST Honors Program.

In this reflection, I aim to share my journey through the program, from 190H all those years ago to my time in the final course, my rewarding role as a Teaching Assistant (TA) for the introductory course, and my recent contribution as a student representative at the capstone conference.

When I participated in 190H, three years ago, I learned so much about working with a team of students. And later turning those fellow students into friends. I also learned a lot about professional expectations: being true to your word and the importance of showing up for your team. 190H is meant to be a highly demanding class, the necessity to juggle outside work while also upholding expectations of excellence is meant to be a learning experience. 

Pictured here is my 190H team, from left to right: Samantha Taskale, Odessa Howera, Lauren Gomes, Derreck Boateng-Agyemang, Ayman Bootwala

This semester, while going through 490H, I was one of the two TAs for 190H. Going through the introductory curriculum again with new students while doing my 490H class was an amazing experience. I’ve always loved teaching and doing it in such a hands-on, challenging, and practical environment was a joy. Planning lego activities on agile and just-in-time manufacturing were highlights of my semester. I also truly enjoyed imparting my knowledge of presentation skills and speaking presence. Seeing how the 190H students developed, learning about the program, and improving their processes was incredibly rewarding.

Discussing with my students at the QUEST Conference

A culmination point for me was seeing my students at our conference and discussing my completed project. Answering their questions and sharing as much knowledge as I could was a truly full-circle moment for me.

Going into 490H this semester, myself and my cohort shared a sentiment of anticipation. Throughout the program you are always told that this is one of the most important classes. The class is your opportunity to truly display all of your knowledge and development. Of course that always leaves room for let down when things don’t go quite as planned. But that in itself was also part of the process. Dealing with undecided scopes or clients is part of life and what shined in those cases was the support from our teams, cohort, and professors. Working with professor David Ashley as our faculty advisor this semester was truly a morale boost. When things got difficult or uncertain, we could rely on each other and Professor Ashley to uplift spirits and encourage the team to chug ahead. Ultimately, I am so extremely proud of the work my team completed this semester. 

Following the completion of our project, the conference couldn’t have gone better. In the week leading up to it, my team, the rest of my cohort, and I worked tirelessly on our slides, posters, and speeches. I was also preparing my speech as the student speaker. It was tough to hold back my emotions in the first draft. I worked closely with Abby Bond, the speaker from last semester. Reflecting on our experiences together was a blast. In my speech, I focused on the importance of friendships. In 190H, we always emphasized the value of team members being friends, as it leads to better professional partnerships. 

My speech at the QUEST Conference

My speech about the importance of friendships in the program was met with a lot of positive reactions. My cohort shared my sentimental feelings, and an alumnus even told me that my speech made him nostalgic for the program.

I hope to have had an impact on QUEST. The program and people have certainly had an impact on me. As a whole, I hope that for each team I was a part of, for each student I helped this semester, and each conversation I had, people have come away with a brighter outlook and more knowledge. 

My advice to future students would be to ask the questions and show up. College is a cornucopia of opportunities and decisions. If you find something interesting, don’t be afraid to say so. I just happened to find QUEST interesting. If there is an opportunity that comes by and you are piqued with interest, don’t be afraid to take the first step, ask the first question, or shoot the first cold email. As QUEST’s assistant director Jess Roffe would say: “ABS” or Always Be Scoping. 

Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue as a TA until the end of my time at UMD. I hope the future students enjoy and benefit from the program as much as I have. I hope to remain an involved alumna of the program following my graduation.