Monthly Archives: September 2021

Flight Research Center & Flight Simulator Lab

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Happy September everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, FL, where I’m here to walk you through a day-in-the life of an ERAU student. Set the scene: I am a senior in Aerospace Engineering on an Aeronautics track, with a minor in Arabic Studies and Military Science. My typical day includes waking up at about 0500 in the morning to go to PT for Air Force ROTC and usually doesn’t conclude until the late evening with a variety of meetings or Duty Shifts for my Resident Advisor position, followed by homework and studying.

The “in-between” is usually packed with classes, errands, working out, homework, and studying. I had my first Quiz of the Fall 2021 semester yesterday in Aircraft Preliminary Design and I have my first test of the semester tomorrow in Terrorism Origins and Ideologies. I have just completed my second experiment in the Aerospace Structures and Instrumentation Lab and a slew of homework for all my classes.

I recently was brought onto the team at the Eagle Flight Research Center as an Undergraduate Research Assistant and am very excited to join the amazing team of qualified faculty and student staff. I hope to give more updates soon about this exciting position!

In other exciting news, one of my recent homework assignments for my Aircraft Stability and Control class included going to the pilot tutoring lab on campus and flying a simulator to take a look at how different lifting and control surfaces impact flight when isolated. As an engineer, this was my first experience using a flight simulator!

As an ERAU student, you have access to utilize the Airline Operations Center Lab, located on the first floor of the College of Aviation. While it is a great place for Aeronautics students and pilots to go to study, prepare for check rides, or practice their skills in the flight simulators, all students are welcome! I recently found out about the AOC and was so excited to learn that students of all majors are allowed to access the flight simulators and can do so just by having an Eagle Card!

Flight simulator in the AOC lab!

Another fun highlight of my week, besides getting to virtually fly a Cessna-172 in the AOC lab flight simulator, was getting a surprise package from a friend with a new book! Although I am not sure how much free time I’ll have this semester, I am very excited to dive into The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

New book my friend sent me!

I hope everyone is enjoying getting back into the swing of things as classes pick up and tests and quizzes begin again. Will report back soon folks, stay safe!

Inspiration 4 and Star Trek Trivia!

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Oh, nothing much, just watching the product of my future career, right? Heck yeah!

It’s been an exciting week here in Daytona!

If you’re following space news, you’d see that the Inspiration 4 launch was a success. If you’re following Embry-Riddle news, you’d see that there are two Embry-Riddle alumni involved with the Inspiration 4 launch.

Being a space enthusiast myself, I decided that I’d like to see the launch up close. While you can see launches from the Embry-Riddle campus (and even hear the slight roar of the rocket!), there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go down since it’s only an hour’s drive or so. My roommate from last year and I ended up hitching a ride with one of our other friends who was going anyway with a few other people.

Five of us piled into one car, and we ended up doing a bit of carpool karaoke on the way down to the launch. We found a spot pretty close to the launch site in a boat launching area. The launch window opened at 8:02 PM, and we made sure to get there early.

There were a lot of bugs outside, but thankfully, we’d brought some bug spray. A few other people had found the same spot we had and many had professional-looking cameras. I’m not super good at photography, but I love looking at other people’s pictures.

When the rocket ignited, the whole sky lit up. (Side note: if you ever get a chance to watch a rocket launch live, do it. If you’re not busy, watch a live stream- a few of my friends and I watched the Firefly Alpha launch a little while back.) Here’s what my phone got:

Pretty rocket!

It took a few moments for the rumble to reach us, and by that time, the rocket was shooting across the sky and through the clouds. A few minutes later, we saw this:

Pretty rocket 2!

We were lucky enough to be in a spot so that the rocket appeared to curve across the sky. After the rocket disappeared, the five of us got back into the car and went back to Daytona and to our dorms. And that was my Wednesday night: no homework, just rocket science.

Thursday through Sunday was Panhellenic (sorority) recruitment, which was super fun, and I’m excited to see the Panhellenic community grow! Another one of my other favorite events this week was Star Trek trivia, which I’d hosted with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Lear.

I’d made a deal with her that if I showed up in a Star Trek uniform, that she’d get me a pink drink from Starbucks. As I have a slight addiction to Starbucks, I showed up in this:

Star Trek: Enterprise era uniform!

True to her word, Dr. Lear did end up buying me a Starbucks before trivia started. There were plenty of people there, including several of my friends. The trivia event was during another event called the Skyline Social, which had food and drink for purchase along with activities to do.

Trivia had three rounds, and Dr. Lear and I took turns reading the questions. We did an intermission poster giveaway in between the first and second rounds, and in between the second and third, we had a drawing contest. One of my friends wasn’t playing, so we ended up roping him into judging the drawing contest.

He had up to 20 points that he could distribute as he pleased. He decided to be nice and ended up giving everyone points. The final question was probably a little too hard since nobody got the correct answer, but trivia was really fun.

Riddle hosts Star Wars trivia in the spring, and Dr. Lear thinks that the next trivia event is going to be Harry Potter. I enjoyed co-hosting, so maybe I’ll be able to do it again! Last year, Dr. Lear hosted Star Wars trivia and over 200 people came out to play. (Even though I’m not a Star Wars fan, I was there too since I got extra credit for coming.)

If you’re at Embry-Riddle, I highly suggest going to Skyline Social trivia nights. I’ll see you in the next post, and hopefully at Riddle (and trivia night)!

From both me and Dr. Lear… Live long and prosper!

Semester Tips & Student Resources

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Happy September everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida. As everyone becomes busier, I wanted to cover some top tips for managing a stressful semester!

I’ve emphasized in the past the importance of keeping a schedule, not only of your classes, but also including extracurricular activities, work, and even group project meetings! Something I haven’t touched on yet that I’ve found extremely helpful is reaching out to leaders on campus for mentorship! This can be as simple as getting to know your class TAs, reaching out to students you admire in upper-level leadership positions in organizations you are involved in/looking to get involved in, finding more experienced cadets in ROTC who can share their experiences, or talking to the Resident Advisor in your community!

Learning from other’s academic, professional, and overall life journeys can be extremely beneficial in helping you figure out which path is best for you. Whether it’s finalizing your major or concentration within your major, considering declaring a minor, looking to join a new club or organization, or applying for an on-campus job – there are students and faculty who have gone before you and can share helpful advice for how to navigate all aspects of university life.

For example, during Orientation – new students have the opportunity to network and connect with Orientation Team Ambassadors who provide firsthand insight on life in a variety of majors on campus. Orientation Team is made up of a diverse group of people who truly represent that no matter how different our backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences are, at the end of the day we’re all Eagles working to better ourselves and learn.

Student Blogger Carly and I working the Orientation Team Ask Me desk during O-Week!

In addition to finding people who you look up to on campus, it’s important to have a solid support system and focus holistically on your health. College offers so many opportunities to grow as a person, and provides outlets to strengthen your mental, physical, and spiritual health!

Student Blogger Carly and I de-stressing during O-Week by enjoying the sunshine at the Beach Bash!

For example, the Academic Advancement center offers free tutoring to ERAU students in a variety of subjects. Tutoring is essential in your first few years on campus, because it provides a more relaxed learning environment than a classroom setting and allows you to get personalized help with areas or concepts you might find particularly challenging.

The Fitness Center is one of my personal favorites for physical health on campus, but ERAU also features Health Services, a Dietician, and free Counseling sessions! Mental and physical health are very closely related, so it’s important to also talk about resiliency – the Center for Faith and Spirituality is a great place that welcomes all students! Sometimes you may want a quiet place to breathe, focus, and recenter yourself – and the Center for Faith and Spirituality welcomes and encourages you to take all the time you need.

Keep in mind these are only a few of the many support systems and student resources designed to help you thrive while navigating everyday stressors of being a student. There are many more and all faculty and staff, and student leaders, can point you in the right direction if you’re ever finding yourself needing a little extra boost. Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!

September & Fall 2021 Schedule

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Happy September everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, FL. As Week 2 of the Fall 2021 semester at ERAU-DB is coming to a close, I can say that classes, activities, clubs, and events are back into full swing operations. Currently, masks are the expectation on campus and all my classes are in person and most of my obligations, sans for a few Zoom meetings and Group Projects. This semester I am taking AE 432 – Flight Dynamics and Control, AE 420- Aircraft Preliminary Design, AE 416 – Aerospace Structures and Instrumentation, along with AE 417 – Aerospace Structures and Instrumentation Lab, HS 325 – Terrorism Origins and Ideologies, as well as my normal Air Force ROTC mornings Physical Training and Leadership Laboratory sessions.

In addition to my course load I am also participating in a tutoring extension of the summer program I took part in with Project Global Officer (Project GO). I attend one hour Zoom tutoring sessions weekly, with a Masters Student studying at the University of Arizona (the host university I studied with over the summer, in collaboration with the AALIM Center in Meknes, Morocco). Project GO is a critical language learning initiative offered through the Department of Defense to ROTC students in all branches of service. Four years ago I couldn’t imagine that I would be able to read, write, and speak in Arabic, but here we are folks, my progress even amazes me!

Since the semester is back to its typical business, I’ve been trying to take time to prioritize my health this year, particularly by focusing on staying safe and healthy in light of the pandemic. I tried a Cycle class at the Fitness Center last week, and am looking forward to checking out more Group Fitness classes in addition to Cycle (I would highly recommend!), such as Yoga, BodyPump, and Boxing Conditioning!

Outside of class and working out, I spent last weekend getting some sunshine at the beach. I watched the sunrise then went surfing and got to catch up on some leisurely reading. This weekend, I have mandatory class sessions on Saturday and Sunday, totaling 4 extra hours for a class that typically is supposed to meet during the week for a total of 6 hours. (An additional 2/3 of our usual amount of class time… split into two Mandatory sessions on both Saturday AND Sunday!) Since my free time is and few in between lately, I am cherishing the time I got to enjoy last weekend.

Sunrise at the beach last weekend!

I spent the long Labor Day weekend also taking a self-care trip to Orlando about an hour away from campus with my friend to visit the local Trader Joes. At Trader Joes I got two very fun new drinks to try: one Maple Oat Milk to put in my coffee (pictured below left) and two – Chai Tea Concentrate to make chai tea lattes (pictured below right)! Chai tea lattes are the perfect afternoon pick-me-up, and I am very excited about both of my new finds!

New Trader Joes Maple Oat Milk and Spiced Chai Black Tea Concentrate!

As I currently blog in the midst of doing laundry and making coffee between my classes, I am especially grateful that we had the opportunity to make the trip over the weekend. The maple oat milk in coffee is so delicious! Keep on keeping on folks, stay safe!

How My First Week of Classes Went

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At least when I fell off my longboard I was 30 feet away from Health Services…

Well, the first week of classes has officially ended, and we’re getting through the second. I’ve already gotten plenty of assignments to keep me busy.

Yes, the sign is really that big! Mask removed for photo only. Both photographer and I are fully vaccinated.

On the first (and second!) day, I was lucky enough to find all of my classes and not walk in the wrong direction. Since I was part of the 2021 O-Team, I wore one of our shirts to class on the first day in case anyone had questions. I ran into a few people who did, and I was happy to help.

Activities seemed to resume, for the most part, as normal. Currently, Embry-Riddle expects you to wear a mask indoors, and most activities picked up within the first two weeks. For example, the Society of Women Engineers’ first general meeting is Wednesday, September 8, while the first chapter event of the semester for my sorority was on Monday, August 30- the day school started.

Unfortunately, I had a minor longboard incident on the second day of school. While I’m okay, I accidentally ran over a crack and skinned my knee. Normally, I would’ve called the school’s Emergency Response Team, which provides free medical care on campus from trained students, but I was really close to Health Services and just went there. They took a look and gave me a bunch of bandages and instructed me on how to take care of it.

Thursday was the most eventful day of the week for me. While I only have one class (YES!), the school hosted a free petting zoo.

Birdie!

In the zoo, there were a few other animals including a fennec fox, giant yellow snake, and an elderly spotted cat. I also saw a chinchilla, fancy chickens, a calf, and several goats. It was pretty fun.

That night- September 3- a few of my friends and I decided to watch Firefly Aerospace’s launch of the Firefly Alpha. We reserved one of the student union study room, and one of my friends brought his laptop. We arrived early and hung out for about two hours- an hour before the launch and an hour waiting for the next attempt.

Although the Firefly Alpha didn’t make it to its planned trajectory, it was really fun to hang out with my friends. It was a fun first week, and I did some more hanging-out on Labor Day weekend.

Of course, I’ve also been doing a lot more work than I did last year. As classes get harder, you might have less homework, but it’ll be more time-consuming. I’m glad tutoring is starting up again- the tutors are super helpful, and they’re the reason I got an A in Calculus II last year.

See you in the next post, and hopefully someday at Riddle!