12 minute read
Alumni
QUEST ALUMNI INVOLVEMENT
QUEST alumni engaged with the program in higher numbers than ever before this year. In fact, we saw a 72% increase in alumni participation between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years!
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The virtual environment allowed us to interact with alumni from all over the country and even the world. Alumni participated as guest judges in our classes, workshop leaders for social and professional events, mentors for current students, application readers and interviewers for incoming students, project sponsors at their companies, and more.
Thank you to all of the alumni who gave back to QUEST this year and continue to make our community so special and unique. To learn more about alumni involvement opportunities, contact Jessica Roffe, assistant director of the QUEST Honors Program, at jroffe@umd.edu.
72%
increase in alumni participation
QUEST students and alumni connected through QUEST Corporate's virtual mentorship program in the spring
QUEST alumni held workshops for current students on topics like “Applying to Startups” Cohorts of alumni caught up during virtual happy hours
QUEST alumna Lauren Filocco, operations management and supply chain management ‘12 (Cohort 17), hosted a virtual barre class for QUEST students and alumni
One of the greatest strengths of the QUEST program is our vibrant and diverse alumni community. In our 29th year, we have over 1,400 alumni across the world, doing incredible things. Here are a few of their stories.
Giving Back Through Grassroots Basketball
After playing basketball in high school, college, the NBA, and Europe, Obinna Ekezie, mechanical engineering ‘99 (Cohort 3), always dreamed of opening a basketball academy in his home country of Nigeria. Since retiring from basketball in 2007, he moved back to Nigeria and opened an online travel company. As a lucky coincidence, he left the company right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which he calls “a blessing in disguise” as he was able to focus on this new project.
Ekezie launched OBN Academy on April 5th this year, with the goal of giving kids in Nigeria the opportunity he didn’t have to develop as young players. He fondly remembers learning how to play basketball while watching NBA games on his satellite TV. His dad then built him a basketball hoop so he could practice in the house. He didn’t have proper coaching growing up but had the opportunity to spend two years at a high school in Massachusetts before joining the Maryland Terrapins basketball team in 1995. “There’s always a transition period for basketball players going to the U.S.,” he explained. “At OBN Academy, we intend to work with the top prep school programs in the U.S. to get students acclimated to the American system and playing American basketball for at least one year in high school before getting to college.”
OBN Academy is the first of its kind in Africa, focusing on identifying raw talent and establishing scholarships for young kids from ages 6 to 18. “We are really trying to organize grassroots basketball. There is an NBA academy in Senegal, but that’s mostly for elite athletes. Here it is more of a grassroots effort rather than just finding the best players - we’re really trying to build infrastructure. We opened a gym, fitness center, medical center, audio/video studio, entertainment area, and we’re working to build a full high school where kids who only want to focus on basketball development can also have good academics and accommodations. We want to make a world-class organization so that the NBA and colleges that come here will be excited.”
In reflecting on his time at UMD, Ekezie said, “Maryland played a huge role in my education and experience. I remember waking up at 4 in the morning each day - which I still do - to do everything I needed to. My IBM-TQ/QUEST teammates and professors knew about my crazy basketball schedule and were always very accommodating. College basketball allowed me to focus on the game and developing a passion for the game. The NBA was more about a business and maximizing opportunities, but college was a lot more about becoming the best player I could be and getting the support and education that I needed. I love that this place [OBN Academy] is bringing me the opportunity to connect back with UMD, and I hope to find some recruits for the Terrapins.”
Obinna Ekezie (Cohort 3)
Spreading Happiness with Kürtőskalács
When Nicole Shaw-Provillon, accounting and international business ‘99 (Cohort 4), moved to Hungary for her husband’s job in 2013, she noticed lines of people forming to try a popular street food called “Kürtőskalács" (aka Kürtősh), or Chimney cake in English. She had traveled to over 30 countries in her life but had never seen anything like this. After trying the sweet pastry, Shaw-Provillon knew she had to bring it back to America. Not only was it delicious, but its simplicity in ingredients and process was fascinating.
“If I was to succeed in the U.S., I knew I had to find a viable business model, since most kürtősh businesses in the U.S. had a short life span," she shared. To start, she trained with an award-winning kürtősh baker in Hungary and traveled to the region of Transylvania, where kürtősh originated, to deeply learn and understand the craft. In the U.S., she attended a course at the Culinary Institute of America to learn the science behind yeast. With the support from a business consultant, she refined a 34-page plan for a catering business, outlining her big idea of “Dessertainment®” = Dessert + Entertainment. The plan included using the purest ingredients in the world to curate flavors from a top NYC spice purveyor and international gourmet suppliers, while showcasing an authentic Hungarian kürtősh experience. She wanted to go beyond simply offering a product. “Our slogan is ‘Unkurl your sweet spot,’” said Shaw-Provillon. “We knew that if we included a sense of discovery and good food, amongst family or friends, people are almost guaranteed to have an amazing experience.”
Kurly Kürtősh started off as a catering company. They set up on-site baking at corporate events, private events, fairs, and festivals. They popped-up at retailers such as Bloomingdale's, Williams Sonoma, and the Nutella Café NYC. Most notably, she baked for the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for two years in a row. “We are a hospitality-oriented business. The best part is watching the excitement of customers smelling freshly-baked kürtősh permeate the air. It energizes me to watch kürtősh spread an infectious joy that instantly makes people happy.”
During her third year when the pandemic happened, Shaw-Provillon was already in problem-solving mode because she understood that businesses are always encountering challenges. She immediately thought, “How do I meet my customer needs within these new restrictions?” She pivoted from event catering to opening a temporary pop-up shop at a local cafe with curbside pick-up. Last year, Kurly Kürtősh was featured on ABC News, and the spot was picked up on news stations around the country, and honorably, in Hungary. This led to a growing demand, including people traveling almost two hours for a taste. As a result, she will open an experiential bakery this summer in Nutley, NJ that will embody a nearly authentic kürtőskalács experience. “Most times we are ushered down a path designed by others. I really encourage people to discover their passion, deeply enjoy the journey, and celebrate the experience. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to take my professional experience in accounting and marketing and thoughtfully apply it to a true passion.”
Nicole Shaw-Provillon (Cohort 4)
Allowing Safe Return to Schools
Melinda Pandiangan (Cohort 19)
Two QUEST alumni played pivotal roles this year in helping students transition to online learning and eventually prepare to safely return to schools. Melinda Pandiangan, marketing and supply chain management ‘14 (Cohort 19), was working as a Science Instructor at a high school in the Dallas Independent School District when the pandemic hit. As a teacher with knowledge of web development from her time at UMD and corporate experience from her time at Lockheed Martin, she quickly became a “teacher leader,” building an online platform for the entire school, training teachers in Slack and Zoom, and acting as the liaison between teachers and administrators. “Very few people in my school used technology at the time - we only had 60 laptops for a school of 1,200. But after an emergency meeting revealed rumors that we may not return after spring break, I helped move the school online in twenty-four hours. We thought it would be for two or three weeks and then the district would give us a solution, but this never happened so we ended up being the model for other schools to follow in terms of how to convert to online,” she shared. Pandiangan noticed some benefits to the online transition as well. She noted, “We got to a point where the staff felt more connected to the school than ever before. Teaching can be isolating in a brick and mortar setting, but there was a lot of collaboration in the new virtual world. It was an exciting time to build culture. I also believe that we’re going to have a stronger, more resilient education system using technology when students return face-to-face. We’ll be able to better meet students’ needs with more personalized learning and better access to materials and tutoring.” Due to her immense leadership, Pandiangan was tapped for a leadership role as an Instructional Coach at another school in Dallas last summer. “In my new administrative role, I’m always using principles from QUEST like systems and design thinking. Schools are much more complicated than I ever imagined. As a leader, my impact is tenfold so I am constantly challenging my team to consider the root cause of the problem and not jump into decisions.” Ben Hsieh, operations management and spanish ‘16 (Cohort 22), former Director of Facilities and Business Operations at DC Prep, was overseeing six campuses that serve 2,100 students from preschool through eighth grade when schools went virtual. “It was a really interesting time to work in operations for schools. I worked on everything from buying a million dollars worth of personal protective equipment (PPE), to understanding what HVAC upgrades we needed, to getting classrooms stocked with hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, and thermometers, to rewriting how to come to school,” he shared. “In a typical school year, operations plays a back seat support role - this year, we were front and center with everyone looking to us to shepherd a safe return.” Stakeholder management was one of the biggest challenges as well. “Getting people comfortable with the idea of coming back in person was a real test in change management and process redesign. There were many conflicting beliefs on whether or not students should come back and what is best for these kids. I had to really listen to all stakeholders to design the right set of new processes. As much as we want to be rational decision makers, a lot of the decisions end up being really emotional. It’s different from how we’re taught to think about business and society. When you’re working with kids and their safety, sometimes humanity is the most important thing.”
Ben Hsieh (Cohort 22)
In 2019, Nicole Blahut, operations management and supply chain management ‘15 (Cohort 20), was made an offer she couldn’t refuse to join the operations team for LA28, the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles - the first Games in the U.S. since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. LA28 is small but mighty, currently with less than 100 full-time employees, but is steadily growing to bring on over 6,000 team members in the coming years as the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games approach.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” Blahut shared. “It’s like working at a startup where we can truly be nimble in how we innovate for all aspects of planning to ensure we’re bringing in the best partners to help bring the LA28 Games to life. And at the same time, we’re still a part of one of the biggest and most storied institutions in the world as we prepare to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have the luxury of having a long runway to the 2028 Games, so we can be really thoughtful about every decision we make and consider all of the benefits and risks in planning a different kind of Games.”
Blahut’s role as Manager of Strategy & Operations is focused on supporting the more technical aspects of the business like venue planning and Games operations. She also works closely with different parts of the organization like City Relations, for example, to think through transport, or the Commercial team to map out business integration opportunities.
One goal of LA28 is to integrate with the city of LA and ensure the community’s collective voices are represented in every aspect of planning. “We’re in such a fortunate position in Los Angeles that we have a wealth of existing venues and infrastructure to utilize for the 2028 Games. That means we can spend our time and resources working to ensure the Games reflect the magic of Los Angeles and everything the city has to offer as we look to co-create the LA28 Games,” she explained.
Reflecting this, the recent brand launch revealed a logo that incorporates various versions of the “A” in “LA28,” submitted by local artists, athletes, and more to highlight the diversity and creativity of LA and showcase the various vibes around the city.
Blahut says the QUEST theme of continuous improvement is very much a part of her everyday work. “We’re always thinking about how to make incremental improvements to the Games plan so that it’s more fiscally responsible, sustainable, and innovative,” she said. She encourages other QUESTees to embrace unique career opportunities that present themselves. “Even if you’re happy in the role you’re in, don’t be afraid to take risks in your career if something exciting comes your way.”
Nicole Blahut (Cohort 20)
