QUEST Students Visit Under Armour Headquarters

On Feb. 3, 2017, the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) honors program corporate student committee organized a trek to Under Armour’s headquarters and new lighthouse facility in Baltimore, Md.

Undergraduate students engaged with UA teammates and University of Maryland alumni as they toured key workspace innovations such as the training gym, cafeteria and product innovation lab. Students then visited UA’s Lighthouse, its new manufacturing and design facility in Port Covington. Here they learned about UA’s innovative processes, giving students insights on how concepts they’re learning in QUEST courses are applied in UA’s everyday business.

As part of QUEST, students are taught to develop products using lean production methods. “It was extremely cool to see UA apply innovative methodologies to directly reduce waste and refine manufacturing process and how it impacts their operations,” said senior Victoria Zhao.

QUEST is a multidisciplinary program of students from University of Maryland’s Robert H. School of Business, A. Clark School of Engineering, and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. QUEST engages students across disciplines to further understand how these industries impact each other in the real world.

Erica Shields, a junior, highlighted the importance of the UA Trek, “Not only is Under Armour ‘cool’ but their work is very applicable to what happens in our classrooms; working on a team of engineers, business majors and natural sciences to come up with one solution. UA members helped us understand real-life implications and rewards of working on a team with such diversity.”

After the tour, QUEST students participated in a panel discussion with UMD alums that highlighted the importance of a students’ experiences outside of the classroom and how those add value to their career. “The alumni panel talked about what they learned about transitioning into their careers, but most importantly they emphasized the importance of standing out, networking and developing our personal brand.” Shields, added.

The UA Trek was the first event in a series of corporate site visits for QUEST students. Next, students will visit Root3 Labs, founded by QUEST alum, Chad Schneider, to see how they are utilizing prototyping to solve real-world problems.

For more information about QUEST visit: www.rhsmith.umd.edu/quest.

Thank you to Victoria Zhao and Erica Shields for contributing to this article.

- Janna Fernandez, Smith MBA Candidate 2018, Office of Marketing Communications