About Friends
QUEST
QUEST is the Quaker Center for Understanding, Engagement, and Stewardship, and was established in 2009 to provide leadership and an administrative structure for programs that express and build upon distinctive strengths of Quaker education: cross-cultural and international understanding, social justice, diversity, and environmental stewardship all within the context of service learning. The goal of QUEST is to focus on student development of global thinking skills, active engagement in issues, and confidence as global stewards and leaders.
Service Learning Travel
QUEST Term Service/Leadership Trips engage students in an experiential learning model to increase their understanding of global issues as well as strategies to mitigate the impact of these challenges. During the summers preceding their 10th, 11th, and 12th grade years, students may elect to travel to domestic or international destinations to engage in global issues through service and leadership.
In June 2023, over 20 members of the WFS community traveled to the Dominican Republic for seven days as part of their Quest Trip. Students visited the Islabon School each day and immersed themselves in their culture, forming strong bonds with the students. WFS taught the Islabon students English words and phrases, played various sports with them, and helped build libraries for the school.
In June 2023, over 20 members of the WFS community traveled to the Dominican Republic for seven days as part of their Quest Trip. Students visited the Islabon School each day and immersed themselves in their culture, forming strong bonds with the students. WFS taught the Islabon students English words and phrases, played various sports with them, and helped build libraries for the school.
Over spring break 2022, 15 WFS upper school students traveled to El Paso, Texas, to take part in a QUEST service learning trip. While in El Paso, students worked with and heard from immigrants about their experiences and the impacts immigration has had on them as refugees and their families. They witnessed immigration proceedings at Las Cruces courthouse, volunteered at a hospitality center for asylum seekers, and met with customs and border protection agents. They learned about the Tigua Native American Tribe and explored White Sands National Park.
In June 2021, upper school students traveled to Acadia National Park in Maine for a QUEST service learning trip, in partnership with Earthwatch. Student participants lived and worked as real field scientists for five days, spending the week tracking biodiversity in the intertidal zone to see if species were adapting to warming; collecting data on island flora; and tracking bird migration and the availability of their food source.
In June 2019, 17 students and two chaperones traveled to South Africa to experience first hand the rich history and culture of Cape Town and Pretoria, as well as the beauty of Madikwe game reserve. Students were immersed in the study of Nelson Mandela and his nonviolent campaign to end Apartheid in South Africa. In addition, students gained a deeper understanding of the global issues surrounding race and inequality through the lens of historical and current residential segregation in South Africa. Students and chaperones partnered with New BeginningZ to assist in implementing programs that address the increasing number of abandoned, abused, and neglected babies and children living in and around Tshwane.
QUEST Scholars
The QUEST Scholars program provides Wilmington Friends School students with significant service learning opportunities that combine academic studies with experiential learning. Students are encouraged to consider service learning projects in one or more of the following areas of focus: diversity, social justice, environmental stewardship, and cross-cultural/international understanding. All WFS upper school students are eligible for participation in the QUEST Scholars program. In applying for participation, each potential QUEST Scholar develops a program proposal. In doing so, the student works with the appropriate adults (in school and in the broader community) to develop a plan to meet the requirements of the particular QUEST Scholar program. With the completion of the proposed program, and with the approval of the head of school, QUEST Scholars receive recognition for their achievement during final assembly.
QUEST Scholar requirements
• A journal of reflections on all activities
• At least 150 hours of service during upper school years, 50 hours minimum per year
• An independent QUEST study for one semester with a faculty advisor
• Public presentation or cumulative celebration (e.g., Lunch and Learn) to the QUEST Committee and possibly the Board of Directors or whole upper school.
• Completed prerequisite Peace & Justice course
101 School Road, Wilmington, DE 19803
302.576.2900 | info@wilmingtonfriends.org
Preschool - 12th Grade
302.576.2900 | info@wilmingtonfriends.org
Preschool - 12th Grade
Statement of Nondiscrimination as to Student Enrollment
Wilmington Friends School admits students of any race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of these schools. Wilmington Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.
