Post Hurricane Matthew

Well Hurricane Matthew was a very interesting experience, but I’m glad that everyone is ok and that campus didn’t get hit too, too hard by the storm. While I did want to experience a hurricane first-hand, once Matthew was projected to be category 3, if not 4, I realized that this wasn’t a joking matter.

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While not on the East Coast of Florida, the waves and wind were super strong in Venice Beach Thursday before Matthew hit.

In the days leading up to Matthew, there was some uncertainty about my travel plans and where I would go in the event campus was evacuated. Thankfully, my friend offered to house me and like nine other people at her house in Venice, FL. While the six hour drive was really long, we tried to avoid going on I-4 Thursday morning, we all managed to make it in one piece. Pro tip: If you’re traveling in a car convoy, walkie talkies definitely make the drive so much better.

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Once we got to Venice, I helped my friend make dinner for everyone and we later did a Wal-Mart run. What made the ride to Wal-Mart amazing was that her dad owned a limousine so rode in it. After he got back to her house, night had fallen so we tuned to Weather Channel to see Matthew slowly make his way to Daytona Beach. I tried to stay up to watch the storm, but I was wiped out from driving so I went to bed. In the morning, I checked Facebook to see if everyone I knew in Daytona was ok. Thankfully they were and the damage wasn’t as bad as originally estimated.

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Siesta Key Beach was so surreal: Everyone just stood on the white sand watching the sunset. There was no yelling, people were well mannered, it was definitely a far cry from the beaches at New Jersey.

The next few days involved driving around, visiting the local beaches, and trying out some local restaurants. All in all, it was a nice mini-vacation under the strangest of circumstances. I even learned how to swim…sort of.

This past week, Embry-Riddle finally got to host their homecoming event.

This past week, Embry-Riddle finally got to host their homecoming event.

After returning to Daytona the following Sunday, I went back to my apartment and was pleased to see no major manage in Port Orange or the surrounding area. My roommates were ok, despite opting to stay in Daytona during the storm, and everyone was slowly returning back to the Daytona Beach area.

I don't know what kind of paperwork was filed to allow this, but I was impressed.

I don’t know what kind of paperwork was filed to allow this, but I was impressed.

With Fall Break coming up, I am not so sure if I need another break. However, I’ll be traveling to Tennessee with my roommate so there’s that to look forward to. Adventure never waits I guess. Until my next update, stay safe, and remember to be curious.

I never got free pizza :(

I never got free pizza 🙁

One Last Push

keep-calm-it-s-almost-fall-break-3Next week marks the median of the semester, but I feel like we just came back to ERAU from summer. I know you guys have to go through midterms, tests, quizzes, assignments, homework and/or projects next week. Keep up the good work because Fall Break is around the corner!

Due to Hurricane Matthew, a total of three days of classes were cancelled. During that time, many of the students and faculty did not have power. It was a bit of a challenge to work on some assignments during the hurricane and professors know it. Many of my professors adapted the course schedule since we missed a few days of classes. My Supply Chain Management midterm that was supposed to be this week is pushed to next week. My professor in Technical Report Writing delayed the due date of our assignments by close to two weeks. Instead of rescheduling the quiz in The Joy of Science, the professor just decided to cancel it to the joy of the students. No pun intended.

Professors are here to help, so if you feel you didn’t have time to work on something or you were simply unable to work due to the power outage, just ask your professor. They might give you more days to complete your assignment. I’m taking an online class and I definitely need my computer to work. I emailed my professor to ask if I could get an extension on my homework because of Hurricane Matthew. The instructor totally understood the circumstances and gave me an additional week to turn in the work.

Enjoy your weekend!

Nicolas

Hurricane Matthew and the Industry/Career Expo

Greetings!

14448965_979559538837000_6374416581809021170_n-2October was starting off so well, until Hurricane Matthew decided to visit the Florida coast.

On October 1, I traveled up to Atlanta for the day to visit some of my co-workers at Delta that I worked with during my internship this past summer. It was really nice to re-connect with them and hear about what is going on in Network Planning. Plus, there was an airline collectible show going on at the Delta Flight Museum and ran into some old friends at the event.

 

Update on the Industry/Career Expo

Once returning back to school last week, the Career Services office was quite busy as we were finalizing preparations for the annual Industry/Career Expo that was set to take place that Thursday. However Tuesday morning, it became apparent that Daytona Beach and the rest of the Florida coast would be impacted by Hurricane Matthew.

We had to make the decision to postpone the Industry/Career Expo for the safety of the students and employers coming to campus. I spent most of the day in the office on Tuesday, and I do not think I have ever seen our office that busy!

The office is diligently working to re-schedule the Expo for Spring 2017, and we realize that this is a much anticipated event by students and employers. Over the course of the coming weeks, employers are planning to visit campus to host info sessions and to do some recruiting. Details about company events are being sent out via email and are included in our weekly email that is sent out on Sunday afternoons which students can sign up for through Eagle Hire.

Stay tuned for additional details about the Spring Expo coming soon!

Hurricane Matthew

This was not my first category four hurricane to deal with. A few years ago, I was living in Houston when Hurricane Ike made landfall as a category four storm. We were out of school for three weeks and without power for about two-and-a-half weeks. Thankfully, this storm was no where near like that.14469646_983286198464334_5263984979174363447_n-2

Tuesday morning, I was able to find a cheap ticket to fly back to Houston for a long weekend since it appeared that Hurricane Matthew was planning to make a direct hit to Daytona Beach. Luckily, it was just enough offshore that the damage was not as bad as some were predicting. Regardless, it was still scary and some homes are still without power and need repairs.

Starting Wednesday and into Thursday morning, Embry-Riddle evacuated its aircraft to Auburn. It was so crazy to see the flight line empty while departing Daytona Beach Thursday afternoon!

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After an unexpectedly long weekend, classes are resuming today (Tuesday). It is not clear if the three days we had off will impact our semester schedule, but we should find out relatively soon.

Blue skies,

Jack

Unexpected Very Long Weekend

As many of you know, the ERAU Daytona Beach campus has been closed from Thursday to Saturday morning due to Hurricane Matthew. Embry-Riddle announced on Saturday that classes would resume on Tuesday. This leaves time for students and faculty to return home in the Daytona Beach area. Many have driven away from Daytona heading west and north to places such as Tampa and Atlanta. I know people that even flew away north to escape the hurricane.

Knowing that the storm was approaching the state of Florida and that Volusia County would require evacuation, I left Daytona Beach on Wednesday night after classes and headed to my friend’s house in the Orlando area. On Thursday morning, we went to buy soil bags to protect the house from potential flooding. The store didn’t have any sand bags in stock.

The next morning, we woke up and Hurricane Matthew had already passed and was continuing on its way to the north. Compared to the east coast of Florida, Orlando was not badly hit by the storm. From the location I was, there wasn’t any debris on the ground. I am still in Orlando since my apartment does not have electricity. I will head back to Daytona once the power will be restored, hopefully before classes start on Tuesday.

Due to the gravity of Hurricane Matthew and the damage it made, ERAU students are enjoying a long five day weekend. This weekend is also Thanksgiving weekend back in Canada (Columbus Day in the US). Many will take these extra days off to cleanup debris around their house. Others will try to get some homework done. As of Saturday, many areas of Volusia County were still without power. It might take a few days before 100% of the residents get their lights back on.

Industry/Career Expo Postponed

Embry-Riddle has decided on Wednesday to cancel the annual “Career Fair”  due to the hurricane. The majority of the company information sessions and the interview day on Friday were cancelled as well. Career Services announced that the event will be postponed until the 2017 Spring semester. Keep checking your emails because Career Services will soon announce the new date for the expo!

Until next time!

Nicolas

Here I am Rock You Like a Hurricane

With Hurricane Matthew rapidly approaching, I really don’t know how I feel. On one hand, I would really like to experience a hurricane, as stupid as it sounds. On the other, I really don’t want to see the devastation that would happen because of Matthew. With the storm only a few days away, it’s too early to tell what will happen.

Sadly, nothing major to report so hopefully I’ll have some really fun hurricane stories and video to share with you all! For now, please be safe, don’t do anything crazy, and I hope to see you all in another two weeks!