Lucinda Albers

It was another simple afternoon in the college town of Brookings when I visited Quail at his house. It was an average college guy’s house, where the wall decorations consist of signed beer banners and music posters. I found Quail in his slightly messy basement playing video games with his roommate. They later admitted they were putting off their cleaning chores.

After a few minutes of small talk, Quail kicked his roommate out for our interview. Dressed in a T-shirt and SDSU shorts, Quail exhibited an inviting attitude.

“I felt very drawn to him from the beginning of the interview,” said Sarah Manthey, one of the judges. “He made me feel like we were having a comfortable conversation rather than an interview.”

From the start, Quail was very open about everything I asked. He described his childhood with ease, and talked about various family traditions and vacations they have taken every year. He admitted having strong family values and attributed them to his parents.

“I think it’s all due to the way I was brought up,” said Quail. “My parents did a good job.”

Quail was also very comfortable talking about his past relationships. Although he’s had several serious relationships throughout high school and college, he said that none ended too badly. He also admitted that he’s never cheated on a girl.

“I think it’s just wrong,” said Quail. “I don’t want to be known as ‘that guy.'”

When describing what he sees in a future wife, he mentioned that he would like to find someone who is organized and knows how to cook, because those are both things he isn’t necessarily good at.

When Quail started talking about his friends, he came into a bit of excitement in his voice. He described his freshman year as some of the best times of his college career because his floor “had a good group of guys.”

After our interview, I invited his roommates down to give me a few comments about Quail. They were all very open about their opinions and had generally fun stories to share.

His roommate Mark Feterl described him as “a little quieter than some people, but easy to get along with.”

“He’s an easy-going, nice guy that likes to have fun,” said another roommate, Barry Jacobsen. “He’s also really smart and works hard at school.”