Senior Send-Off

Posted on by

Senior Send-Off – the annual event where soon to be QUEST veterans gather to celebrate their three years of experience. An event where memories of 190 teams are rekindled, silly superlatives are announced, imitations of fellow QUESTees are made, and wine is shared with Dr. Bailey. But this tradition and event are so much more. Senior Send-Off is a celebration of the entire cohort’s accomplishments, experiences, and motivation. It marks the end of one journey and the beginning of another.

This year, the seniors of Cohort 18 were honored at Layton’s Chance Vineyard in Vienna, Maryland. Layton’s Chance is owned and operated by Jennifer and William Layton, both members of Cohort 1. So the 20 year strong QUEST spirit was well and alive throughout the event. Seniors were treated to a tour of the winery, exclusive wine tasting, and outdoor BBQ. Each person probably noted many individual aspects that were “QUEST-like.” However, one particular notable aspect – on the doors of all the offices there were inspirational quotes about leadership and teamwork. QUEST!

Overall, this year’s Senior Sendoff was an amazing experience and gave Cohort 18 an opportunity to celebrate the past three years and look forward to many more great years to come. After leaving the winery that day, I felt so proud to be friends with such talented, genuine, and motivated individuals. To each member of Cohort 18, I wish you all the very best in all your endeavors. We will forever remain a Cohort despite differences in geographic location. And to the Quality Guild, thank you for teaching and supporting us for three years. All your hard work has paid off and we promise to keep you updated. Congratulations Q18 Class of 2013!

Sell in May and Go Away (Full Article)

Posted on by

Global Deleveraging During the Great Rotation

By: Pavan Rangachar

April 2013

 

What is a deleveraging?  The term refers to countries reducing their debt-to-income ratios when they are too high.  A deleveraging is generally accomplished through debt restructurings (writing off some of the country’s debt by saying “Sorry, I can only pay 50% of this”), austerity (raising taxes/cutting public spending), and/or debt monetization (printing money essentially).  All of these methods have different effects on the economy. The United States has been deleveraging for the past few years, and the issue they face is this: how do they pay down the excessive debt without hindering the growth of the economy? So far, the solution has mostly been inflationary measures via quantitative easing (the 2% payroll tax increase post-Fiscal Cliff hardly makes a difference from a deflationary standpoint).  Until the end of 2012, most of these inflationary efforts did not see strong results, as unemployment remained high and business investment/capital spending remained low throughout the year (despite super low interest rates).  Starting in October however, things have started to change.  Firstly, unemployment dipped and stayed below 8%.  Also, as January came to an end, capital spending showed an increase through increase durable goods.  While these occurrences may not be caused entirely by QE, they show that lower interest rates are slowly starting to help drive our economy.  The main question people are now asking is this: since interest rates have been reduced so low to get businesses to invest, have rates finally bottomed out?  That is-when will this “Great Rotation” from bonds into stocks finally begin?   In my opinion, that’s not entirely the right question.  I believe rates will rise regardless because the yield curve is providing a negative real return under a 15 year maturity.  The real question, in my opinion, depends on how long and how high rates are going to rise.  If it took this long for business investment to increase-with super low interest rates-what will happen when rates rise?  Debt is viewed on a completely different level when compared to how it was viewed with Paul Volcker in 1980; 15% 10-year rates can cause Wall Street Analysts to consider a few firms on the brink of bankruptcy just because of an EBITDA Coverage ratio.  The real question, in my opinion, is this: to what point, and how quickly, can interest rates be pushed upwards, before there is a backlash on the economy because businesses do not want to invest at such high rates?  While the US has strong catalysts for growth in the upcoming years (3D printing, natural gas, etc.), there is uncertainty in when and how that growth may occur.  Currently in the US, the economy still has high unemployment of 7.7% (well above the Federal Reserve’s Target of 6.5%) and other tough economic factors, but stock markets are hitting all-time highs.  This is leading many people to think that stocks are currently overvalued-meaning there should ideally be a correction in markets.  In Europe, there has already been heavy austerity, and it is expected that there will be more.  Stock markets have been depressed, and are forecasted to continue to do poorly there as well.  Thus the question becomes, where can we invest if 2 of the world’s most developed economies are deleveraging with uncertainty?  Now may be the time to turn to firms with a strong exposure to emerging markets. This will be topic of my next article, but for now as the saying goes-“Sell in May and Go Away”-for both yourself and your stock portfolio.

Sell in May and Go Away

Posted on by

Sell in May and Go Away

 

With Developed Economies still on a slow road to recovery and stock markets hitting all-time highs, now may be a wise time to get out of domestic stocks and invest abroad.

 

What is a deleveraging?  The term refers to countries reducing their debt-to-income ratios when they are too high.  It is generally accomplished through debt restructurings (writing off some of the country’s debt by saying “Sorry, I can only pay 50% of this”), austerity (raising taxes/cutting public spending), and/or debt monetization (printing money essentially).

 

These three things all have different benefits and consequences:

 

Pros Cons
Debt Restructuring You have less debt to repay! Your lenders will not want to lend to you in the future because you have poor credit, which is bad for future growth.
Austerity You are able to come up with money from the economy to pay off the debt Austerity generally means higher taxes and less public spending, so the public is unhappy.  Also, money that is generally used to stimulate the economy (public spending) is used to pay off the debt, so growth falls.
Debt Monetization You can pay off the debt andYou can have money to grow the economy If you print money excessively, then you run the risk of inflation.  With too much money printed, this leads to a rise in prices for US consumers, and a fall in US consumer purchasing power.  For many countries in the past, printing money to pay off debt has done more harm through inflation than the good in paying off the debt.

 

The United States and Europe have both been deleveraging for the past few years, and the issue they face is this: how do they pay down the excessive debt without hindering the growth of the economy or causing inflation?  The key may be in finding the right balance between the various deleveraging tactics.  However, this is tough to do.  If you want a mini- breakdown of how this is going, you can look into the original article attached below, but the point is that deleveraging is taking a serious toll on both the US and Europe.  In the US, the economy still has a high unemployment rate of 7.7% (well above the Federal Reserve’s Target of 6.5%) and other tough economic factors, but stock markets are hitting all-time highs.  This is leading many people to think that stocks are currently overvalued-meaning there should ideally be a correction in markets.  In Europe, there has already been heavy austerity, and it is expected that there will be more.  Stock markets have been depressed and are forecasted to continue to do poorly there as well.  So the question becomes, where should you invest for stocks?  A good idea may be to look into Emerging Markets.  This will be topic of my next article, but for now as the saying goes-“Sell in May and Go Away,” for both yourself and your stock portfolio.

Selections

Posted on by

There is a certain magic to “selections” here at QUEST. As many of you know, selections encompasses the recruiting process that all prospective QUESTees go through before admittance. Most students in the program (and a lot outside of the program) can tell you exactly what the process consists of: an applicant submits an application, gets selected for interview, goes to the panel interview, and finally participates in the activity. However, I’ve found that few know all that goes into this process’ execution.

A lot of credit goes to Melanie Ashton and the Quality Guild- they handle most of the selections process. They write the application, manage the application readers, and coordinate the alumni/students who help during panel interviews. As much as you see their emails in your inbox and running around organizing activities, they actually put in much more work behind the scenes than you would think. Our administration is essential in all aspects of selections, but the part we in QUEST tend to love the most is the interview activity.

The behavioral part of the interview is a student-designed, student-prepared, and student-run activity. It is run by QUESTRecruiting (which includes Varisha, Josh, Jessica, Allison, Grace and myself [and Shirley]), and in fact QUESTRecruiting  runs all outreach to prospective students (including but not limited to information sessions, going into class-rooms, emails, Maryland Day, and the Engineering Picnic).Interviews are where we are most visible to the QUEST community.

The behavioral activity is evaluated by two metrics: level of difficulty and level of teamwork. Traditionally, the activity consisted of two groups of applicants designing something – a bridge, a ball launcher, a car – and then testing that something – driving a car over it, hitting a target, or crashing the cars (respectively). We believe engaging applicants in design projects is very representative of QUEST’s curriculum, mission, and purpose. It requires the applicants to show us how they work within a team, give us a little insight into their innovative spirit, and lets us see the applicant’s eye for quality.

As you might guess, QUESTRecruiting practices what QUEST preaches: rapid innovation. Last year, we introduced a new aspect to the activity, dubbed the “Hunger Games”. Instead of simply giving teams the same supplies, we made them select supplies from a shared pool of resources. This year, we also made the teams give a 30-second pitch about their design.

If you are in cohorts 21 or 22, and you are interested in joining QUESTRecruiting, keep your ears pealed: Applications for new board members open up sometime in the fall.

Before classes end, I want to thank Varisha, Josh, and Jessica for being the best QUESTRecruiting board members I could ever ask for. Varisha, our fearless leader, really set the tone all throughout my time on the board. Her spirit and crying shoulder (as I used frequently) will be missed. Jessica, the new recruit, really stepped up in our time of need. Although she was only with us for one semester, I feel like she has been with us the whole time. I don’t think that much more needs (or even should be) written about my bromance with Josh Kohn, but in short, I’m losing half of my brain with him leaving.

To really pay homage to QUESTRecruiting, I’d like to leave you with what a meeting with QUESTRecruiting is like:

Danny: I was thinking about the activity, and I have an idea. Why don’t we make them build cars?

Josh: That could be cool.

Jessica: My little brother has some kinex, we could have them build it from that.

Allison: Yea! How would they compete?

Danny: We could have them race I guess.

Josh: We could use cardboard as a ramp and then see how far they roll.

 

*silence*

 

Varisha: I want to crash the cars.

Grace: Yea let’s crash the cars.

 

Danny: Alright… *looks at Josh*

Josh: *facepalm*

Danny: I guess we are going to crash the cars.

Sidenote:

There is currently an initiative to develop a web application to ease the QUEST application process. [If you would like to be a part of this effort, please contact me at dannyjlaurence@hotmail.com. (We need everything from alpha testers to developers)

Scoping

Posted on by

Introduction
Time and time again I’ve heard students liken the internship/job search process to a class in itself. Considering the time commitment it takes to research perspective employers, arrange meetings, and prepare for interviews, it is easy to recognize the parallel– especially for a first-timer. The experience can be stressful, however, if you’re looking to master these types of skills (and get course credits at the same time), QUEST’s Developing Business Relationships and Scoping the Consulting Project course (BMGT438D) may be for you. In contrast to the average internship/job search, in Scoping students focus on exploring and developing partnerships within the QUEST community that add value to corporate sponsors, alumni, and current students. Most notably, we focus heavily on developing the Senior Consulting Practicum course projects.

What is Scoping?
Scoping begins by revisiting past capstone projects and analyzing the evolution of corporate partnerships. We develop an in-depth understanding of what areas in quality management, process improvement, and systems design make for impactful, actionable, and exciting QUEST projects. And with this understanding, we identify corporations to engage for either new or continuing partnership. This class prepares you to manage relationships that vary extensively from hot to cold, hands-on to hands-off, and well-established to brand new. Optimally, after agreeing on project sponsorship, the next part of the challenge is fusing client expectations, results from similar past projects, and observations from site visits to create what we term the “scope.” Teams generate a clear scope based on an area of opportunity that the upcoming QUEST seniors can tackle over the course of thirteen weeks.
Scoping focuses on precisely observing, bounding, and refining a business opportunity through gauging expectations of goals, benefits, and challenges over frequent prospective client interactions. Our team goal as a team is to scope out 80% of the senior consulting projects before the 490 teams take over to finalize the rest.

Why I Got Involved and What I Gained
As a Junior of Cohort 19, I enrolled in Scoping in order to immerse myself in every stage of my upcoming Senior Consulting Practicum. However, what I experienced was much more than I expected. Students in Scoping gain a unique and unparalleled opportunity to learn about the many facets of the QUEST program, including: its rich history, initiatives, events, program leadership, and community. I did not foresee the awesome experience of collaborating with students from multiple cohorts. For instance, seniors taking part in the course have been an invaluable resource, having already completed their 490 projects. The sophomores also provide a fresh perspective on topics covered in the latest installment of our constantly improving 190 course. Matt Henricks, a Sophomore of Cohort 20, summarized that throughout this semester;

“The scoping class provided a great outlet to practice my analysis skills and understanding of the voice of the customer in real business situations. Not only did I gain a great understanding of how many diverse businesses function, but also, working between cohorts, attained much better understanding of our (QUEST’s) own voice.”

All 12 of us currently enrolled in Scoping agree, the opportunity to work with corporate partners and alumni in a variety of environments exemplifies QUEST’s value of reality-based learning. Performing over 10 corporate partner site visits, including trips to Tulkoff Foods, Volvo, McCormick, Spectrum Foods, Transurban, and Unilever, my understanding of manufacturing procedures and supply chain management grew significantly. We had opportunities to see real-world applications of QUEST-taught concepts and tools at Thales Communications, PwC, UnderArmour, and BD, as QUEST alumni provide facility tours. For those of you that aspire to become consultants, this course provides invaluable experience. Standing in a Washington, D.C conference room in front of potential clients, you have the opportunity to deliver a team pitch, “selling” what QUEST can do for them. These experiences are as real-world as they get, and they teach you a ton.

Conclusion
One final reason why I recommend giving some added thought to taking this course is the ability to preserve the invigorating QUEST mentality that we learn from Dr. Bailey and Dr. Suarez. In between QUEST’s Innovation and Systems classes, many of us break off from the QUEST curriculum. Scoping class is a natural extension of the concepts and tools you learn in these courses. You are also able to work on a QUEST team closely led by program faculty, especially our dedicated professor Kylie Goodell. In conclusion, if you are not already one of those students that eats, sleeps, and breathes QUEST, then this course is the perfect prescription to hop on the bandwagon.

Interview with Kevin Schoonover

Posted on by

Interview Conducted by Tracey Epstein (Q14)

Kevin Schoonover (Q11)

QUESTPress: How do you think the QUEST program as a whole has done in achieving the goals laid out in the June 2009 issue of the QUEST press?

Kevin Schoonover: In 2009, the QUEST program and a few energetic alumni created goals for the future relationship the QUEST alumni and the rest of the QUEST program/community.  These goals included: strengthening the alumni database, creating an alumni/student mentorship program, developing social events in key alumni cities, and increasing overall program awareness and pride.  In order to accomplish these goals, the QUEST Alumni Board was created.

One of the first tasks the QAB began working on was improving the database of alumni information with a major goal of getting in touch with as many alumni as possible prior to the QUEST 20th anniversary event.  To accomplish this, the program identified members from each of the 20 cohorts to market the event.  After a successful event where we had representation from Cohort 1 to 20 present at the anniversary, the Alumni database was significantly more up-to-date.  Currently, the QAB is working to organize and keep current this information for all current and future QUEST alumni.  One goal is for the updated alumni database to be used to provide a service to the QUEST alumni network.  I travel a great deal for my job, and it would be great to meet up with QUEST alumni for a lunch or dinner when I am in a new city just to catch up.

In addition to building the alumni network the QAB has kicked off the alumni mentor program and received an impressive response from alumni to support this budding program.  In the past two years, the QAB has been able to increase the QUEST network and raise awareness with happy hours in Washington DC, Baltimore, Arlington, and New York City.  We hope to hold more events and with more frequency in these cities so that the QUEST communities in these cities can continue to grow in strength.

QP: What initiative(s) do you think has the biggest impact in expanding and strengthening the alumni network?

KS: The key initiatives to grow the alumni network are the efforts that give back to the alumni.  Each alumni member has different memories and desires for their experience with the QAB.  Some alumni want to give back to the quest program with their time by volunteering to come back to UMD to support QUEST events.  Others want to expand their personal networks to help them move forward within their career goals.  There are also those who are just interested in catching up with old friends that they may have lost touch with because of their changes in locations or careers.  QAB is working to develop initiatives that touch on all the key components of what QUEST alumni value.  Examples of these initiatives are: the development of educational and fun activities for alumni, an organized alumni communication system so as to manage the communication with our community, collaboration with the QUEST program to increase opportunities for alumni to give back to the current students, and release a QUEST database for which alumni can search for their friends and other nearby “QUEST’ies”.

QP: What do we still need to focus on in order to get alumni more involved in QUEST, especially in terms of attending alumni events, getting in touch with the current students, and donating to the program?

KS: I believe to get more alumni involved in QUEST, QAB needs to consistently push to increase the value proposition it offers to the alumni.  QAB must make sure the alumni who have interests in giving back or being involved get these opportunities in a timely fashion.  In addition, QAB must ensure that our alumni feel valued when the do give their time or donations.  Most importantly, QAB must ensure that when alumni come back, they have fun!

QP: What are the plans for further improving the alumni network?  When can we expect to see those plans go into place?

KS: The QAB has established a sub-committee whose main goal is to organize the alumni network through the development of an alumni management system.  This system will ensure communication with the alumni network is timely, valuable, and meets the alumni needs.  We expect this system to initially go live by Fall 2013, which will allow for a QUEST alumni database to be potentially released to the network by next year.

QP: Any other comments about the QAB, the alumni network, or how the QUEST program overall has changed since June 2009?

KS: When I was a student in the QUEST program, I learned that the more you put into something, the more you will get out of the experience.  I have embraced this theory and I am constantly reminded of its truth through my interactions with the QUEST community. As an alumnus, I have seen the alumni interaction with the QUEST community consistently increase.  In addition, the energy and determination exhibited by the QAB members and volunteers from the QUEST alumni community blows me away.  We, as the QAB, have a passion to make QUEST the best program both for current students but for our alumni.

Alumni Spotlight: Aditya Yerramilli

Posted on by

Alumni Spotlight: Aditya Yerramilli

Introduction

For this edition of Alumni Spotlight we cover Aditya Yerramilli, my QUEST Alumni Mentor. A member of Cohort 14, Aditya graduated from the University of Maryland in 2009 with a Dual Degree in Accounting & Finance. It has been awesome having Aditya as a mentor, I’ve learned so much and had a lot of good laughs. So with no further adieu I give you Aditya Yerramilli.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about your current position?

I am currently a Senior Associate in Forensic Services at PwC LLP, in Tyson’s Corner. I assist clients with issues ranging from fraud risk management, crisis management, and fraud investigation to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, international arms trade, regulatory compliance, and disputes/arbitration.

 

Why did you choose to major in accounting?

I have enjoyed accounting ever since high school. I was part of a pre-collegiate program focused on preparing student for careers in accounting/finance. I chose accounting, because no matter what the industry, size, or composition of a business, it must communicate its performance internally and externally through the language of accounting. Being able to understand accounting provides the ability to understand any business, and makes me flexible and versatile when it comes to solving various problems.

 

How did you discover forensic accounting was for you?

I kind of stumbled into my role as a forensic accountant. I took a forensic accounting class at UMD in my senior year. Although I was familiar with forensic accounting prior to, I never thought about it as a career path until I took this course. One class session, two forensic accountants, a partner & manager, from PwC came in to speak about their forensic services team. After hearing their stories, I was instantly sold, and knew what I wanted to do. I realized, after interning in audit, that I was not cut out to be an auditor. However, the ability to use my accounting background for the greater good of assisting companies and organizations mitigate fraud risk and minimize their exposure to corruption internationally, was a worthwhile and noble cause to pursue.

 

How would you describe your job as a Forensic Accountant?

I would say that there are many different attributes to my job. A typical day involves working on a few different projects throughout the day, and coordinating/managing a few teams to accomplish various analyses and tasks. My role with PwC allows me the opportunity to interact with C-Suite personnel from fortune 500 companies, in order to understand their company’s situation, needs, and what they are looking to accomplish while working with PwC. Additionally, my role involves a decent amount of travel, both domestic and international, in order to visit key client sites of operation. My job also involves a lot of excel, analyzing accounting/financial information at the transactional level to identify how fraud was committed, or what level of fraud risk a company has.  In addition to this, my job also exposes me to clients that require assistance as they sell and export government controlled technology for foreign civilian and military use. All in all, I am exposed to a wide range of issues/areas, across many industries, to help our clients operate successfully in the global economy. A few of my memorable projects have taken me to Africa, South Asia, and Europe.

 

For those of us looking to pursue a career in accounting, what are some key lessons you’ve learned about the accounting industry that you wish you knew as an undergraduate?

A few tips I would share for aspiring accountants:

  1. Plan to get your CPA, no matter what you do with accounting. Whether you go into audit, tax, or consulting, or a completely different career path, the only way to be considered a credible accounting professional is to be a CPA. I would encourage accounting majors to plan to be CPA eligible as they move towards graduation.
  2. More importantly than accounting knowledge, is having a familiarity and understanding of how accounting relates to other areas of business (i.e. finance, marketing, sales, manufacturing, R&D, etc…); it is in understanding these relationships that the true value of accounting is shown.
  3. Never forget the importance of soft skills. More often than not, having strong soft skills will put opportunities in front of you, which you would otherwise not have.
  4. Lastly, don’t lose the innovative/out of box mentality that you learn in QUEST. It is perhaps one of the aspects of QUESTees that makes us stand apart amongst others in the industry.

 

What value do you see forensic accounting skills bringing to the table, and accounting skills in general?

Forensic accountants are very analytical, and have to often break bigger problems down into smaller areas of focus. Additionally, a forensic accountant’s knowledge of accounting and transactional level information is of great value to companies who are exposed to corruption and fraud, because understanding this granular level of detail allows us to identify weak points within a client’s system such that they can plug up the holes to tighten up their anti-fraud controls. Forensic accountants are also quick on their feet, and very flexible, as a lot of times we come into the situation after the fact, and have to figure out what happened in a very short time. As for general accounting skills, understanding accounting always allows a person to better understand a company, since every company communicates through the language of accounting.

 

What are some of your best memories of QUEST?

My best memories from QUEST really stem from the insightful and extremely valuable information provided during Dr. Suarez’s courses. The tips, skills, and thought process I learned during these courses (such as 190 and systems thinking) were invaluable, and provided for a very fun and enjoyable experience.

 

How have you enjoyed the QUEST Mentor Program? Have I annoyed you enough?

I think that the QUEST Mentor Program is a great initiative! I strongly believe that one of the best ways to learn and grow is to interact with people who have graduated from QUEST and gone on to use the knowledge and skills from the program in the real word. I have thoroughly enjoyed the mentor program, because it provides me a window into the how QUEST is changing and continuously improving…for lack of a better phraseJ. I also think that my QUEST mentee is awesome!!

 

What is one piece of advice you’d give to QUEST students today?

I would tell QUEST students to truly cherish the program and community they are a part of, regardless of their level of involvement in the program. I would also confirm with them that the skills and abilities I learned through QUEST truly have been valuable in the real world. Additionally, I would encourage QUEST students to continue to reach out to Alumni, as the relationship between current and former QUESTees is a big part of what will keep the program going strong!

 

QUEST Friends

Posted on by

QUEST FRIENDS

The friendship shared between QUEST students is like no other as many of you have come to learn. This article will explore 4 different unique friendships that begin with QUEST.

Mark and Meenu

How did you become friends?

We were on the same 190 team, Team S.W.A.G. Vision (Students With A Greater Vision). So we met at quest camp. Due to the fact that she lived in Oakland and I lived in Denton, we practiced presenting and acted silly together. We also both took DVQ and suffered through it together.

What do you have in common?

We both obviously love QUEST. We are both engineers. And we have the same taste in music. I think we are both very driven individuals and highly motivated. We share very similar values, we care about our friends and family a lot. And we both LOVE Thai food.

How well do you know each other?

We tell each other all our secrets. We really know each other’s entire life story.

How do you support each other in quest/classes?

For quest, we bounce ideas off of each other. We really benefit with collaborating. We help each other practice our presentations as well.
Outside of QUEST, we will help each other with homework and share old notes.

Danny and Josh

What has been your favorite QUEST memory together?

 

It’s hard to pick – we do a lot together in QUEST. A favorite QUEST memory has been teaching the BMGT408C class – specifically some of the first meetings about it. We got to sit down and plan out the course together. (Which, as a side note, is very hard!)

Another good memory in QUEST was the “QUEST Recruiting Oscars” event that we did last spring. We shot a video as a board, and showed it to the QUEST community.

What do you have in common?

 

A lot – we are both CS majors, with similar political interests and similar tastes in humor and movies. We spend a lot of our time enriching the QUEST community with our breadth of knowledge (or lack-there-of).

Fun fact- we both have a friend from high school in QUEST (Danny’s is Aditiya Shridar, and Josh’s is Manas Kulkarni)

 

What has been your best memory outside of QUEST?

 

We LOVE LOVE LOVE Krazy Kabob, and often we will have dinner together there.

 

Do you expect to stay close friends after you graduate?

Considering Josh will be working near Danny’s home after graduation, and since both are going into similar lines of work, we are sure we will continue to hang out. I don’t think we need to have a “friendship plan.” But now that you mention it…..

Savannah and Emily

How did you become friends?

We originally met at relay for life our freshman year and talked about how we had both just applied for QUEST! We really bonded at orientation over our mutual fear of the dark and nature, and spent the entire trip joined at the hip.

What has been your favorite QUEST memory?

Our absolute favorite QUEST memory together was when we went to a cooking school in DC with Dr. Ashley’s ARHU 390 class. We got to spend the evening cooking and bonding with Dr. Ashley and the food was fantastic!

What do you have in Common?

We both dropped College Park Scholars GPH to join QUEST but we didn’t even know each other then at all! And we both have 40 plus pairs of shoes!

Do you have any special nicknames for eachother? If so, what are they?
Emmie and Lil Sav

 

Matt and Allan

How did you become friends?

Both of us were on the QUEST to China trip. We were in the same group of people that went to Hong Kong a few days early. We both really wanted to try new things and experience China. That was the start of the “Adventures of Matt and Allan.”

What was your favorite thing you did together on the trip?

That’s a hard question – we really enjoyed ballin’ with the locals, learning the Chinese version of hacky sack “Jianzi,” getting a massage, and basically all the sight-seeing we did.

What is something people don’t know about you guys?

During the trip to China, we both ate a scorpion!
And some may not know this, but we both have a huge love for memes.

 

 

Have you made a lasting friendship through QUEST? Let us know who your QUESTest friend is.

Alumni Spotlight: ATK

Posted on by

Introduction

As an undergraduate Accounting and Finance student I don’t encounter rockets quite often. They just don’t seem to pop up on the balance sheet like widgets, and sometimes I miss the excitement that engineering students enjoy. Sure discounted cash flows and unamortized debt expense are great, but do they explode! Our longtime corporate partner, ATK, is an expert on rockets, and I’m tired of engineering students hogging all the fun. That’s why I felt compelled to travel to ATK Defense Headquarters in Baltimore this past week.

 

ATK

             As a QUEST student, you learned in the ATK Classroom at some point or heard one of their annual Capstone Projects. However, if you’re still unfamiliar with their work, let me fill you in. ATK is one of the largest Aerospace and Defense companies in the United States. A leader in the field of solid rocket motors, ATK applies its expertise to a variety of technologies, including missiles, space shuttles, and armament systems, to name a few. Additionally, ATK is one of the largest providers of ammunition in the country. In my attempt to acquire a rocket from ATK, I decided to put up a façade and find out more about their products, culture, and industry. Laruen Powers (Q20) and myself met with fellow Terrapin, Bryan Buckland.

 

Bryan Buckland

An ATK employee for 30 years, Mr. Buckland has held a variety of positions within the company’s Finance, Marketing, and Program Management functions. Currently, as a Senior Vice President for ATK’s Defense Group, Mr. Buckland manages the Finance functions of the organization. Mr. Buckland also serves as a Finance Fellows Mentor for the Smith School and owns a water sports dealership. Eager to help out fellow Terrapins, Mr. Buckland shared personal stories and industry experience with us.

 

Pride in the Products

             Walking through the halls of ATK Defense Headquarters in Baltimore you are flanked by some of the most impressive military technology this country has ever produced. And if you talk to ATK employees, they know it. ATK is incredibly proud of the products they make. And when we sat down with Mr. Buckland, I asked, “What unique opportunities do you believe ATK brings forth as an employer?” While a terrific 401k was a perfectly acceptable answer, Mr. Buckland went on to describe the “excitement of the products.”  He described the thrill of testing a product after a year of development, and the sense of purpose one feels contributing to this country’s national defense.

Although I had the opportunity to learn about a ton of awesome ATK products on my trip, my favorite was the AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System. The product attaches to the bottom of helicopters and detects when missiles are shot at it. In response the system initiates countermeasures and removes the threat. Mr. Buckland described hearing from pilots how the product saved their lives, exclaiming, “their really is pride in what you do” at ATK. Another culture topic we covered in our talk was that of teamwork at ATK.

 

Teamwork

             As an aerospace and defense company, ATK relies heavily on the cooperation of employees across starkly different disciplines. Mr. Buckland is a prime example with experience in finance, marketing, and project management himself. With so much industry experience, I was interested to hear if Mr. Buckland’s philosophy on teamwork at ATK. The key, I was told, is “to run at the pace of many, not at the pace of one.” He elaborated, stating that in order for a team to work well “each member needs to trust each other.” Without trust, team members constantly second guess each other’s work, and the whole team starts to slow down. If the engineer and finance guy don’t trust each other, they start to work at the speed of “one” instead of the speed of “many.”

 

External Strategy and the Sequester

            Lastly I wanted to find out how ATK viewed the sequester and its affect on the defense industry. The Sequester threatens to cut $1.2 trillion dollars in federal spending over the next 10 years, and many Americans worry that such an event will pull our already fragile economy back into a recession. Indiscriminately affected by these significant cuts is the defense industry, a particularly sensitive sector for Americans. Interested to hear the perspective of a defense industry insider, I asked Mr. Buckland how ATK was responding to the Sequester. His response was assuring, and provided much needed perspective on the matter. Mr. Buckland views the cuts as a challenge rather than an insurmountable obstacle. He described the manner within the context of managing ATK’s program portfolio. While ATK already has secured many contracts, which form the base of the company’s revenue stream, top ATK brass constantly monitors the defense environment, identifying promising contracts and those at risk. That way ATK can backfill lost contracts with new opportunities— even those in new technologies— and maximize its performance in a new, more challenging environment. It was interesting to hear Mr. Buckland’s perspective, and certainly reassuring.

 

Conclusion

            So my time at ATK was over. Saying our goodbyes in the lobby, Lauren Powers was saying something about torque and aerodynamics when I finally saw them- ROCKETS! They were there in the lobby, and it was finally my chance to play with one. Mr. Buckland must have seen me staring, because he immediately asked me if I wanted to hold one. Sure it was inactive, but I finally got what I came for. I quickly though about dashing with it, but how would I answer to Dr. Bailey? I already signed in when I arrived, and the jail time didn’t seem worth it at the time, so I left satisfied. Not only did I get to hold a rocket, but I learned a ton about ATK and what its like to work in the aerospace and defense industry.

 

 

 

KPMG Takes Over the QUESTLab

Posted on by

Applying to the program as freshmen, we all understood that QUEST offered amazing opportunities. Recruiters promised us expert faculty, an engaging curriculum, and top-performing colleagues; however, these benefits couldn’t truly capture all that QUEST had to offer. While QUEST does offer a top academic setting, many of us find it easier to understand the program as a community. Maybe it’s the philosophy of teamwork that we are taught from day 1 at QUEST Camp, but it seems that every member of QUEST is truly invested in each other’s success. Whether it be from alumni, faculty, students, or partners, the level of support within QUEST is one of the aspects that make it truly special. That’s why it was an awesome experience to have the QUEST Lab sponsored by KPMG this February.

This February KPMG became the first sponsor of the QUEST Lab, providing sustenance and guidance to the QUEST community. As a staunch occupier of the QUEST Lab myself (one of many) it was a great treat and even relaxed some of the stress of a busy academic life. Snacks and coffee often provided the extra boost I would need to get through the day. We were also lucky to have Ms. Ford (KPMG Recruiter for the Smith School) come in twice and review our resumes. This support during February was much appreciated by students. Tom Sless (Q19) remarked, “When you are busy with tests and projects its great to have a place to recharge like the QUEST Lab.” Dave Rosen (Q18) also noted, “the support of partners like KPMG definitely boosts morale during a hectic week.”

Luckily I was able to ask Ms. Ford a few QUESTions about KPMG’s sponsorship this week:

We all are very grateful for KPMG’s sponsorship of the QUESTLab, how does it feel to be the first sponsorer ever?

We are thrilled to be the February QUESTLab Sponsor of the Month, as well as the first sponsor ever.  KPMG has enjoyed partnering with QUEST for the last few years and we look forward to future partnership.  Sponsoring the QUESTLab is just one step – we’re also looking forward to putting together a great event for the fall!

Why did KPMG decide to sponsor the QUESTLab?

KPMG has found some great candidates through the QUEST Program, as QUEST’s focus on teamwork and collaboration amongst diverse teams directly relates to qualities we look for in interns and future employees.  At KPMG we are constantly working in teams and we’ve found that QUEST students are very successful at the firm.  We are also happy to help provide an environment in the QUESTLab that fosters creativity and collaboration among students.

What are some values that KPMG holds that makes it a great fit for QUEST students?

One of KPMG’s values is “we work together.” Like QUEST, everything we do is in teams and we find that involving multiple people with diverse backgrounds results in a better work product.

How has KPMG enjoyed its QUEST employees? 

QUEST students have enjoyed great success at KPMG because of their “teaming” mindset that they bring to the firm and their ability to work with individuals across multiple disciplines.

Are there any KPMG opportunities coming up for QUEST students?

We are planning a fall event with the QUEST students in order for them to get to know more KPMG professionals and the “culture” of the firm.  Generally, KPMG is on campus on a regular basis hosting different events and partnering with different clubs and organizations. You can email KPMG recruiter Hayley Ford at hlford@kpmg.com if you’d like to be added to KPMG’s pipeline and informed of upcoming opportunities.  We’ll be on campus interviewing in early October for summer 2013 internships and 2013 full-time positions.

 

So there you have it, the QUEST Lab’s first sponsorship. Hopefully it was the first of many. On behalf of the QUEST student base I’d like to thank KPMG for its support. It was greatly appreciated.