QUEST Annual Report 2022

20 22 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

QUEST Honors Program Annual Report

Contents 03

04

05

About Us & Our Mission

Remarks from the Interim Director

A Letter from the Deans

06

09

10

2021-2022 Students

Orientation

Classes

16

18

20

Conference

Electives

Student Organizations

21

22

24

Alumni

Sophomores & Juniors

Seniors

26

27

Giving Back

Corporate Partners

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QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

About Us The QUEST (Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams) Honors Program is a three-year program for University of Maryland undergraduates studying business, engineering, and/or science.

Through our five-course curriculum, students complete experiential learning projects and gain valuable teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills to prepare them for their futures. Now in our 30th year, QUEST has become a mainstay at the University of Maryland, College Park, providing a unique opportunity for students who are interested in multidisciplinary, hands-on learning experiences.

Multidisciplinary

Hands-on

QUEST students are from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the A. James Clark School of Engineering, and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. In a highly competitive process, 90 new “QUESTees” are admitted each spring during their first year at UMD.

QUEST projects focus on real challenges facing organizations and society today. Students apply total quality tools, design, and systems thinking principles and engage in customer-driven initiatives.

Project outcomes develop real and immediately-applicable innovations that improve processes, drive productivity, and reduce costs for clients.

OUR MISSION To foster a dynamic learning community that makes a recognized difference for students, the University, and partnering organizations through a commitment to cross-functional collaboration, creative problem-solving, and systems thinking.

Participation in the QUEST Honors Program stimulates a belief in life-long learning and employing collaboration to shape and impact the future.

Contact Us  questhonors@umd.edu  301-405-0534  go.umd.edu/QUEST

Team-based

Learning Community

QUEST students work in multidisciplinary teams on client projects and are fully comfortable navigating team dynamics, working with individuals with diverse skill sets and talents, and inspiring an environment for collaborating on ideas and tactical strategies.

QUEST is a dynamic community of learning where students, faculty and staff, alumni, corporate partners, and University colleagues contribute to and benefit from the interactions and lessons learned.

 QUESTumd  QUESTumd  QUESTumd  blog.umd.edu/questpress

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QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

QUEST Program Leadership

Dr. Hassan Ibrahim Interim Executive Director

Dr. Pamela Armstrong Associate Director

Jessica Roffe Assistant Director

Rachel DiDonna Program Manager

Dr. Joseph Bailey Affiliated Faculty

David Ashley Affiliated Faculty

Remarks from the Interim Director It gives me great pleasure as the Interim Executive Director of the QUEST Honors Program at the University of Maryland to introduce you to the 2022 Annual Report. QUEST brings together the brightest students from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, the A. James Clark School of Engineering, and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences to work together on teams and gain an unmatched hands-on learning experience.

QUEST is celebrating its 30th anniversary throughout 2022, which is a major accomplishment by all measures, and it speaks volumes as to what being a member of the QUEST family really means. A graduate from QUEST joins a network of over 1,700 alumni, many of whom are in leading positions in government and captains of industry.

This year, we received an overwhelming number of applications from exceptionally talented first-year Terps. It was a very challenging admissions process, but it was gratifying to see the diversity in the applicants, reflecting President Pines’ vision of TerrapinSTRONG: a “diverse, united, proud, respectful, inclusive, accountable and empowered community of people from every background that works to impact positively our globally-connected society.”

During this last year, QUEST was able to expand its capstone project partners to companies like BAE Systems, a leader in defense and aerospace solutions, and CNH Industrial, a leader in equipment and services to the agriculture and construction industries. From the technology and service industries, we have also added new corporate partners such as Pinterest, a pioneer in image sharing and social media, as well as Get Real Health, an innovator in applying the latest technology to the healthcare industry. After observing the creativity and dedication of QUEST students, many of these companies have created exclusive recruiting programs as well to attract QUEST’s students and graduates.

In closing, I would like to thank the QUEST community, represented by its students, alumni, staff, faculty, parents, and corporate partners for maintaining QUEST as a great place to learn, have fun, and build a successful career. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely, Hassan A. Ibrahim

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A Letter from the Deans For the last 30 years, the QUEST Honors Program at the University of Maryland has been exemplary in its excellence and commitment to multidisciplinary, experiential learning. Teams of undergraduate students of the highest caliber across the business, engineering, and CMNS schools have worked diligently to provide real world solutions to QUEST’s corporate partners, using multidisciplinary concepts and tools. The appreciation of those partners is most evident in them coming back year after year with new problems and challenges for QUEST teams to lead the way in tackling.

As deans, we are committed to innovative and impactful undergraduate education, and QUEST is the epitome of that commitment. It also serves as a model for collaborations between our programs. QUEST’s large network of students and alumni are among the University of Maryland’s strongest assets and make us all proud Terrapins.

We would like to express our deep appreciation of QUEST’s students, alumni, staff, faculty, corporate partners, parents, and benefactors who are the pillars of QUEST’s success, and we look forward to your continued participation in the future!

Samuel Graham Dean, A. James Clark School of Engineering

Amitabh Varshney Dean, College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

Prabhudev Konana Dean, Robert H. Smith School of Business

2021-2022

QUEST Students

35+33+293N 267 students

Robert H. Smith School of Business

37%

College of Computer, Mathematical, & Natural Sciences

35%

A. James Clark School of Engineering

31%

Other

5%

*Percentages total over 100% because some students are pursuing majors in multiple colleges

Student Majors Accounting Aerospace Engineering Biochemistry Bioengineering Biological Sciences Business Undecided

Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Chemistry Cinema & Media Studies Civil & Environmental Engineering Computer Engineering Computer Science Criminology & Criminal Justice Dance Economics Electrical Engineering English Environmental Health Policy & Decision Making

7 10 1 14 14 1 1 1 1 1 4 80 1 1 2 8 1 1

Finance Global Innovation & Sustainability Information Science Information Systems International Business Management Marketing Materials Science & Engineering Mathematics Mechanical Engineering Neuroscience Operations Management & Business Analytics Physics Pre-Dental Studies Psychology Sports Health & Decision Analytics Supply Chain Management Systems Design & Analysis

*Numbers total to more than 267 because some students are pursuing multiple majors

45 1 1 30 4 12 14 1 14 41 2 33 1 1 2 1 3 1

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QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

33

cohort

35

cohort

37

cohort

34

cohort

36

cohort

38

cohort

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252 applicants

158 interviews

90

new students

3.75 average GPA

Newly Admitted Students QUEST is excited to announce another impressive class of 90 students who will begin their QUEST journeys in the 2022-2023 academic year. After 1.5 years of an online admissions process, QUEST Recruiting was able to promote the QUEST application in person as well as online and hosted the final round of team interviews in person in the QUEST lab. The shift back to in-person promotion resulted in a 10% increase in applications from the prior year and two incredibly competitive interview days. With an average GPA of 3.75, over 70% of the incoming students are already participating in other honors or scholars programs on campus and have immersed themselves in organizations across QUEST’s three affiliated colleges and the entire University.

Congratulations, Cohorts 39 and 40! We cannot wait to see all you will bring to the QUEST Honors Program.

38+35+27N College Breakdown

College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences

38%

Robert H. Smith School of Business

35%

A. James Clark School of Engineering

27%

QUEST Orientation

After several virtual orientations, QUEST was able to welcome Cohort 37 in the fall with the first in-person orientation since January 2020.

Although students were unable to travel off campus, the staff worked throughout the summer to seamlessly transition the orientation program to an on-campus event. The new program included activities across campus from Van Munching Hall and Eppley Recreation Center to the Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center. We also added a campus scavenger hunt since many of the new students had not spent any significant time on campus. Even when QUEST was required to transition the January 2022 orientation to Zoom, the student mentors and staff were able to maintain all of the critical components of the program.

After finding their BMGT/ENES190H teams and team mentors, the students spent the first day engaging in group improv, low ropes, and team building activities through the UMD challenge course. In the evening, teams decided on their 190H team names which often have a play on the word “QUEST.” Some highlights from Cohorts 37 and 38 include “Say Yes to the QUEST,” “Wild Wild QUEST,” and “Revenge is a Dish QUEST Served Cold.”

To wrap up each orientation, the students spent the second day learning about team dynamics, communication styles, and implicit biases to build a strong foundation for their BMGT/ENES190H semester. They then completed their first QUEST presentation, sharing a new product they believe should be on the market with their fellow cohort mates, mentors, and QUEST faculty and staff.

Left photo: Cohort 37 students and their mentors participated in team building activities at UMD’s RecWell; Right photo: On day two, teams presented their new product ideas to a panel of judges

QUEST Classes

Classes at the University of Maryland were back in person this year, allowing QUEST students to enjoy more hands-on activities and team bonding throughout the curriculum.

QUEST students take four required courses with their cohorts in addition to one elective. After completing 17 credits through the QUEST program, they earn the QUEST notation on their transcript.

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QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

COURSE 1: BMGT/ENES190H

Introduction to Design and Quality Since this course is traditionally very hands-on, it was wonderful to be back in the classroom this year! Students once again learned many design and quality-related concepts through games, Legobuilding, discussions, and whiteboard activities.

Students in Cohorts 37 and 38 practiced structured problem solving and teamwork through two major projects. In the first, teams used design thinking to come up with products based on the themes of Rejuvenation (Cohort 37) and the Five Senses (Cohort 38). Teams also had to develop and deliver business pitches for their ideas. For the second project, students worked with a variety of campus organizations to improve business

processes. A new addition this year was a workshop on developing leave-behind decks, which teams then created and delivered to their clients.

We also enjoyed hearing guest speakers from Capital One, who discussed the design thinking process, and Tuscany Strategy Consulting, who ran a workshop on designing surveys. To incorporate the engineering perspective into the course, Dr. Monifa Vaughn-Cooke from the A. James Clark School of Engineering joined us to discuss her research in human factors and human-centered design.

INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN AND QUALITY PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

“Improving the Bulk Data Entry Process” for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

The Clarice at UMD is known as one of the largest and best-equipped performing arts venues within the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, hosting between 1,200-1,500 events each year. The Clarice receives bulk requests for space rentals up to two years in advance and processes these requests through various software and Excel spreadsheets. The QUEST team worked to standardize the process for inputting these requests. Through stakeholder meetings, the team was able to iteratively prototype and finalize a custom-built Excel sheet and intake form. Both of these solutions will save roughly 22-24 hours per month for the stakeholders.

I would highly recommend working with projects that are outside of your major, as it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, gain newfound wisdom on how the rest of the world outside of my engineering bubble operates, and apply the skills that I learned in my engineering science classes to real-world client-based projects.”

Lauren Gomes Bioengineering ‘24 (Cohort 38)

Gomes presented at the Spring 2022 Poster Session

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QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

COURSE 2: BMGT438A/ENES489A

Applied Quantitative Analysis As the second course in the QUEST curriculum, the data course is now established as an important part of the learning and development of QUEST students. We worked with several new external organizations this academic year with a priority of working with datasets that are particularly supportive of student learning. In addition to learning how to work with a client that is external to the University, students are given more independence in managing this process since we remove the mentor scaffolding of the 190H class.

The 18 projects completed this year involved data related to social media, donors, and company operations. A new type of project involved working with companies who are mining ticketing data.

Students streamlined operations through an examination of the company’s performance in resolving tickets, as highlighted by the project spotlight. The class itself continues to stress the importance of the full data science process, including addressing data quality and data privacy concerns. After completion of the QUEST data course, students understand how quantitative and qualitative data can be used in concert to make data-supported recommendations to their clients.

APPLIED QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

“Managing Customer Tickets” for Wodify

The QUEST team worked with QUEST alumnus Barret Rus, operations management and business analytics and information systems ‘20 (Cohort 30), a Customer Success Operations Specialist at Wodify, a fitness management platform. The team aimed to increase Wodify’s SLA (standard licensing agreement) compliance, including meeting a specified reply time and limiting the number of replies on each ticket. By analyzing multiple ticket fields and identifying trends, the team developed a logistical model to predict the likelihood that an incoming ticket would be SLA compliant. Wodify can implement the model into their current staffing and ticket assignment protocols to identify incoming tickets in danger of breaching SLA and allocate resources accordingly.

The experience was incredibly positive. Working with a former member of QUEST helped set realistic expectations for the project while permitting us freedom to explore the data, utilizing methodology we had learned in the course. It was an excellent opportunity to immediately apply what we’ve learned and gain an understanding of how class topics can be implemented in real life projects.”

Shoshana Distenfeld Bioengineering ‘24 (Cohort 37)

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COURSE 3: BMGT/ENES390H

Designing Innovative Systems In the third course in the QUEST curriculum, students are given an opportunity to define a complex and significant problem in a context and culture very different from the one they are accustomed to. In doing so, students learn about the importance of humility and cultural sensitivity along with the tools of designing innovative systems to help make a positive impact.

In the spring semester, students were given the opportunity to pitch their own project ideas before team formation. Teams then formed these initial ideas into action plans complete with phases, key performance indicators, and risk mitigation strategies. By encouraging students to move away from their comfort zones, they were able to better reveal their biases and consider innovations that fit the country’s culture and context.

This past year, students worked on projects ranging from cryptocurrency to women’s health and from Bangladesh to Uganda. As the project spotlight illustrates, students in 390H considered system design across the QUEST disciplines of business, engineering, and science to design a better and improved future state. This knowledge helps build a strong foundation for students as they prepare for their capstone projects in the next QUEST class.

DESIGNING INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

“Exploring Alternative Energy in South Africa”

Shane Bonkowski, aerospace engineering ‘23 (Cohort 36), and team worked to address the energy problem in South Africa this spring. The team discovered that one company controls nearly 96% of all energy in South Africa, leaving little room for competition. Bonkowski explained, “This not only hinders innovation and fair, competitive pricing, but also prevents South Africans from receiving access to reliable and sustainable energy.” After conducting further research, the team found a company called Sun Exchange that aims to tackle this problem by providing reliable, affordable solar energy to South Africans through solar panels crowdfunded from ordinary people. The team proposed areas where Sun Exchange could improve in order to reach even more individuals in South Africa.

Bonkowski (second from left) and team presented at the 390H poster session

This project helped bring about a sense of cultural awareness that many of us did not have prior to taking 390H. We were able to see problems that persist in other countries, brainstorm viable solutions, and in our case, see through solutions that we genuinely think will benefit South Africa in the long run. In the future, we hope to approach problems with a new perspective and a new sense of empathy.”

Shane Bonkowski Aerospace Engineering ‘23 (Cohort 36)

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COURSE 4: BMGT/ENES490H

18

QUEST Capstone Professional Practicum One of the signature QUEST experiences, the QUEST Capstone Professional Practicum, allows students to work with clients for a full semester to address organizational challenges through process improvement, systems design, data analysis, and innovation. Teams work directly with clients to understand the opportunity, research the industry and relevant technologies, develop and evaluate possible solutions, and make final recommendations.

capstone projects

Through site visits and meetings, QUEST students completed 18 projects for 13 companies this academic year. These projects, based everywhere from San Francisco, California to Baltimore, MD to Hamilton, Mississippi, provided students with the opportunity to tackle real-world problems and provided companies with tangible benefits. Project topics included improving the customer experience, managing supply chain logistics, optimizing process flows, developing key performance indicators, building performance dashboards, identifying new suppliers, and analyzing market position. Student teams did an excellent job working with repeat clients as well as cultivating relationships with new clients.

companies

13

100% of clients would like to return for another project

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Fall Project Sponsors

BAE Systems Children’s National Hospital CNH Industrial D&H Distributing Gill Grilling Leidos Oceaneering Thales Tronox

Spring Project Sponsors

BAE Systems CNH Industrial D&H Distributing Get Real Health Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman Pinterest Thales Tronox

QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

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CAPSTONE PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

“Improving Data Utilization Among Farmers” for CNH Industrial

The QUEST team worked with CNH Industrial, an agricultural machinery company, to reimagine their digital offerings and think critically about how their smart tractors could add more value for their customers. Through informational interviews with farmers and industry research, the team was able to dig into the root of the problem and create impactful solutions for the client. The main deliverable was a Figma redesign of their application, through which the team built out various features and additions to their current app based on user feedback and requests. The clients could click through the wireframe that the team built and interact with the new features as if they were the farmers using the app. The team also provided recommendations for how to implement the features and market them effectively for users.

Browne and his teammates with their poster at the Fall 2021 QUEST Conference

Project champion Chris Grifka, Customer Success Director at CNH Industrial, shared, “The value in the QUEST partnership is the outside and creative perspective the students bring to any project. The students’ questioning found an unmet need of simple delivery of portions of this information to be used on a daily basis. This new focus has allowed us to increase customer engagement and satisfaction with our product.”

It was my first time working with a company of that size and in an industry that I knew almost nothing about. Thankfully my previous QUEST and business courses prepared me for cultivating a client relationship and navigating complex situations. Ultimately, I hope our recommendations and deliverables assist CNH in incorporating the voice of the customer and help make their digital offerings more effective and accessible for farmers around the world.”

Abe Browne Operations Management and Business Analytics ‘22 (Cohort 34)

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Left photo: Clients from BAE Systems came from near and far to support their team at the Spring 2022 QUEST Conference; Right photo: Students presented on stage at the Fall 2021 QUEST Conference

The QUEST Conference For the first time in two years, students in our capstone course were able to celebrate their accomplishments in person at the Fall 2021 QUEST Conference and again at the Spring 2022 QUEST Conference. The energy was amazing, bringing together over 250 students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and corporate partners each time. We were fortunate to be joined both semesters by our deans. In the fall, Dean Prabhudev Konana from the Smith School and Dean Amitabh Varshney from the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences attended. In the spring, Dean Samuel Graham from the Clark School provided opening remarks.

Students shared their insights through an hour-long poster session, followed by four rounds of fifteen-minute presentations. Being back in person was definitely a welcomed change, and we thank all of those who came out to support our students after all of their hard work!

Presenting on stage was very exciting, but I was a little nervous. Shifting from usually giving presentations over Zoom to presenting to a huge live audience was nerveracking. However, once I got up on stage with my team, all the nerves went away, and I felt confident!”

Nick Bailey Operations Management and Business Analytics and Marketing ‘23 (Cohort 35)

Top right photo: Dean Graham provided opening remarks at the Spring 2022 QUEST Conference; Middle right photo: Tanu Kulkarni, operations management and business analytics and finance ‘22 (Cohort 34), presented her poster to Smith School Dean Prabhudev Konana at the Fall 2021 QUEST Conference; Bottom right photo: Students from the Get Real Health team were awarded Most Outstanding Capstone and Best Poster at the Spring 2022 QUEST Conference

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Top left photo: Cohort 34 students on the D&H Distributing team earned the Best Poster award in Fall 2021; Top right photo: Students, parents, corporate partners, alumni, and more supported our presenters; Middle left photo: Nikita Kumar, operations management and business analytics and information systems ‘22 (Cohort 34), and the Thales team won the Most Outstanding Capstone Project in Fall 2021; Middle right photo: The Cohort 34 Leidos team coordinated outfits for their presentation; Bottom left photo: Members of Cohort 34’s Oceaneering team proudly displayed their poster; Bottom right photo: Professors Ashley and Ibrahim gave a pep talk to Cohort 34 students prior to the Poster Session

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QUEST Electives In addition to the required courses, QUEST students take at least one elective course during their time in the program. These courses complement the curriculum and allow students to meet and work on teams with students from other cohorts.

NEW ELECTIVE SPOTLIGHT: BMGT438N

Product Management

This spring, we piloted the university’s first undergraduate faculty-led course on Product Management (PM). The course was designed through extensive student and alumni collaboration. Due to the pandemic, our popular travel electives could not be offered. To meet the needs of students, we needed to create a new elective. To determine what to offer, a team of QUEST mentors surveyed students and alumni to identify topics that would be most useful and interesting for QUEST students. The clear favorite was product management. Another mentor team then benchmarked other PM courses and interviewed PMs to design the course. They also arranged to have many alumni visit to teach various concepts throughout the semester.

Product management is a good fit for QUEST since it builds on many of the concepts covered in 190H and the data course. The course focused on the processes, tools, and frameworks used by product managers. In the first part of the course, students worked in multidisciplinary teams to come up with a new product and explored the problem space. Later, each student chose a favorite product and used PM methods to design, validate, and pitch a new feature for that product.

Students really valued the numerous alumni speakers who created short lectures and activities, but also shared their experiences, expertise, and advice during the course.

We would like to thank our wonderful alumni participants: Jessica Alves de Sa, Matt Ambrogi, Shivanee Arun, Jenna Beglin, Michael George, Kylie Kearns, Chul Kwon, Andrew Lee, Andie Rauta, Adam Sarsony, and Zach Zweig. Due to the success of the course, it will be offered again in Spring 2023.

Alumni shared their experiences working in product management during a panel on the last day of class

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In addition to Product Management, we offered some classic QUEST electives this year, including: BMGT438T

BMGT/ENES397

BMGT408C

BMGT/ENES 491

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Quality

Mentoring Multidisciplinary Teams

Quality Web Development in Business

Scoping Experiential Learning Projects

Students explored the differences in quality perceptions between U.S. and non-U.S. consumers and completed a cross-cultural comparative study between the U.S. and another country on an issue such as education, transportation, or healthcare.

Students practiced essential skills for mentoring and coaching teams in our QUEST introductory course, and in the process, strengthened their knowledge of design and quality techniques.

Students of all levels of experience were introduced to the elements of web development – from technical skills like HTML and databases to business concerns like how to work on a software engineering team.

Students cultivated relationships with new and current corporate partners and prepared project scopes for QUEST courses.

Students were able to visit companies such as McCormick & Co., Tulkoff Food Products, and Oceaneering to tour the facilities and discuss project ideas in person.

Left photo: Cross-cultural students visited the Turkish Coffee Lady in Alexandria, VA to learn about cultural similarities and differences between Turkey and the U.S.; Right photo: Scoping students visited McCormick & Co. in Hunt Valley, MD in Spring 2022 to discuss future project scopes

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QUEST Student Organizations Our seven QUEST student organizations were excited to return to campus this year, host in-person events, and build community amongst the cohorts.

Top left photo: QUEST Creative hosted study breaks involving Gingerbread House Decorating in the QUEST Lab; Top middle photo: QUESTech held their second annual Datathon; Top right photo: QUEST Serves participated in Earth Day clean-up events around campus; Middle left photo: QUEST Recruiting attended the First Look Fair to spread the word about QUEST; Middle right photo: QUEST Social provided opportunities to bond outside of the classroom at events like QUEST on Ice; Bottom left photo: QUEST Corporate planned site visits through which students could learn about companies first-hand; Bottom right photo: QUESTPress covered the latest news in the QUEST community, sending out a monthly newsletter

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QUEST Alumni Over 150 QUEST alumni engaged with the program this year in various capacities.

Alumni participated as guest speakers in our new product management elective, site visit hosts at their companies, judges for class presentations, workshop leaders for social and professional events, mentors for current students, application readers 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.

Top left photo: Alumnus Obinna Ekezie, mechanical engineering ‘99 (Cohort 3), visited campus to speak to Dr. Bailey’s 390H class; Top right photo: Several alumni from Cohorts 5 through 29 attended our Student Alumni Dinner at Ledo Pizza in College Park; Bottom left photo: Alumnus Chad Schneider, mechanical engineering ‘99 (Cohort 3), hosted students at his company, Root3 Labs; Bottom right photo: Alumnus Steve Kutchi, mechanical engineering ‘97 (Cohort 1), returned as a capstone project champion with Thales Defense & Security, Inc.

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QUEST Sophomores and Juniors QUEST’s sophomores and juniors were excited to jump into their first fully inperson school year. To make up for lost time, QUEST planned several cohort bonding events such as an ice cream social and a retreat prior to 490H for the cohort that had orientation online. Many of these students are participating in their first in-person internship this summer as well. Throughout the year, QUEST provided professional support to each student by hosting networking events, mock interviews, and resume reviews. In fact, over two-thirds of the 151 students participating in internships this summer said they utilized their QUEST network and/or experiences to secure their positions.

Luke Muratore, computer science ’24 (Cohort 37), is a software engineering intern at Capital One this summer. He credits his QUEST membership with multiple successes within his application and interview process.

86+5+4N 175

Sophomores and Juniors in Cohorts 35, 36, 37, and 38

2022 Summer Plans

Participating in summer internships

86%

Continuing coursework or academic research

5%

Working full time

5%

Other

4%

Top Companies to Hire QUEST Student Interns

After having my resume reviewed by QUEST faculty and other students, I saw an instant improvement in how many companies were interested in my application.

Once I started getting opportunities to interview, the peers and alumni I met through QUEST were happy to help me prepare so that I could land an offer I was excited for!”

Luke Muratore Computer Science ’24 (Cohort 37)

Capital One

5

KPMG

5

Meta

5

Clark Construction

4

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

4

T. Rowe Price

4

Amazon

3

Deloitte

3

Goldman Sachs

3

Lockheed Martin

3

QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

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Top photo: Members of Cohort 37 supported older students at the QUEST Conference; Middle left photo: Students had fun at the May 2022 QUEST Formal; Middle right photo: New students attended the August 2021 Student Involvement Fair to learn about the QUEST student organizations they could join; Bottom left photo: Cohort 37 students presented their process improvement projects at the December 2021 Poster Session; Bottom right photo: Students bonded across cohorts at the Fall 2021 Homecoming Tailgate

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QUEST Seniors 92 seniors graduated from QUEST this academic year with bright futures ahead. In fact, QUEST boasted a 97% placement rate upon graduation, 3% higher than the university average. In May, we were able to honor our seniors with an awards and medallion ceremony on campus, followed by a senior send-off celebration in D.C. We look forward to staying in touch as these students become QUEST alumni.

87+13+N 92

QUEST Graduates

Pursuing full-time jobs

87%

Pursuing graduate studies

13%

Top Companies to Hire Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 QUEST Graduates

“

I enjoyed being a part of such a great community, full of driven, passionate, diverse, and kind people who have come to be real friends even outside of QUEST.” Sarah D’Souza Management ‘22 (Cohort 33) FUTURE PLANS: University of

Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

“

Being placed in a small cohort and taking classes with each other over the course of two years was a really unique and cool experience. The team structure every semester was definitely fundamental to this; it was the perfect opportunity to really get to know people who were basically strangers in both a personal and professional sense.”

Rohan Kasuganti Computer Science ‘22 (Cohort 34) FUTURE PLANS: Software Engineer, Amazon

Capital One

5

Amazon

4

Microsoft

4

Ernst and Young

3

Google

3

Northrop Grumman

3

Accenture Federal Services

2

CapTech Consulting

2

Deloitte

2

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

2

KPMG

2

Lockheed Martin

2

PwC

2

“

Many of my favorite college memories are with people I have met through the program. I frequently tell people that the best thing about QUEST is that it made our very large university feel a lot smaller.”

Jessica Yeager Computer Science ‘22 (Cohort 34) FUTURE PLANS: Risk and Financial Advisory

Cyber Analyst, Deloitte

“

QUEST helped expose me to different majors and career paths and get a deeper look into what those different careers entailed. Being able to talk to people in different majors helped me open up my horizons about what I ultimately would want to pursue.”

Morelle Tchuindjo Mathematics Fall ‘21 (Cohort 31) FUTURE PLANS: Capital One Developer Academy

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Giving Back to QUEST QUEST would like to express its sincere gratitude for the generous contributions of the following donors this year: Gemma A. Abbott Pamela K. Armstrong David Ashley Joseph J. Ayoub Sumin Ba Heather R. Bacon

Peter Tobias Feinberg and Debra G. Feinberg

Lawrence J. Macklin and Diane K. Macklin

Santhosh George and Deepanita Das

Reana M. Mahbub

Craig I. Glasgow Ravi Gopalan

Brian Marquardt Keith Messing and Felicia Messing Rohan Mishra

Drew M. Stasak Nicholas A. Staten Roger C. Sturtevant Amanda K. Tang Patrick M.Valenti Leonid A.Velikovich

Philippe E. Gouel and Megan DeFauw

Lindsey S. Neary

Nicholas P. Bailey

Shirley Han

Joseph O’Keefe

Michael J.Vetter and Elizabeth A. Gillum

Afzalul Bari

Christopher Trung Hang

Tamara L. Paidas

Eric A. Waldman

Daniel C. Ben-Or

Durand Harrell and Valerie D. Evans-Harrell

Bryan A. Prince

Bing Wang

Mark N. Rabinowitz and Kara J. Cotsalas

Connor S. Welch

Remi J. Hensel Brian L. Horick

Jessica R. Roffe

Adam G. Jacques

Ian B. Rosenthal

Anthony Jacques and Elisa Wallman Jacques

John G. Savoy

Kirstin M. Schmidt

John M. Curran

Ajay Kasuganti and Jagruthi Kasuganti

Sydney R. Dalin

Cheryl Katz

Brian P. Darmody, Esq.

Moon Kim

Ehsan Shahmirzadi and Goli Mojdehi

Jennifer de Frees

Kylie G. King

Ilana E. Sheykhet

Grace Zhang

Rachel L. DiDonna

Daniel J. Laurence

Miriam S. Silton

ZimmerCoombs Family Trust

Hadas R. Elazar-Mittelman

Benjamin Lin

Nima Farshchi

Bruce A. Spiegel and Glenda J. Koby

Eric W. Zinnikas

Amit Luthra

Joseph P. Bailey

Elijah P. Biggs Dhrubajyoti Biswas Abigail E. Bond Todd Bowers Ying Chen Victoria L. Chiu

Randall T. Sawyer

Brett A. Schwab

Robin Wexler Nora A. Whitescarver and Douglas E. Whitescarver Charles E. Wilson and Morrisann M. Wilson Laura B. Winn Mary L. Wolfe Jessica M.Yeager Edwina You

Get Involved Donate

Volunteer

The QUEST Honors Program relies on individual and corporate gifts to support its curriculum and special programs and events.

All funds raised provide direct support for students, academic programs, and co-curricular experiences. Make a gift today at go.umd.edu/QUESTfund. To discuss unique giving partnerships, please contact Jessica Roffe, assistant director of the QUEST Honors Program, at jroffe@umd.edu.

QUEST welcomes alumni and parent participation in our program. If interested in attending or hosting events, visiting a class, or creating a company partnership, please contact Jessica Roffe, assistant director of the QUEST Honors Program, at jroffe@umd.edu.

QUEST ANNUAL REPORT 2022

QUEST Corporate Partners QUEST Corporate Partners offer professional development opportunities for our students, enhance learning through class project partnerships, and provide important financial support for the program.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following corporate partners for their generous contributions to our community this year:

Partner with QUEST QUEST welcomes the opportunity to partner with organizations interested in contributing to student learning through projects and/or recruiting talented undergraduate students in business, engineering, and science. To learn more, visit go.umd.edu/questpartnerships or contact Jessica Roffe, assistant director of the QUEST Honors Program, at jroffe@umd.edu.

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QUEST Honors Program 7699 Mowatt Lane 1407 Van Munching Hall University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742-1815

Save the Date!

QUEST’s 30th Anniversary Celebration November 12, 2022 6:00 - 8:00 P.M.

The Hotel at the University of Maryland go.umd.edu/quest30th