Today I found out a got a scholarship. I am so happy. They are going to be sending a check to the school so that’s going to help me out with the other school expenses and I will finally be able to have health insurance. For now, I am going to go with the one that the school recommended since I have to do my yearly check up. I am going to be shopping around for an insurance company that would be willing to insure me with my previous medical conditions. Hopefully it works out in the end.

I encourage you to apply for all the scholarships you qualify for, even if you think you are not going to get it. When I was in high school, I applied for many scholarships. I was always at the counselor’s office asking for letters of recommendations and trying to get my transcripts sent to different places. Now, I am going to start over so when I get my final grades in for the semester, I am going to start applying for scholarships. I am also going to start applying for internships for the summer.

I also went to the SAE meeting. They have a couple of teams working on different competitions. They have an Aero Team, 2 (1 Co-ed, 1 female Mini Baja teams, and a Hybrid group.

Today in my speech class, one of my classmates forgot to turn off the phone. The phone started ringing in the middle of the classroom and the professor asked if that was his phone ringing. He said it was his mom. She picked up the phone and talked to his mom. Everyone in class was laughing because you hear the professor say “No. This is not Papi. This is his teacher. Can you hear the students laughing? Can you please call back after 4:30.”

Lesson of the day: Make sure you have your cell phone off or the ring mode on silent.

I also went to the TFO meeting with Vick. I think it stands for Task Force One but I am not sure. It’s for first year students who want to be more involved with the Student Government.

I bought my business management book online and never received it. I filed a claim with the company and my credit card company. I also bought the book from someone else online, hopefully I get it soon.

This week was a very busy week for me. I was assigned two group projects that were due on Friday. I was on campus Wed until 1 in the morning and Thurs I was on campus until past midnight.

Also we had the activities fair. There are so many clubs and organizations on campus and not all of them were displayed. I also found out that I am the new Vice President of ASSE. The organization has been inactive for a couple of semesters and now we are working on having it active.

I promised I would spend time with Vick on Friday. I hung out with him for a bit and then I went home early because I was really tired for running around the whole week.

On Saturday, I went out with Cheese. It was our first time hanging out at Seabreeze. We were trying to figure out of places we can go for free. We went to Upstairs and then went to 550. I was trying to teach Cheese how to dance. (He has the mentality that if he’s white, he can’t dance. He was even more self conscious because he was the designated driver). We are taking baby steps. I am determined to have him dancing by the end of the semester or year.

I went to the Kennedy Space Center with some friends from Alpha Phi Omega (Co-ed service fraternity). If you like space and astronauts, I would definitely recommend going there. The entrance is close to $20. I spent a lot of time reading about the history of space. In the end, there is a room where you can play with the toys. They also have a G-force machine.

I know I wrote a lot. I have done so many things the past few weeks and I know I have forgotten many things. The next one hopefully won’t be as long (unless of course you object). If you have any questions, feel free to contact me on the discussion board. Overall, I am enjoying my time here at Embry-Riddle. I hope you have a great day.

Hey Everyone! My name is Blanca and I am a transfer/freshman at Embry-Riddle. I am seeking a degree in Safety Science. I am also a nontraditional and a commuter student (I am too old to be on campus).

Where should I start? I am not sure. I guess I can start on my last day in Seattle.

My roommates and I went to a Toga Party at El Azteca. We went to Wal-Mart to buy some fabric. We actually met other people that were going to the party and we were helping each other choose the fabric. Amy bought a plaid one, Cheese bought a cow pattern, and I bought one that had butterflies. It was definitely a great time. I also met a lot of people that night. Again I was the designated driver. This time I gave a ride back home to Nate and Andrew since they didn’t have a ride home. I had met them the week before through my friend Susie.

The next day we got ready to go to Daytona Lagoon which was being hosted by two fraternities. I had heard it was dead through Vick and other people. We get to the front door and we were told we had to pay. One of them told my roommate that she can get in for free and that Cheese and I still had to pay. We ended up leaving and hanging out for the rest of the night. I don’t believe women should pay to go to fraternity events and I don’t believe men should pay to go to sorority events (unless it’s a fundraiser).

Today is my first day of classes. Also after talking to Danielle, I figured out that my first class is actually in the Student Village. After class, I had a break so I went to see Dr. Rodrigues to see if there was a spot open for the Intro to Safety Science course. There was an opening in the class and of course I dropped my 8 am Chemistry class.

Classes were cancelled on Wednesday because of the Tropical Depression Ernesto. It didn’t really rain that much. According to my meteorology professor we were on the South side of it so it doesn’t affect us that much.

Overall my classes are interesting. Some of my classes are going to get harder than others, but I’ll do my best. I have three female professors which is rare. Commuting to school is new to me. I actually carpool with my roommate. It’s a good thing because it keeps me from being late to my classes.

I also got a job in the humanities department as an office assistant. It was very easy. She basically just gave me the job. I officially started working on Tuesday.

Today my roommates and I went to the beach. Amy’s boyfriend, Jeff, was in town for the launch because he had tickets to watch it up close. We played water Frisbee. The sand is different than the beach sand in California. Also you can go really far into the water and the water would only reach your waist (for me it would be shoulders, I tend to be vertically challenged).

After the beach, we changed quickly and went to the soccer game. There was a BBQ (Free) which was paid for by one of the fraternities. Luis also joined us. The soccer team won their match.

I went to Sundaes on Saturday. I can’t reject ice cream. You know if something is wrong with me if I don’t want ice cream. I love ice cream. I drove all the way to campus to have ice cream. Vick didn’t pick up the phone and Anita wasn’t available so I didn’t see them. I enjoyed my ice cream and went back home.

I definitely wish I was living on campus. I went back to campus in the evening to go to the Greek BBQ. College students love free food, well at least I do. The girls here seem different than the typical sorority picture I have in my head. Overall, the girls here are approachable and friendly.

Later on in the night, Cheese and I went to SAE back to school party at El Azteca. I was the designated driver. My roommate signed us up for play beer pong. Woohoo!! It was my first time playing the game. We won the first game and lost the second one. We had people routing for us. I met a lot of people that night. The bad thing about meeting too many people in a night is that you don’t remember their names.

Ha! now I am definitely paying the consequence for leaving campus too late. I was supposed to be on campus at 8 am for Transfer Student Advisement, but yeah definitely woke up at 10 a.m. I met with the department chair, Dr. Rodrigues and he was very helpful. He actually gave me an overview about the program and explained to me the air transportation track and the occupational health track. He wanted to know where I was from and how I chose that major. He helped me sign of for my classes and got them approved by each of the colleges. I did get to pick my classes. The intro to safety science course was closed, but he said to check up with him on Monday to see if a space opens up. So far my classes are Chemistry, Meteorology, Psychology, Business Management, and Speech. They all seem to be random classes. Oh yeah my chemistry class is at 8 am. I don’t think that’s going to work. I was already late for the Transfer Advisement meeting.

I then attended the Women Only program. It was definitely exciting to see other girls on campus. A couple of the upper classmen spoke about their experiences at Embry-Riddle. Also some of the professors spoke about how they are willing to help us if we need anything.

I then attended the reception where I met my big sister, Danielle. She has been very helpful. She has introduced me to a lot of girls around campus. I am glad I have a big sister.

Later that evening, Cheese (my roommate) and I went to the LUAU. Vick, Luis, and Cheese all wanted to throw me in the water but good thing I had the phone on me. Cheese said he was going to throw me in and I said I’ll go in if he went in. As soon as I said it, I wanted to take it back, but it was too late. Cheese jumped into the pool and I went in with my clothes on. There was a belly flop contest. Most of them were fakes, but there were some painful ones. Just thinking about it makes me cringe. We (Luis, Cheese, Anita, and I) ended the night by going to Wendy’s and going to our place to eat it. We watched half a season of the Chapelle show.

Today I went back to school. My roommate, Cheese, took too long to get ready so we missed the box lunches. I went to the orientation group meeting. We got an overview of what school was going to be about. We had to watch a video and got a “tour.” Our leader took us to the flight line, talked about Propellers, and took us to the Student Center.

I also went to the College of Aviation where I met some of the professors. Actually one of the meteorology professors thought I was a parent. It was a definitely awkward way to start a conversation, but he was nice and so were the rest of the faculty. I did talk to two Safety Science professors. There were so many professors I lost track of which ones were in Safety Science. I am definitely excited to start taking Safety Science courses.

I also went back to campus and met up with Vick and his friends. There are too many to list. We went to see Better Grades in Less Time with Gary Tuerak. He was trying to teach us how to speed read. It was a lot longer than expected. We left in the middle of the presentation. We just hung out in the dorms and I went back home a little too late but it was worth it.