QUEST 2012 Peer Mentors
Zachary Sidrane is from Commack, New York. He's a Senior Political Science and American History major. He's also one of the founding fathers of Delta Tau Delta fraternity at UD. He wanted to be a QUEST mentor because this is a program he knows he would have really appreciated as an incoming freshman. So, he looks forward to helping make your first few days in Delaware helpful, memorable, and a lot of fun!
Abigail Barber is going to be a Junior this year majoring in Energy and Environmental Policy. She is a Diversity Enrichment Leader and a Social Media Ambassador on campus. Some of the clubs she's joined are Study Abroad Ambassadors, BHLP, and Gamma Sigma Sigma. She is very excited to meet all the new QUESTers this summer and to see what the group brings to the table. Let's get this year rolling!
Jacob Magnan is a Senior with a major in Exercise Science and a minor in Nutrition. He hopes to go to graduate school and incorporate both into his career choice. At Delaware he swims on the varsity Swimming and Diving team, along with the Blue Hen Leadership Program. He is looking forward to being a QUEST mentor to help incoming freshman develop their leadership skills, along with helping them get acclimated to Delaware. He is looking forward to being a Quest mentor!
Megan FitzGerald, an incoming sophomore, could not be more excited to kick-off the year with QUEST! Megan is a Cognitive Science major with a concentration in Speech Pathology minoring in Spanish, Psychology, and Disabilities Studies. After graduate school, Megan hopes to work as a speech pathologist with elementary school students. She served as a senator last year in the StUDent Government Association, and is thrilled to have been elected as the organization's 2012-2013 Vice President of University Affairs! Megan adores all her sisters in the Sigma Kappa Sorority and the philanthropy work they do together. Of course, she is also delighted to be part of SIFE, UD Yoga Club, NSHLA, and BHLP! Megan can't wait to help the QUESTers transition into their next four years as Blue Hens!
Tommy Mandala is a rising sophomore in the Honors Program and proud member of the QUEST inaugural class. He plans to declare an Exercise Science and Finance double major in the fall with the intention of attending graduate school to become a physical therapist. Tommy wanted to come back to QUEST as a Peer Mentor because he felt that participating in QUEST has already paid dividends for his college career. Besides meeting his current roommate and best friend, QUEST taught Tommy to step out of his comfort zone, become a leader, and get involved in life on and off campus. Tommy is a Blue Hen Ambassador as well as the representative of his floor in the Complex Community Council; he is also a member of the BHLP. He feels fortunate to have forged a great relationship with his Peer Mentor from last year, and hopes to do the same with his group this year.
Jessica Colton is going to be a sophomore this year! She is a Health Behavior Science major who is interested in life coaching. Jessica is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was a participant in the first QUEST program last summer. Her Peer Mentor, Lauren Kanaskie, inspired her to become a Peer Mentor and she can't wait to work with the incoming freshmen! She thinks QUEST is the perfect program "because you make great friends and begin to figure out who you are." In addition, she says it is the best way to start off a college career!
Daniel Pietaro is a sophomore from Trumbull, CT. He is majoring in Environmental Engineering and minoring in English. He is the founder of UD's own parkour and free running club. Being a QUEST participant last summer made him become a dedicated member of the Blue Hen Leadership Program and decide to become a peer mentor himself. He is very excited to be leading the incoming freshmen throughout their first few days here at Delaware.
Hayley Diverio, a rising sophomore and former QUEST participant, is absolutely thrilled to be continuing with the program. She is an Environmental Studies major with a concentration in Law, Policy, and Politics and has the ultimate goal of going to Environmental Law School. Hayley is a coxswain on the UD's Women's Rowing team, and her captain and a former QUEST mentor, Lauren Kanaskie, inspired her to apply as a Peer Mentor for 2012. She is looking forward to working with the incoming QUEST participants and making their experience as fun and rewarding as her time was!
Stephanie Leon, from New York, will be a sophomore this year and is double majoring in Organizational and Community Leadership and International Relations. She is a proud member of the CAA Champion, nationally ranked UD Women's Basketball team. Also, Stephanie participates in the Blue Hen Leadership Program and Delaware Christian Athletes. Her top three values are respect, perseverance and honesty and she will use these to "model the way" for the freshmen in QUEST.
Sara Penchina is a sophomore Communications major who just added an English major so that she can concentrate in professional writing. Sara is extremely involved on campus! She is committed to writing for the UD Review, is a social media ambassador for UD's Facebook and Twitter pages, is a member of BHLP, and will be the operations director for PRSSA-UD this year. In addition, Sara established a branch of an online magazine for college women here at the university, "hercampus.com/udel". As editor-in-chief of the magazine, she manages a continuously growing staff in producing content aimed at college aged women. She loves the University of Delaware and has found her home here, and can't wait to help this year's incoming QUEST participants learn how amazing their freshman year is going to be. She adores music, her family and friends, movies, writing, magazines, and travel. She was inspired by her Peer Mentor, Chris Volker, in last year's QUEST to apply for the position this year, and she brings a ton of enthusiasm to her new role! Sara had such an amazing experience during QUEST last summer and she is beyond excited to be part of the program again this year. She can't wait to meet her QUEST group!
