In Fall 2021 I took ENES190H, the first class as a part of my QUEST Honors Program. QUEST is a multidisciplinary program that provides real-world experience in consulting for organizations. This class focused on the design process and improving the quality of a product/service. 

​

QUEST includes students from the CMNS, Business, and Engineering schools to work together as groups. Each QUEST class covers different aspects of the multidisciplinary consulting process. This first class covered an introduction to what is required for such work, the second class covers data science and data analysis, the third class works on designing innovative systems and the complexities that come with that, and the final class is a capstone practicum where we apply all the knowledge and skills we've learned to consult for a corporate client. 

​

In ENES190H we had two different projects we worked on. The first project was based on the theme of rejuvenation. The idea was that we had to take an existing product or service and improve it. Our team chose to improve the design of prosthetic arms. We found that the current affordable cosmetic prosthetic arms had no real functionality and if one were to try to get an arm with more tactile use, it often came with a large price tag. We aimed to provide high-end functionality at a lower price point. The product that we came up with was a prosthetic arm with modular attachments. The idea was that you could switch out the attachments at the wrist to be used based on the activity performed. For manual labor, one could attach a clamp to hold onto a hammer, or one could attach utensils for eating, etc. 

​

Below are buttons to view the paper and presentation we created for this project. 

​

​

​

Our second project was a consulting project with an on-campus client. Our group was assigned to the University of Maryland's University Honors Program. More specifically, we were tasked to help improve the UH citation tracking process. Prior to our consulting, the process was rather tedious and all the work was conducted by one person. It required tracking what classes each UH student was taking, noting the progress to completing all the requirements for a UH citation, and sending semesterly emails to all UH students individually listing what classes they've completed and what classes they can then take to complete the citation requirements. Given each student takes different combinations of classes, it was required to send emails separately to each student listing the information. Our team worked with the University of Maryland's Division of Information Technology to incorporate the citation tracking into the school's uAchieve Degree Audit system. This would provide a centralized and uniform system for students to check their progress and allow UH administration to easily check how much work has been completed. This also meant that the semesterly emails could simply direct students to the uAchieve system rather than having to list all of the information. 

​

Below are buttons to view the paper and poster we created for this project.

​

​

​

Throughout this course, I've grown as a leader. This course taught me more about leadership and the specific difficulties associated with various parts of the process. We learned about factors that affect a group's performance such as Tuckman's Stages of Group Development and the importance of understanding the smaller aspects of group work. This taught me more about how being a leader isn't simply doing a good job on my own but ensuring the team as a whole is performing properly. This means communication, responsibility, and trust was essential. This also meant sometimes not being the leader of a group. There were times when others fit the role better or I was simply too busy to be able to properly lead the team and it is important to be aware of such situations. Being able to adapt and grow is something we were taught in PL and something I noticed often in QUEST. Both experiences simultaneously contributed to one another. I learned various leadership skills in PL that I applied in QUEST, but I also learned various skills in QUEST that I then applied to my leadership philosophy and mentality seen in PL. The items I've provided from both projects show how my leadership ability and teamwork skills I've learned allowed us to create such amazing work. 

​

My experience in QUEST and PL will definitely stay with me and be used in the future. My experience in QUEST is something I can leverage to help in finding internships as the skills often apply to what companies are looking for. In fact, I was able to secure an internship for the summer of 2022 which was strongly due to my leadership qualities developed in PL and skills gained from QUEST.

 

I'm not completely sure what I want to do in the future, but I know for a fact everything I've learned from PL and QUEST will always be of help. Whether it be for school, work, or simply in life, the skills and experiences I've gained from PL and this practicum will greatly assist me as an asset for others and an individual for myself.