Snow? During Spring Break?

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Billy

Wow, here I am back in NJ, and it’s snowing on the First Day of Spring. None of it is sticking however, but it’s nice to see snow falling after spending so much time in Florida.

Someone please tell me that isn’t jet fuel being dumped out of my plane before landing…

Surprisingly this is the 2nd time I’ve flown out of Daytona Beach Int.

Unfortunately, my break hasn’t been all that eventful thanks to Mother Nature’s winter-weather-fury. I manage to visit my friend who goes to school at the University of Delaware, got to go back to my high school and visit my friends in the drama department, had dinner at my friends’ house, and spent some quality time with my family; what more could you ask for?

I found the University of Delaware’s equivalent of the COAS.

I got a nice chunk of my homework done, but there’s still more to accomplish so hopefully I don’t get sidetracked. Speaking of sidetracked, the snow is actually sticking! All the lawns on my street are turning white!

I’m glad we had a week off for Spring Break (technically 10 days for me but I digress.) I definitely needed the break to take some time to think about what I need to accomplish when I get back to Riddle. Not only that, it was nice to see my friends rooting for me because we all need a little motivation in life.

With that said, I think I’m ready to come back to school. I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things. I definitely need nicer weather to get more practice with my quadcopter so I’m excited. So, on that bombshell, I’ll see you all soon!

12:41 “Eh, nothing’s gonna happen.”

1:14 “NO WAY.”

Go Girls!

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Lindsey

Last weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Dallas, Texas for the Women in Aviation, International (WAI) Conference. Every year the conference brings together almost 5,000 aviation professionals from all over the world. The purpose of the conference is to promote women in the aviation field. I have never seen so many women pilots in my life. It was awesome!! The conference consists of an exhibit hall (where all of the companies get their own booth), opening receptions each morning with keynote speakers, education sessions with speakers, interviews, and the closing banquet on the last night. Besides bringing professionals, the conference also attracts many students from the WAI Chapters all over the world.

The journey to get to Dallas began at 3AM on Thursday morning. The ERAU WAI Chapter got together and drove to Orlando (MCO) to catch our 6AM flight to Atlanta. Our flight ended up having electrical problems, so we had to wait inside the plane for 40 minutes while it was being fixed. This put us an hour behind schedule and on track to miss our next flight in Atlanta. Luckily, due to a lot of snow on the taxiways and ramps in Dallas, our flight from Atlanta to Dallas was also delayed by an hour! Miraculously, we made it to Dallas. Once we got there we went straight to our hotel, which was HUGE! I guess it really is true; everything’s bigger in Texas.

It’s a good thing the hotel was massive because the conference was huge, too! I didn’t realize how many people attend the WAI Conference every year. It really was a great opportunity to network with some very experienced aviation professionals.

Each day I attended the opening reception, the exhibit halls, and a few education sessions. The opening reception was filled with women and it was a wonderful chance to go sit with someone new and connect with them. Every woman I met was very willing to share her story and her love of aviation. The exhibit hall was very intimidating at first. It was comprised of hundreds of booths, all with very powerful companies in the aviation industry. Once I got used to it, I talked with many companies and made some great connections. Lastly, each day I would attend at least one education session. These were smaller lectures about a specific topic. Some of the ones I attended were about the Women of The Boeing Company, how to find business fraud, and an education session about 9/11 from the experience of a fighter pilot. Overall, the business side of the conference was amazing. I met so many interesting women who were eager to talk to me as a student. I am definitely planning on attending next year in Nashville, Tennessee!

Myself and one of the Tri Sigma Eta Tau alumna in the hotel!

Me at the ERAU booth in the Exhibit Hall

ERAU Alum whom I really connected with

Part of the ERAU WAI Chapter at the closing banquet

Crystal and I before the closing banquet

ERAU Daytona Beach and Prescott Chapters before the closing banquet

Kim, myself, Crystal, Lillian, and Kim before the closing banquet

Now for the exploration side of the conference trip! Of course, since I was in Dallas, a city which I had never been to before, I wanted to go explore the town. We found the best burger place in Dallas, Rodeo Goat, and realized it was just a few minutes walk from our hotel. One afternoon we went and had lunch and it was awesome! I believe in never eating somewhere while you’re on vacation that you could eat at while you’re at home, so Rodeo Goat definitely fit my mantra.

One night, the entire ERAU WAI Chapter went out to eat at Medieval Times. If you are not aware, Medieval Times is a dinner show where you eat everything with your hands while watching knights on horseback dual for the princess. The dinner experience is like no other. We cheered on our blue knight as we ate the dragon scales (potato skins), baby dragon (chicken), and drank dragons blood (tomato soup).

Myself, Cevera, and Crystal at Medieval Times

Jincy, Myself, Crystal, and Helen at Medieval Times

Dragons blood and a baby dragon for dinner! Yumm

The last night of conference, a few friends and I went out to downtown Dallas. Downtown Dallas is not very active at night since it is a business district, so we went to Uptown instead! It was crazy! The restaurants all along the streets were packed with people out having a good time. Later, we went to a small TexMex restaurant and had the most delicious shrimp tacos I have ever had. It was great to get out and explore some of what Dallas has to offer.

In closing, the 2015 Women in Aviation, International Conference was well worth the travel and missing a few days of class. Although very tiring, it was my first opportunity to experience a business conference and network with people. I recommend attending at least one time, even if you are not a pilot, or a woman for that matter! You will be able to take away so many great connections and memories from the conference.

Until next time,

Lindsey

“Oh, we’re halfway there. Woah, livin’ on a prayer.”

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Billy

What’s that you say? Spring Break is only just a week away? Inconceivable! I can’t believe it’s already March! Like I feel like the semester just started. I guess time flies when you’re having fun, or are doing way too many things at once; I digress.

I’ve been flying a lot more with my quadcopter, and I finally got the confidence to mount my GoPro to it! I got some great video – some of the highlights include: aerial footage of Embry-Riddle, mid-air collisions, and formation flying with other smaller planes. I’m still getting the hang of working with Adobe Premiere Pro and SpeedGrade. I also ordered more parts for my quadcopter so fingers crossed as I try to get better footage! If you’re on the fence about starting, I highly recommend getting into RC flying because it’s such a wonderful hobby. Honestly, everyone who’s seen me and my hall-mates flying on the soccer field just stop and smile because of how awesome it is. We even managed to impress two campus security guys one night when we were flying. RC flying teachers you aerodynamics, electronics, videography, and so much more; it’s definitely a hobby that’s going to stay with me for a very long time.

I am a very huge Doctor Who fan so logically, rather illogically, I decided to decorated my door to look like the TARDIS, the iconic blue police telephone box from the TV show. When I came back from class one day, someone left a replica panel of the door sign on my desk. After talking to my friends, I learned that someone from maintenance saw my door, left and came back with the panel for my door. I was truly amazed and shocked because I wasn’t expecting something like that to happen to me. Flash forward to present day and the sign/panel is hanging proudly on my door.

Aside from that, there’s nothing really new on my end so on that bombshell, I’ll see you all in another two weeks!

DUDE, IT’S ETCHED IN PLASTIC.

My door game is on point…depending on which point system you use.

I need to start getting into architectural drawings.

Weekend Traveler

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Lindsey

“Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before” -Dalai Lama

I love this quote because it seems to be my motto as of late. These last two weeks have been full of travel and I am excited to say that the next few weeks will be, too!

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Savannah, Georgia with the Women’s Ambassador Program. I traveled with one other Ambassador and an Admissions Counselor. We drove up to Georgia Friday afternoon and spent the night touring around Savannah. For those who have never been to Savannah, it is absolutely gorgeous! The old architecture and the Spanish moss are best seen with your own eyes. The evening was very cold, however we did stop in Barracuda Bob’s Restaurant to get some warm food. We walked down River Street and downtown Savannah. Of course, we had to stop in Paula Deen’s Restaurant and store. We also saw very cool art shops, boutiques, and hotels. The next day we went to a local high school for Girls in Engineering Day. We got to speak to so many young girls about their passion for math, science, and engineering. It was so inspiring to see girls who already know what they want to do for their future careers!

Old Building in Savannah

River boat on River Street

Paula Deen Store

Georgia Peach in the Georgia Visitor Center

Jessica and I at the Girls in Engineering Day

Jessica and I on the Florida-Georgia State Line

After a long drive home from Savannah on Saturday, I got to spend Sunday at the Daytona 500! It was probably one of the best sporting events I have been to. All year I have driven by Daytona International Speedway while it was under construction and empty. Then, I finally got to be inside when it was packed full of crazy NASCAR fans. My boyfriend and I walked over to the Speedway around 10:30AM, since it was almost impossible to drive anywhere. We spent the morning looking at all of the vendors and just enjoying the sights and smells of the 500. Kid Rock and Phillip Phillips both sang and of course, the USAF Thunderbirds did a flyover. Once it hit race time the crowd went wild! The race was full of excitement from start to finish and in the end, Joey Logano took first. Needless to say, I will definitely be going again next year!!

At the Daytona 500

Turn 2 at Daytona International Speedway

Last weekend, I traveled home to Seattle, WA with my boyfriend for his brother’s wedding. We left on Friday afternoon and arrived in Seattle at 11:30PM that night. We had to stop in Salt Lake City, UT for a layover, which was a lot of fun. (I love exploring airports!) The funny thing was that our flight from Salt Lake City to Seattle was practically empty! The aircraft was a week-old 737ER which only had about 50 passengers on it! So of course, we each took our own row and spread out.

Empty 737!

The next day was wedding day! We drove up to the University of Washington in Seattle to take pictures and set up. The wedding was beautiful and I felt so blessed to witness it. Afterwards, the reception was in an old Naval Hangar in Seattle. The reception was awesome and it was cool to be inside of a huge hangar that once held Naval aircraft.

David and I before the wedding in Seattle

On Sunday our flight left Seattle at 12PM, so we were only home for about 30 hours. Even though it was a short period of time, it is always great to be home! Surprisingly it was a bright, sunny weekend, which is odd for Seattle in February. All in all, it was a great trip and a very tiring one. I finally made it back to my room at 12AM, Monday morning.

Flying over the Cascade Mountains

This weekend I am off to Dallas, Texas for a Women in Aviation, International Conference. I cannot wait to meet many professional women who are already successful in the aviation field. Next weekend I will be traveling to Fort Myers, Florida for Spring Break! It will be nice to relax and get away from school for awhile. I will keep you updated on my traveling adventures!

Until next time,

-Lindsey

Halfway There

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Jack

We are right in the middle of the semester! As much as I love school, I’m about ready for the summer! It’ll be nice to go back to working full time and to spend time with friends and family.

As you probably expect, things have been quite busy lately. I’ve had tests in all of my classes this week or will next week, and so far, everything has gone well. Sometimes these weeks can be difficult, but if one uses their time wisely and doesn’t wait to study the night before, things will go well.

11021179_666729526786671_6766866887056457704_n

The front entrance into The Lodge at JetBlue University

I’ve also been adjusting to my new job in Career Services. The more time I spend there, the more I learn about the department, and when you come to campus, it is one department that I highly recommend you start building a relationship with. The advisors as well as the office have so many resources, advice, and experience to provide, and it’ll definitely come in handy when applying for internships.

11026097_666729603453330_6561649636543243251_n

Jack Harty and former JetBlue CEO David Barger

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to go to the grand opening of The Lodge as JetBlue’s Orlando Support Center (where they conduct training and orientation for more than 7,000 people every year). The Lodge is a hotel for the employees that come to Orlando for long periods of time in the middle of training. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the employees at JetBlue!

Now, I’m off to Aruba on Friday to fly on Southwest’s first international flight into Houston Hobby Airport. There will definitely be a full report coming soon! (It’s quite fun to still work as a journalist part time 🙂 ).

Blue skies,

Jack

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Monthly Archives: March 2015

Snow? During Spring Break?

Go Girls!

“Oh, we’re halfway there. Woah, livin’ on a prayer.”

Weekend Traveler

Halfway There