Monthly Archives: October 2018

FL2K18 AFTERMOVIE

Posted on by
Reply

 

Every October, the biggest and the baddest descend on Tampa, FL and Bradenton, FL for FL2K. This year FL2K returns to the “House of Hook” or better known as Bradenton Motorsports Park, for another thrilling weekend of racing. This is by far one of the most thrilling annual drag racing events that I attend. Bradenton is 3 hours one way from Daytona Beach, however, it is well worth the travel if you attend next year. This film took countless hours to film and produce, but I think that it truly captures the atmosphere of the event. I am very proud to share with you this month long production of the FL2K18 Aftermovie!

Things To See on an ERAU Campus Visit

Posted on by
Reply

Hi all!

It is fall break and I am currently in Alabama visiting Chris. This last fall break of mine, I find myself looking back on other fall breaks. Particularly, the one in high school when I came to tour Riddle. This got me thinking that there were things I wish I knew to go see or ask on my tour. Here they are:

To begin, let’s talk about things to see/do on campus…

  1. I wish I had sat in on a class. I did this at Preview Day in the spring, but I think if you are pondering which major to do, try to arrange to sit in on a class. Try to ask before arriving so Admissions can do their best to get you in!
  2. Join a flight! Many people do not know this, but if you are considering pursuing a flight major, try to observe a flight. Weather or aircraft availability may prevent you from being able to take an observer flight, but if you can, you will get a taste for how prestigious our program is and also have a blast with the scenic views. Dress code for observing flights requires long pants and closed toe shoes. Come dressed appropriately and ask about an observer flight when you visit campus!
  3. Try the food. I think many people don’t think to do this, but it gives you a taste of your future. I recommend Qdoba, our newest addition, or Propellers, a classic. Join a lunch table (they are set up as communal) and talk to students! They are happy to share their experiences and recommendations! What better way to know the university than talking to the people who eat, play, study, and even sleep there!
  4. Take pictures on the residence hall tours! This is BEYOND helpful when you are planning for move in. I wish I had done this, but you can go visit my packing list blog for some pictures as well in case you forget.
  5. Stop by financial aid if you’ve already been accepted and your FAFSA has been filed and reviewed. Your Admissions Counselor can help with general questions before your aid has been processed. If you have questions, they can help answer them. This saves you back-and-forth emails. I’m old-fashion though, I prefer face-to-face communication, especially on confusing, important matters.
  6. When planning a time to come, try to attend Open House (next weekend) or Preview Day in the spring. Open House welcomes to all prospective students and their families while Preview Day is only for accepted students and their families. These events make touring residence halls, attending classes, and observing flights a lot easier. What I like best though, is that there are opportunities to meet and learn about campus activities and organizations. There are typically general information sessions as well. And if you’re wondering the best time of year to visit, I prefer the fall. It’s not too hot out and that’s nice considering the tour requires walking outside. Ultimately, my best tip is try to come when there are students on campus. I came on my school breaks and they happened to line up with Riddle’s breaks. Therefore my perception of the campus was that it was always empty – which is completely false. I think it’s best to see the bustling campus because that is the most realistic image, in my opinion.

While you are in Daytona, I highly recommend Tia Cori’s Tacos or Rosie’s on Beach Street for some good eats. Chicken Salad Chick is also one of my favorites, with their wide array of chicken salads (it sounds weird but it’s delicious) and yummy grape salad! Touring the race track or hitting up the massive flea market are fun things to do. And if you’re like my family, Disney World and Universal Studios are only an hour away! If time allows, try to go 45 minutes north to see Saint Augustine – a real fun spot to spend your afternoon!

If you have any questions – write a comment! I’ll get back to you! ~ Maddie

Fall Break & Breeze

Posted on by
Reply

Happy October everyone! October is my favorite month, and therefore it is appropriate to wish you all a Happy October. I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida.

I spent my fall break on campus working duty day shifts for my RA position, doing physics, statics, and calculus homework, and running! Although the last part may not sound like the best part for some people, the running was actually my favorite part of every day. Also fear not, as per usual I drank lots of coffee and tea.

My fall break didn’t feel like much of a break, but I am extremely thankful that I got to sleep in, or in other words have the luxury of waking up when the sun has already woken up. I must say I do enjoy being awake as the sun rises, but when I don’t get back to my room until it’s dark outside as per a typical school day, by the time I do homework, study, and get ready for bed I’m absolutely exhausted.

Even on my days off I usually wake up with the sun.

Aside from all of my responsibilities, my plants are thriving and deserve to be highlighted this week. I highly encourage succulents or cacti for dorm plants because even if you don’t have enough time to water them (me), they still do great with a little sunlight and a lot of positive energy (also me).

Some of my dorm plants!

As it is still hot in Florida, even though it’s late October, we’ve had great weather that’s been perfect for early morning beach PTs with AFROTC, which is always nice. It’s becoming the time of year when the weather is almost perfect for working out. I gauge the prime temperature for running to be when the air is cool enough that you aren’t sweating before you start working out, but not too cold that it stings your lungs. If it is cold enough that you are able to see your breathe when you exhale, I would prefer the temperature to increase slightly. Thankfully, in Florida, the weather ranges between extremely hot, mildly hot, temperate, and cool, but the cool doesn’t happen until about mid-winter, so lately the fall breeze had been extremely lavish!

Post beach PT with some of my favorite wingmen!

Currently we’re about half way through the fall semester and everyone around campus is extremely busy. Course loads are heavy, there’s lots of homework to be done, tests, quizzes, projects, presentations, and not a lot of time. In my personal experience I’m still on the journey to figuring out how to balance everything. I’ve heard so many times from professors that they encourage students to prioritize school work and really focus on their time management, and while this is true, I must counter this from the perspective of a college student- realistically there are not enough hours in a day. All we can do is try our best and hope for the best. Just keep swimming folks, will report back soon!

Check Out the New Student Union!

Posted on by
Reply

Hi all!

Happy fall! October begins the month of warm drinks and sweaters (yes, even in Florida because the classrooms can be chilly)! October also marks the opening of the new Student Union at the Daytona Beach campus! While I wanted to be one of the first 50 students in to get a Starbucks card or grab some free coffee and Krispy Kreme, I accidentally overslept. Hey hey now, classes at noon make it very hard to get up at 8 am these days.

Here are some pictures of the beauty!

Things I love about the new Student Union:

  1. It looks amazing and futuristic. I think this is an icon of the university. When I go home and show my friends my school, I will show them pictures of this big beauty.
  2. There is new food! Qdoba opened up and it is delicious! Chick-Fil-a now how a full menu. And the Starbucks is the prettiest one I have visited (and this says a lot since I’ve visited my fair share).
  3. The space was made for students. There are so many study spaces, computers, and socializing areas.
  4. The bookstore – please stop by! It is bigger and better than ever.
  5. There are areas specifically for space launch and airport viewing. Welcome to Embry-Riddle folks!
  6. I feel I am off-campus, which can be nice when you live on-campus. It makes me feel like I am at a fancy mall almost.
  7. There is outdoor space that looks and feels very nice. There are even speakers and lawn chairs out there!
  8. Event spaces from the future also reside on the first floor. Please excuse me while I try to find a reason to book one of those!

Outdoor dining spaces

Starbucks

Starry sky

Starbucks seating

More study/social space

Beautiful windows

Dining

Seating outside of Starbucks

Real plants!

Overall, are we finally getting that big school feeling but our small school feeling? I guess we can have it all!

P.S. Sorry for the picture quality. I will try to find a better way to upload them since they are clear on my phone and computer, just not once uploaded…

Thanks for bearing with me and enjoy!

October & AFROTC

Posted on by
Reply

Happy October everyone! October is my favorite month and everything about fall is also the best. I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida.

Small (yet critical) life update: I passed the AFOQT! The AFOQT, which stands for the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test is a standardized test that all cadets in AFROTC detachments across the country take to determine if they are apt to become Air Force Officers.

Now, there is SO much more than just the AFOQT that goes into preparing to commission as an officer in the United States Air Force. Although I’m not officially there yet, the journey I’m on includes a lot of early morning trainings, leadership laboratory sessions, physical training with the rest of the cadet wing (along with working out outside of scheduled PT sessions), and of course working on the class requirements for my degree!

Being a cadet in AFROTC here at Embry Riddle has honestly been one of the most rewarding experiences and is hands down what I’m most proud to be a part of on campus. A phrase that is constantly reiterated to cadets here is that we are a family, and it’s extremely true! We workout together, we study together, we overcome obstacles together, and we get a flight of about twenty people who are always willing to grab dinner, its a pretty good deal.

Some of my favorite wingmen and I after a workout.

We recently celebrated the Air Force’s birthday and had a series of competitions within the wing between flights in events such as capture the flag, tug of war, relay races, and a poster and flag contest.

My Flight with the Colonel after a tug of war contest!

Just to clarify- the wing is composed of every cadet in AFROTC, which is then subdivided into groups, squadrons, and flights. Within flights of about twenty people there are subdivisions as well, but for right now we’ll just focus on big picture terminology.

Another exciting thing about going to college in Daytona Beach, being a part of Detachment 157, and going to Embry Riddle, is the exciting opportunities cadets have that are specific to this area. Some of my favorites are beach workouts and the Speedway run! Most recently we completed a morale physical training session on the beach where we got to workout by running and performing calisthenics right along the coastline as the sun rose. The weather here in Florida is typically in the upper 80s in October, and the early mornings are the perfect time to get exercise in, especially surrounded by a family of 400 members, AND at the beach. It really doesn’t get better than this folks, I’m motivated just thinking about it.

Flight picture after a beach PT!

Will report back soon!

DeLand Auto Cross Solo Sunday Funday

Posted on by
Reply

This past weekend I had the pleasure of participating in my third solo Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) autocross competition, along with about 8 other Embry-Riddle students. “Solo” is the SCCA brand name for autocross competition. Solo events are driving skill competitions that emphasize the driver’s ability and the car’s handling capabilities. A driving a course is set up using traffic cones as a guide in a low hazard location, such as a parking lot or inactive airstrip. In our case we used a section of DeLand Municipal airport that is no longer used, due to the deterioration of the pavement.

Cars compete within classes grouped by similar performance capabilities.  All runs through the course are timed, and the car in each class with the fastest time through the course is the winner of that class. There is only one car on any part of the course at a time. In other words, you will never be “wheel-to-wheel” with another car. At each event, drivers will get about 4-5 runs through the course. While speeds are no greater than those normally encountered in legal highway driving, the combination of concentration and car feedback creates an adrenaline pumping experience. The SCCA annually publishes the Solo Rules to classify a full range of imported and domestic sports cars, sedans, and purpose-built race cars, as well as to layout the rules behind Solo competition. The SCCA also publishes the Stock Classifications to make it easy to determine the stock Solo Class for most unmodified cars.

Solo/Autocross is the safest and most inexpensive form of “racing” for both driver and car.  The majority of drivers bring out their daily drivers, though there are those who bring modified streetcar “toys” as well as purpose built race cars.  Almost any kind of car is welcome as long as it meets restrictions on high-center-of-gravity or rollover tendency. The courses are set up to mitigate most risks to car and driver, with the worst damage coming in the form of a rubber scuff from hitting a cone, which will come right off with a good car wash.

If you enjoy technical, skill based driving and think you have what it takes to drive in a SCCA Solo event; I highly recommend participating in an event. I will include a link below where you can sign up for future events. Come out and join your fellow students in some friendly, yet competitive, driving competition.