Quest Newsletter Winter 2011

The Quest University campus has been enveloped by large, fluffy, gently falling snowflakes! It's that time of year when study breaks start to include snowball fights, strolls in the crisp winter air, and excursions to Whistler for the start of ski season.

First and foremost in Quest news is that the latest NSSE results are in! Once again, Quest ranked as one of the top, most engaging post-secondary institutions in North America. The National Survey of Student Engagement surveys more than 280,000 first and fourth-year students at 673 U.S. and 67 Canadian universities every spring. Some of the notable Quest University results are: eighty-four per cent of fourth-year students reported that they "very often" contributed to class discussions compared to an average of 26 per cent of fourth-year students at other Canadian universities. Ninety-one per cent of first-year students gave in-class presentations "very often" compared to 17 per cent at other Canadian institutions. We look forward the MacLean's February issue that publishes the results from all Canadian universities and will, for the first time, include Quest in all the comparisons.

Campus Life

With the emergence of snow and chilly weather, Quest students begin dreaming about Christmas cookies, cheerful carols, twinkling lights, and Questival! This event is our annual, end-of term holiday celebration where students gather for a gourmet meal, festivities, and storytelling with the rest of the Quest community. In the spirit of camaraderie and holiday joy, our campus will partake in a school-wide 'Random Acts of Kindness' Secret Santa. Students draw names at random and spread happiness in the lives of their unsuspecting peers. Quest will also be hosting a Winter craft fair open to the community where students have been known to knit, create jewellery, fashion hair accessories, showcase photography and art, and of course, bake decadent Christmas treats. This season begets togetherness and generosity, and we see students organizing cookie exchanges, skating excursions to the local community centre, Christmas tree decorating events in Squamish, and holiday movie nights hosted in student residences for all to join!

It is clear to see why new music ensembles are springing up all over campus! The Arts Council of the SRC (Student Representative Council) contributed a great deal of funding to the Music Bay for instrument storage, recording equipment, and the development of our on-campus music space. The new Quest jazz band has begun this term, resurrecting the golden classics of Sinatra and Fitzgerald! On the topic of music production, as a fundraiser for the Great Bear Rainforest youth paddle, Quest students organized a concert featuring a local band known as "The Boom Booms". This concert raised $1300 for the Great Bear Rainforest initiative protecting Aboriginal land from the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. Initiatives to support the environment are intrinsic to the Quest tradition!

On another note, our annual Lip Sync event was a great success. Students performed renditions of their favourite songs, along with wacky choreography in front of a panel of student and faculty adjudicators. The classical genre was certainly not neglected; students also performed in a 'Classics' concert in December which featured the talents of student pianists, opera singers, violinists, and many more.

Make way, Academy Awards, as Quest rolls out our red carpet! Quest presented our annual Film Festival showcasing final projects from the October Film class. The films were all required to have a spooky theme in light of Halloween. On Halloween night, we hosted a screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show; everyone was equipped with fishnets as they danced along to the Time Warp. Quest has a bustling live theatre culture as well; our theatre group is planning for this year's Cabaret Revolution after last year's stunning success.

To tide us over before the end of the first term, students seek refuge in 'block breaks'. Last break, an entourage of surfers joined the Adventure Club on a journey to Tofino. Some first-timers received lessons, while other conditioned surfers hit the waves immediately in their wetsuits. November block break conveniently took place during American Thanksgiving and our American students (who make up about 25% of the population) were happy to trek home and partake in the holiday festivities with their families.

Community day came as a welcome hiatus from the normal routine of classes and homework for all students on campus. Students, faculty, and staff spent the day participating in activities ranging from trips to the Vancouver Art Gallery to tree planting near the Britannia Mining site, all the while building a sense of community among themselves and outside of campus.

All throughout November, men around campus have been flaunting their facial hair for Movember! In an effort to raise both money and awareness for prostate cancer research, Quest men are strutting around campus with their moustaches, beards, and every other combination you can think of. Fundraising efforts include coin collecting jars around campus, calendars with the furry faces of our own students, and a final social event in the residences where students could donate their last dollar before the end of the month (we raised over $700).

Academics

First year students are settling into their blocks nicely, now integrating with upper year students as they further embark upon their Foundation journeys consisting of Democracy and Justice, Neuroscience, Earth Oceans Space, Spherical Trigonometry and many other captivating courses.

The Quest Speaker Series continues again this block at both the Whistler Public Library and the Squamish Public Library. Rob Knop, our incredibly bright and scintillating physics tutor, will enlighten us about "How we know dark matter exists". Our engaging tutor Ryan Derby-Talbot will also be speaking in Squamish and Whistler about his favourite topic: Math! The Hot Topics in Science series continues with our epidemiologist tutor, Negar Elmieh, speaking about a recent study on the increasing BPA concentration in humans.

Students and tutors alike have a vested interest in understanding current events in the media. In light of the current European debt crisis, our tutors of Economics, Political Science, and History stepped up to the plate to educate our students about the macroeconomic background of the Eurocrisis. Continuing with our international consciousness, there was a Persian dinner prepared by an Iranian woman who narrated her compelling story about escaping from Iran and her experiences thus far in Canada. This 'Tell Your Story' series took place in the communal kitchen of our North Residence over shared food and shared compassion.

In the Community

Students at Quest actively work to engage themselves in the local and global community. This fall was certainly no exception. A group of interested students hopped on a shuttle to the 'Occupy Vancouver' movement to protest corporate greed. The protest was very peaceful, and students experienced first-hand what it was like to join in the contagious efforts of people who stand up for what they believe. In Squamish, Quest students have partnered with the Squamish Nation to volunteer at their annual pow-wow. Quest University has always been respectful of the First Nations community and students are planning to host a pow-wow on campus soon. In cooperation with the Squamish Women's Centre, Quest women are helping to organize a remembrance evening for the women who died in the 'Montreal Massacre' in 1989.

Quest students interested in making a difference in the lives of Squamish youth have partnered up with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization to mentor local elementary school students. Students were also able to get involved with the Whistler community, as it hosted a Bizarre Bazaar Artisan Market as well as the Whistler Film Festival.

The Model United Nations Club is opening registration in December for university and high school students interested in participating. The Model United Nations conference will be hosted next April and will focus on international conflict. Delegates will be given the opportunity to represent nations from around the world while they try to solve problems in a negotiations similar to those carried out at the United Nations.

To strengthen our humanitarian efforts, Quest has started an initiative of selling wristbands to support protection against Malaria. These funds will be donated to a project called "Spread the Net" which supplies bed nets to areas in which Malaria is prevalent.

Athletics

Quest Athletics recently acquired a large white stuffed bear to represent out team mascot, the Kermode Bear. The white Kermode, the Spirit Bear, will be represented at all our sports games and wherever spirit is needed most! Speaking of spirit, the basketball season is in full swing, with our home gym filled to the brim with Quest fans cheering their classmates to victory.

Quest shuttles are beginning to run regular trips to and from Whistler Ski Resort for those who have a taste for fresh powder and alpine air.

Admissions

Many new student mentors are adding blogs on our campus life website 'Life at Quest'. The mentors do an amazing job representing the sentiments of students and events on campus. The Admissions Section of Life at Quest also highlights fun things taking place on campus, using student-made movies and student articles.

Our November Preview Day drew roughly 80 people to explore the campus, participate in sample classes, ask questions and opinions of current students, and get an overall feel for the campus. The early application deadline for the Fall was December 1, 2011, but we have a rolling application process where students may submit an application any time during the year. The application to Quest is free! We will start reviewing applications again in mid-January and will provide admissions decisions within 2-3 weeks. Our Recommended Application Deadline for Fall 2012 is March 1, 2012 and the scholarship deadline is March 15, 2012.

Contact to learn more about Quest or to set up a campus visit campus during the weekday. We will also host more Preview Days in the new year. Register here!

Feel free to contact the counsellor responsible for your region:

We wish everyone happy holidays, days filled with snowy adventures, and most of all, days filled with the presence of good company.

All the best,
Quest Admissions