For 30 years, when companies and municipalities have faced especially vexing and persistent predicaments, they’ve turned to an elite squad of problem solvers: the students of the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ QUEST Honors Program. From navigating the maze that is the Port of Houston to talking in-depth with ExxonMobil executives, QUEST students have gone inside operations to closely observe them, suss out snags and learn critical skills that have helped many go on to become entrepreneurs, founders and logistics masterminds.

From agriculture and manufacturing to supply chain management, students from the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) Honors Program are ready to help businesses achieve their operational goals. In December, nine student teams from Cohort 34 showcased their semester-long capstone projects during the bi-annual QUEST Capstone Conference at the University of Maryland.

For undergrad Alexia Ayuk ’23, advocating for the less fortunate and serving as a changemaker have always been top priorities. The Maryland Smith junior, studying operations management and business analytics, is president of the Smith Undergraduate Student Association. She helped launch Smith’s Inclusion, Accountability and Oversight Coalition, which holds school leaders to the practices of diversity and inclusion.

The University of Maryland and its Robert H. Smith School of Business are launching two new undergraduate programs that will give highest-achieving students a big-picture view of business and industry in the changing workplace. The Interdisciplinary Business Honors Living-Learning Program and the Smith Business Leadership Fellows Program are each designed to enrich the college experience for the highest-achieving undergraduate applicants and further nurture their intellectual curiosity.

A virtual trip to the doctor’s office was quite productive for these Maryland Smith students. This past semester, a team of four QUEST Honors Program students worked with Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., to provide recommendations toward improving the patient experience, reducing provider burnout, making providers more productive, and increasing the hospital’s bottom line.

The University of Maryland’s Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) Honors Program will welcome one of its most diverse classes ever in the fall of 2020. Since its founding in 1992, the undergraduate program has maintained a commitment to increasing student diversity, with the aim of enriching the learning experience of all members.