Just like that, my freshman year is over! It sure has been a fun year, and it couldn’t have ended any better. On Monday April 20, I was elected as the new President for Delta Upsilon at Embry-Riddle. I was honored to be nominated and elected to this position. I know it will be a ton of hard work, but I am prepared to do anything necessary to make this colony succeed. I believe whole-heartedly in Delta Upsilon’s founding principles and their overall goal to “Build Better Men”. I take great pride in knowing my fraternity brothers have faith in me, and I am looking forward to doing a great job while creating a lot of amazing memories with them.

Along with taking finals this past week, I was also packing up and getting ready to head home. I had to do some major cleaning but I got it all done and was officially checked out of my dorm. It was a little sad to leave my room that I considered home since August. I left Daytona Beach early Tuesday and stopped in Nashville to spend the evening with my friend Brent and my cousin Susanna (in the picture in front of her dorm at Vanderbilt) who go to school there. Wednesday I made it back to Missouri where my family was excited to see me. The drive was long, but I truly love living in Florida and going to school at ERAU which makes the long travels worth it.

This past weekend my friends and I (and my car) made it to the beach one last time before we headed home for the summer. The weather in Daytona has been absolutely perfect (80’s and sunny). We spent all day under the warm sun and boogie boarding (because we aren’t skilled enough for real surfboards). I never get tired of the beach, and I already miss it being back in the land-locked state of Missouri. It has been in the 60’s and rainy since I have been home and I already miss Florida’s weather.

Yesterday I got more good news about the end of the semester: I received a 4.0 GPA for the spring of 2009. It’s so great to see all of your hard work paying off, and it was the perfect ending to the best semester ever. My classes and professors were a lot of fun this year, and it really showed. I truly believe if you are having fun in class you perform better, and my professors certainly made these last four months a lot of fun. From goofy stories about Malaysian tree shrews to dogs visiting class, it undoubtedly has been a wild spring.

I am looking forward to having a great summer. I have a lot planned including the Europe Study Abroad, my sister’s wedding, and a national Delta Upsilon conference in Albany, NY. I will also be working while at home to get some money for all of these activities. At the beginning of July I will begin writing a journal about my experience with Embry-Riddle abroad this summer, so check back in and see what I am up to on the other side of the pond. I hope you have an amazing May and June, and I will be back in July. Until then, please email me (meansm@erau.edu) with any questions about ERAU or college life in general and I would be more than happy to talk with you.

Until Next Time,
Mack