QUEST students, peer mentors and staff members engage in a day of community service at White Clay Creek State Park.

QUEST applications open

University Student Centers offer summer leadership experience for incoming students

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12:44 p.m., April 29, 2016--Since 2011, the University Student Centers at the University of Delaware have offered a summer leadership experience through the Blue Hen Leadership Program (BHLP) for 72 incoming freshmen to take their first steps onto the extensive path to self-discovery. 

This four-and-a-half day program, QUEST, takes place in August and creates opportunities for students to question the world around them, understand leadership as a journey, explore possibilities, serve others, and prepare for a successful transition into the UD community. 

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As it neared time for the processional to open the University of Delaware Commencement ceremonies, graduating students and faculty members shared their feelings about what the event means to them.

Doctoral hooding

It was a day of triumph, cheers and collective relief as more than 160 students from 21 nations participated in the University of Delaware's Doctoral Hooding Convocation held Friday morning on The Green.

QUEST includes keynote speakers, workshops, community service, outdoor activities, time for reflection and group bonding opportunities. 

Conducted by University Student Centers associate director Susan Luchey and assistant director Matthew Creasy, QUEST is also facilitated by 12 peer mentors selected from outstanding BHLP participants who have completed the first tier of the program. 

These peer mentors later guide "QUESTers" as they transition into the UD community, and assist them in becoming more confident in their abilities to be effective campus leaders.

"QUEST was honestly the greatest experience of my life," said one freshman participant. "I feel so comfortable now and have developed so many great relationships because of QUEST. It also helped me grow as a leader and start me off on the right path to make a positive impact." 

Program facilitators report that the impact is often reciprocal: these young leaders not only impact UD, but are often incredibly receptive to allowing UD to influence them in return. 

Another participant noted that they felt like "a part of something bigger than [themselves]." 

A majority of QUEST participants later report involvement in registered student organizations, Residence Life and Housing, fraternities and sororities, UD Athletics, the Student Government Association, Blue Hen Ambassadors, and academic enrichment programs such as NUCLEUS. 

In a typical year, 100 percent of QUEST participants also become registered members of BHLP itself, which affords multiple opportunities to help participants foster their natural leadership ability through various workshops and presentations. Many of these are facilitated by University Student Centers staff, as well as additional units within UD's Division of Student Life such as Student Wellness and Health Promotion and the Career Services Center.

Applications are now open for QUEST 2016, and all incoming freshmen with aspirations to become engaged within the UD community are encouraged to apply online by July 8.

 More information on the QUEST program can be found on the University Student Centers website under Get Involved, or in the Student Leadership Center in Trabant University Center 157A.

Article by BHLP participant Sara Penchina

Photo courtesy of Blue Hen Leadership Program

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