Taking the Leap: Leaving Academia for Tech
What does it mean to chase a dream? Join me for a discussion of my wild journey into software engineering. I’ll speak in-depth about my transition and offer honest advice for entering this hot market.
Sustainability: Working on Climate Change Solutions the Questie Way
Entering the field of sustainability is not easy, especially for a Questie. I will share my academic path, job search stories, career aspirations, and resources to shed light on this career path.
The Career Switcher: How I Switched from Finance to Marketing & What I Learned Along the Way
Not all of us land our dream jobs right after college. In this session, Christa will be sharing her journey of switching careers and provide tips that prepare you to pivot to your dream position too.
Career Flexibility: Freelancing, Consulting, and Starting a Business
Learn how one QB alum managed the year one financial risks as well as information and network barriers of quitting a job to become a freelance consultant and small business owner.
The Unnormal Course: A Nonlinear Path of a Product Designer into Tech
Explore the path of a QuestBridge Alum who entered the tech industry as a Product Designer without a Design/Tech background, and leave with strategies to prepare you for an unconventional road ahead.
Tiny Actions: Navigating Life’s Transitions with Simple Self-Care
Learn simple self-care practices and mindset shifts to manage your well-being as you transition through life’s major chapters, including starting college, graduation, grad school, and career pivots.
Give Back Ethically: Redistributing Our Resources
In this session, we will explore ways to give back but in ways that don’t perpetuate the very systems that necessitate QuestBridge’s existence. How can we share money in ways that promote equity, justice, and liberation?
Purpose, Pivots, and Pennies: Building a Resilient and Dynamic Career
QuestBridge Scholars walk a lifelong tightrope: how do I build a meaningful career, support my family, and stay true to my values? If you’ve ever found yourself teetering on this tightrope, wondering what to optimize and when, then join us for this discussion.
What to Do When You Realize YOU Were Your Parents’ Retirement Plan
Growing up, our families worried about finances for days and weeks ahead. In this session, we’ll cover some strategic and tactical tips for how to prepare for your own AND your parents’ retirement.
Finding Your Voice as an Advocate for Change: Founding a Low-Income Fly-In Program
As low-income students, we often enter college wanting to fit in and not stand out. Competing with insecurities, academic challenges, and imposter syndrome, it takes time to grow into our voice and passions and ways to create a low-income community at our institution and social change. During this session, I will explore the struggles and difficulties endured in instituting a FGLI fly-in program at UVA and my transition to an advocate for the community. I would like to guide this as a conversation with peers about what we learn from these endeavors, what obstacles occur, and how we push forward.
From Fraud to Freedom: The Intersection of Impostor Syndrome and Identity
It’s one thing to fear you’re a fraud despite your hard work because of insecurities; it’s another to think you don’t belong taking into account the systemic context of being told you don’t belong.
Make, Manage, Multiply: The Financial Principles Every Young Adult Should Know
Learn how to avoid financial traps and put yourself on the path to financial freedom by making, managing, and multiplying your money the smart way.
The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Standing Out and Leveling Up in Your Career
Join Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Gorick Ng to learn about how to speak up, be heard, make an impact, and rise to “Level 7 Leadership.”
When Life is Hard: Challenge, Resilience, and Thriving
Many QuestBridge Scholars and Alumni have faced profound challenges in life, including and especially the last 14 months. What does it mean for individuals, families, and communities to have resilience in the face of hardships like constrained resources, injustice, and other life challenges? Join us for real talk with one of the world’s foremost experts on grit, resilience, and thriving, Angela Duckworth, who is the Founder & CEO of Character Lab and author of the bestselling book, Grit. Angela will be sharing her thoughts and experiences in dialogue with Ana McCullough, Co-Founder & CEO of QuestBridge.
Reimagine Networking: Creating Genuine Connections
The practice of cultivating a network can be intimidating, especially for first-gen, low-income, marginalized, or underrepresented students and alumni, but we hear all the time that “it’s about who you know, not what you know.” How do you genuinely connect with industry peers to pave the way towards new opportunities and experiences? We are leading a discussion with QuestBridge Alumni to reframe what networking truly means to make it more approachable no matter where you are in your education or career.
Racial Justice: What Does it Look Like & How Do We Get There
With increased attention on racial justice across the world, we have a unique moment to make real, sustained change. But what should that look like? And how can we get there? Join QuestBridge Scholars and Alumni in an open, candid conversation about what we can do, individually and collectively, to address the ongoing oppression we see against communities of color. Let’s plan for a more just future, today.
Dealing with Crisis: Strategies to Support your Mental Health
Join a clinical psychologist and psychiatrist, who have worked with children, teens, and adults, as they share strategies to support your mental health, especially during these times of crisis. The session will focus on questions about seeking therapy, taking medication, as well as strategies on coping with isolation, academic pressures, and family obligations.
When Your Plans Change: Making a Career Transition
Sometimes the plan just doesn’t work out. As you learn more about your personal identity, strengths, and priorities, you might decide to pivot your career path. Our QuestBridge Alumni panel will offer tips on how to plan your next transition – we will cover how to create your gameplan, the mental and tactical steps in achieving your goal, and how much finances factor into decision making.
You Belong: Navigating Fear and Doubt in the Academy
Have you experienced imposter syndrome since coming to college? Do you experience fear and doubt related to whether or not you belong at your institution? Who gets to determine whether or not you belong or matter at your school? This workshop will focus on explaining the psychosocial dynamics of navigating imposter syndrome that marginalized and underrepresented students in college may face as they matriculate. Participants will gain a more nuanced understanding of how doubt, fear, mattering, and belonging impact their educational journey and practice internalizing their sense of worth and validation.
Keynotes: Nico Slate and Nicholas Casey
Nico Slate
Professor of History, Carnegie Mellon University
Nicholas Casey
National Politics Reporter, New York Times
Keynote: David Simas
David Simas
CEO, Obama Foundation
