QUEST Student Organizations

QUEST CORPORATE

The QUEST Corporate student committee plans events to connect students with corporate partners and alumni and help prepare them for opportunities in the professional world. This year, QUEST Corporate hosted its fifth annual networking event in the Stamp Student Union, with 22 companies and 130 students in attendance. The committee also hosted several site visits throughout the year including visits to Bechtel and Capital One and a full-day of visits in D.C., which included Fjord, IBM, and Rasa. “QUEST Corporate provides a unique opportunity for students to grow professionally and create a network that can ultimately lead to their dream job,” said QUEST Corporate co-lead Olivia Wolcott, bioengineering ‘20 (Cohort 30).

QUEST students at the Bechtel site visit

QUEST students at QUEST Creative’s fall pumpkin carving event

QUEST CREATIVE

QUEST Creative provides all QUEST students with a creative outlet. This year, the QUEST Creative student leaders organized events such as pumpkin carving in October and laser cutting at the UMD Sandbox, a student-run creative space for artists, designers, and hackers. One of the newest QUEST Creative members, Sarah D’Souza, management ‘22 (Cohort 33) said, “Joining QUEST Creative has given me the opportunity to learn new skills and take part in cool activities like laser cutting, while forming friendships with motivated people who are passionate about learning.”

QUESTPRESS

Students on the QUESTPress committee are dedicated to sharing the stories of the QUEST community. The students release a monthly newsletter to QUEST students, alumni, parents, corporate partners, university affiliates, and friends. According to co-editor Celine Moarkech, data analytics in biotechnology ‘20 (Cohort 29), “QUESTPress allows me to engage with the QUEST community in a more personal capacity. While I can find out what someone is doing through their social media or LinkedIn, by interviewing students and alumni, I get to learn the how and the why, which is always fascinating and inspiring.” Read the latest edition of QUESTPress at blogs.rhsmith.umd.edu/questpress/.

QUEST RECRUITING

QUEST Recruiting continues to serve as one of the best avenues to promote the QUEST program because of the dedication of each member. In addition to attending the First Look Fair and the University’s Fall Open House, our QUEST recruiters hosted four in-person information sessions to promote QUEST to prospective students. These dedicated efforts resulted in the most diverse pool of applicants in QUEST history. When discussing his time in QUEST Recruiting, leader David

Rosenstein, marketing and management ‘20 (Cohort 29)

said, “The students in QUEST are the program’s lifeblood, and QUEST Recruiting enabled me to give back by sharing the QUEST magic with prospective students and defining quality applicant characteristics, leaving a long-lasting impact.”

QUEST Recruiting students facilitating the team activity during new student interviews

QUEST alumni and students enjoying the Homecoming Tailgate QUESTECH

QUESTech provides opportunities for all students, regardless of major, to learn about new and innovative technology. This year, QUESTech members hosted a personal website development workshop and held their own version of TED Talks, appropriately named “Tech Talks.” As incoming colead Amod Mathur, computer science and operations management & business analytics ‘22 (Cohort 33), explained, “QUESTech encourages fluency in innovative technologies for students of both technical and nontechnical disciplines and provides opportunities for QUEST students to come together and discuss groundbreaking ideas.”

QUEST SOCIAL

QUEST Social strives to build community amongst the entire QUEST program, connecting current students and alumni alike. This past fall, QUEST Social hosted a student/ alumni dinner and QUEST’s annual Homecoming Tailgate. Co-lead Grace Zhang, computer science and operations

management and business analytics ‘21 (Cohort 31)

shared, “QUEST Social provides a platform for members to socialize and build lasting connections and friendships!” Following the shift to remote learning in March, QUEST Social also planned several virtual events. Together with Dr. Bailey and alumnus Josh Kohn, computer science ‘13 (Cohort 18), QUEST Social planned a trivia night for students and alumni. They also planned a Zoom study

break on Reading Day.

QUESTSERVES

As QUEST’s newest student organization, QUESTServes works to connect QUEST students with local communities by providing opportunities to engage, enrich, and empower others through outreach, leadership, and service. This year, for their first event, QUESTServes partnered with another campus organization, Food Recovery Network, to donate leftover concessions from a men’s basketball game. Looking ahead to the fall semester, QUESTServes co-lead Ryan Gerbes, mechanical engineering ‘22 (Cohort 33), said, “I’m really looking forward to QUESTServes’ first full year. Now, more than ever, it’s so important to stand together as a community and offer support to those who need it most. QUESTServes gives students the perfect platform to serve together and transform ideas in action.”