Mission Statement

To provide a ladder for bright, low-income, motivated youth to climb past adverse circumstances to excellence

To provide mentorship for students who wish to help others

To match talented professors, thoughtful donors, and able mentors with pupils who genuinely want to be taught, serving as a catalyst for the unleashing of growth

To introduce participants to the notion that they are in control of their lives, their internal states of mind, and of what they give to and get from the world

To grow and transform the resulting culture of excellence into a culture of outward altruism and internal growth

To find and train leaders today to cope with the problems of tomorrow

Program Goals for QuestLeadership
(the residential summer session and five-years of support following participation in the summer program)

Academic Goals:

To foster the next generation of civic-minded, environmentally conscious leaders by empowering talented, low-income youth to become role models in their professions

To provide underprivileged students with the mentorship, personal direction, and educational skills to succeed at America's best universities

100% acceptance to colleges for QuestLeadership participants

100% graduation from college for QuestLeadership participants

To introduce talented, low-income high school students to leadership through a diverse curriculum focusing on the environment, medicine, and professional careers hrough a five-week residential summer session on the Stanford campus

To increase the enrollment of truly underserved students in the country’s best universities, graduate schools, and professional programs

Increased enrollment at the nation's top universities for students from target geographic areas

To match academia’s best teachers with the country’s best students

Service Goals:

100% participation in mentoring others

100% of Quest Scholars will begin a local outreach project before graduating from high school, mentor three students before graduating from college, and create a major public service project during their lifetime

Quest will help bridge the technological divide with its students

Our students and staff will struggle, alone and together, to better themselves and the world.

Cultural Goals:

We will elevate ourselves and each other

To eliminate the need for negative emotions (e.g. anger, greed, envy, contempt, fear) in the Quest culture either for communication or motivation

Moodiness, sarcasm, or hurtful behavior of any kind will become unacceptable

We will create permanent bonds between staff, students and each other

We will strive to be real and sincere at all times

To foster noble thought and action, and inner growth in conjunction with educational and professional achievement

Crosscultural toleration, investigation, and celebration

We will create a culture of useful introspection

Quest Will Work Under the Following Assumptions:

That the ability to struggle in the face of adversity is as much a marker of strength as it is of need.

That finding a diamond in the rough is even more impressive when that diamond has had some role in making itself in the face of obstacles. The flame that has continued to burn in the face of life’s storms is most impressive to us, even if it has been reduced to a flicker

That the high school to college transition threatens to snuff these flames with simple lack of information and support

That all people are created equal

We believe that within competing natures within all human hearts, that people, at some deep level prefer to do good and to be good. Society, however, does not always encourage this noble nature and can even bury it. As Quest discovers students who are diamonds in the rough, we also want to uncover and reinforce the noble nature within them. It is our hope is that Quest can create a culture where this natural altruism can emerge and grow, natural curiosity can explore and create, and natural goodness can dominate within the individual and the group

Success does not require an emphasis on competition

Facts:

The predicted dropout rate of low-income students from college is about 50%

Income level is a much stronger predictor of educational obstacles and outcomes than is race

Students are at risk during college as well as during the application process to college

The Quest Scholars Program admission rates to college are 100% with 99% graduation rate.

Techniques for Success

Quest serves as a catalyst. We release energy rather than supplying it. The curiosity, caring and drive of our students energizes the program. We merely direct this energy. Quest serves as a nucleus and incubator joining eager students, dedicated teachers, willing mentors, and thoughtful donors.

We encourage our students to inquire about the meaning of life, and to give their lives meaning

We encourage students to practice their own religion

We prune that which wastes time: television, continuous radio, Internet surfing, and time wasters of all sorts. To get the most out of the summer component of Quest, Quest students agree not to flirt or form social cliques for the six-week duration of the summer program. This avoids hormonal distractions of all sorts and prevent ‘in’ and ‘out’ groups or a ‘pecking order’ from developing

We place as much emphasis on warmth as we do on process

We help students to visualize their potential

We assume our students are working toward their potential

We place an emphasis on emotional maturity

We place an emphasis on emotional consistency

We do not allow anger, sarcasm, or pettiness to be used as tools of communication