Author Archives: Emmy

About Emmy

Senior

Human Factors Psychology with Flight minor

Traveling Interviews

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Hello again!!

I have had a whirlwind 36 hours. Yesterday I spent the day traveling to and from an interview with Southwest in Dallas, Texas. I’ve flown all over Texas, but I’ve never actually been to Dallas; I was really excited! It turned out to be great fun!

I got up bright and early and drove out to Orlando for my first flight on Southwest and on a 737. It was instantly impressed with the level of professionalism and the ease of the boarding processes. We had hysterical flight attendants and a great flight crew. They asked me if I was a pilot and we struck up a great conversation.

The airport was beautiful; nothing like Atlanta or Chicago (which is a good thing). Very simple decorations and lots and lots of Boeing 737s. Even BBJs (Boeing Business Jets – it’s a private Boeing jet). The drive from the airport to Southwest headquarters was quick and easy, with once again lovely staff members.

I arrived about 3 hours early, which I know sounds awful, but I tried to look on the bright side. I filled out all of the paperwork and was fingerprinted very quickly. There were a few people in the waiting room with me, but I managed to find a great spot and started to work on my homework and classwork (that I missed because I was at this interview). So I worked and worked until my interview came. I was running questions through my head and practicing answers and thinking of worst case scenarios.

The interviewer took me back right when the interview was about to start. He gave me fair warning that there were about 7 people in the room and to prepare myself. My heart started pounding, but then, once I sat down and started answering questions, the interview zoomed by. I couldn’t believe that my 30 minutes was up so quickly. It was actually closer to 45, but it still zoomed by.

The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor of the gate, studying for my exams, getting ready for school the next day. Then I hopped on a plane and made it home, very very late, but I made it home.

The next morning I drove my boyfriend back to the same airport I arrived at 4 hours prior for his first trip as a First Officer for a Regional airline.

Needless to say, it’s been an absolutely chaotic 36 hours, but I still have the rest of the week to handle and another in-person interview in Missouri!

Here’s to the next 12 days.

Until next time – blue skies!

~ Emmy

Interviews Galore

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Hello again, readers!

SO a LOT has happened recently; the hurricane, canceling the career expo, lots of academic calendar changes, etc.

But for me, it’s about career updates. Within the next 2 weeks, I’m flying out to two different states for 2 different companies in the aviation industry. The first one is with Southwest Airlines for a spring internship. This one is particularly exciting for me, because I’ve never been formally introduced to the airline industry and how human factors fits into Part 121 flight operations. Plus the flight benefits wouldn’t be so bad either.

The second interview is with Garmin in a combined aviation systems, human factors, and pilot internship. My interview is incredibly extensive, about 6 hours or so, because of how involved it is within the companies. Lots of different departments to speak with and sights to see. I think a sim may even be on the interview! This is REALLY exciting because it combines absolutely everything I love about what I do, fly and human factors work. This is also great because Garmin is so specific in aviation, dealing with avionics systems, but also other groups. I think it even has a Golfing section! It’ll be interesting to see what Missouri is like on the ground; I’ve only ever flown through it!

Both companies have such fantastic cultures that are so open towards furthering your education within your specialty and being exposed to others. They have been very receptive to my limited expertise and encouraged me to continue with my education and pursue whatever I love most, regardless of which company it may be with.

I’m very excited but a little nervous about these interviews. I’ve never done a formal job/internship position interview in person before, only on the phone. I am looking forward to it though; it’s especially such an honor to be FLOWN out to these companies. They must think very highly of me! I’ve got a lot of interview practice to do…..

Of course, I’ll post more as we go along, but I wanted to update everyone on these exciting events!

Until next time, blue skies!

~ Emmy

Hurricane Matthew

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Hello all!

Long time no speak, but for different reasons. Those of us in Daytona have had a crazy past week, dealing with the preparations for Hurricane Matthew.

My week started off great, preparing for the career fair. I had all of my documents ready and printed, all of the companies I wanted to visit, I had my introductory speech, etc. I was ready, probably over prepared for this career fair. I was SO excited. I had several events with Gulfstream throughout the week and I couldn’t wait to be able to help such a fantastic company pick new full-time and intern employees. It’s the least I could do for what the company has already done for me.

We all knew that there was talk of a hurricane over the weekend, but we never really looked into it. It was more like a figment of my imagination rather than a full monster-sized storm. I pushed it out of my head and just hoped for the best. But with just my luck, that hurricane would turn to ruin my career fair and call for an exciting week and weekend.

Wednesday came around, my plan was to just stay in Daytona, no harm, no foul. I had several people telling me several different opinions of my staying in Daytona. Some were begging me to stay, some were begging me to go out of state, and others just wanted me to go west. I was so torn and I ended up just deciding to stay – alleviate some of the pressure of moving so much stuff. I wanted to stay with my friends and at first that was my biggest priority. Then the storm came.

Come Thursday morning, classes were already canceled for the rest of the week and I was pretty content on just hunkering down and handling it all myself, like an adult. I slept in, made breakfast, was watching the news, when all of the sudden the campus was evacuated. I had promised myself that if campus was evacuated, I evacuated. I started to panic, starting looking up local shelters, calling friends and family, asking for ideas. I was a disaster at first. I couldn’t think because all of a sudden, this so-called storm became a total nightmare. I had to pack up my car, grab food, water, and any other necessities. But where was I to go? Do I shelter in Daytona, go to a family friend’s house? I just sat for a few minutes and thought “what in the world do I do?” Luckily my boyfriends family came to the rescue and I swiftly packed up my car and sped off to Tampa (going against several people’s opinions). But in a crisis like I thought I was facing, I had to do what was best for me and take advantage of a thankful opportunity.

The weekend in Tampa was bliss compared to the alternatives. I had homecooked food, a comfy bed, great company, and relaxation. I honestly couldn’t have picked a better option for myself (I just wish I had head out there sooner!).

Now that I’m back in Daytona, it’s heartbreaking to see the damage that our city and county has endured. It’s hard to believe how much damage was created and how much rebuilding is left to do. It’ll surely be a long time before Daytona gets back to its usual self, but I have to get to my usual self by Tuesday, when classes start again.

Power and water is on and I’m doing laundry and homework, pretending that everything is just about normal. I’m anxious to hear about my exams and homework that I was preparing for and what will happen to all of these due dates. I can’t wait for everything to be back to normal! Is it sad that I’ve actually missed school?

Anyway, there’s my week and weekend story. Let’s see what this next week has in store for us!

Pray for those affected by Hurricane Matthew in Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, and the US. Pray for their families that everyone may find peace and restore back to normal quickly!

Until next time, blue skies!

~ Emmy

Career Expo Update!

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Hello again readers!

It’s been a busy few weeks preparing for the career expo and continuing with my school work and preparations for competition!

I just have a few reminders for those of you who are interested in getting a heads up for the career expo:

– Make sure you know who you want to speak with! There’s nothing more embarrassing than wandering around like a lost soul through the chaos of looking for a job at the event.

– Make sure your resume and cover letter are on resume paper! A lot of companies actually pay attention to the little details, like that, and that can put you above other people

– Dress up – even if you feel weird. Look professional and prepared.

– Know your elevator speech. Have a brief speech (30 seconds) that explain who you are and what you do and what your plans are

– Don’t be shy – if you are, just push outside of your comfort zone. Approach people and be excited about the company. Be open to others and ask questions. All of the people you speak with with a company have all been in your shoes before. They understand how stressful it is! Just relax and be yourself.

– Be excited! Get excited about each of the companies you speak with. Even those you don’t plan on speaking with! You want to be excited about what you do and completing your goals. Show off who you are and the companies will love that. Be different and unique.

– Don’t be afraid to go see other companies and ask if they might have a job position in your field. You never know which companies may surprise you!

 

That’s it for now! Until next time and best of luck!

Blue skies,

~ Emmy

Job Hunting 101

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Hello, readers!

You’ve heard so much about my college career adventures that I figured a little intro into finding a job in the real world might be helpful!

Since the beginning of July, I’ve been applying for jobs non-stop. Some directly related to human factors and aviation and others not even close (they just sounded cool). It’s really important to have an idea of what you want to go into, because starting off with the wrong job can set you off into a field that you don’t even want to be a part of. That’s why I HIGHLY suggest completing a internship at least once during your time as an undergrad.

The process is painfully slow. You take all of this time stressing about what to put on your resume, how to phrase each little section, making sure the formatting is perfect, making sure all of your accomplishments are on there and you hide your grade issues and such, only to submit it online with one simple click. One of the smallest and most insignificant bodily gestures turns out to be one of the most important in your entire life up to that point.

Here’s some quick tips and advice:

  1. Have a short list of wants and unwanted
  2. Make sure you’re only applying for the jobs you actually want and want to interview for
  3. It’s completely fine to apply for jobs that you are technically unqualified for, whether by class requirements or experience – you never know what might happen (I’ve interviewed for jobs that I wasn’t technically qualified for in all aspects…)
  4. Always be prepared for random calls from employers; they may call you independently in order to schedule an interview or inquire on your interest
  5. LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster.com are great websites – LinkedIn is great for meeting employees and gauging their satisfactory of their job
  6. You’ll have to decide what is more important, the job or the location. You might not be able to have both.
  7. Always have a backup plan – plan A through plan M usually don’t work out – be happy with all of your backup plans!
  8. Make sure your wants and needs come before others – you are the one applying (and accepting!) the job

I’ve interviewed with several companies so far (Garmin, Lockheed Martin, Gulfstream…) and have moved on to the second round of interviews in a few. Hopefully some good news is to come!

I hope this helps with your job/internship hunting. Don’t forget that the Career Fair is coming up next month! What a perfect time to start looking!

Until next time…….

Blue Skies,

Emmy

Want to be a part of the Eagles Flight Team?

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Hello again, readers!

This one is going to be brief and a PSA for the Eagles Flight Team!

Everyone close to me knows that I am a huge fan and dedicated member of the Eagles Flight Team. I have been living and breathing Flight Team since my first day here at ERAU. Now granted, you don’t have to be as absorbed into the team as I am, but I have so much to tell you about it.

I’ve mentioned before what the different events are in a previous post. So this post is dedicated to pictures and teaching you about the benefits of being on the team!

The people you meet on the team become your family. You travel around the country together, you encourage each other on flights, you compete with and against each other. You get to represent ERAU on a Regional and National level (polo shirts and awesome jackets included!). I have friends all over the country from countless schools with so many experiences.

On the team, after your first semester, based upon your ground event performance, you can gain flight privileges. Flying for the team is free, but you have to be sure to show dedication to the team and meet a certain level of standards in your ground events. We don’t do flight training on the team (you’ll have to do your flight training at ERAU or another flight school). In order to fly, you’d also need at least a private pilot certificate. We fly Cessna 150s for precision landings and Cessna 172s for navigation.

Our Saturday practice is from 0700 to about 1400 (I know, 0700 is tough for college students), but it’s truly my favorite part of the week! It’s our landings practice and we get to sit right by the runway and watch planes land all day. I absolutely love it!

If you’re interested in joining the flight team or would like more information, come out to the IC Auditorium on September 7 and September 8 at 7pm for our Mass Briefings! There’s lots more to learn and awesome videos to see!

Check us out on Facebook at Eagles Flight Team or on our website at eaglesflightteam.com

Below are some pictures of the planes and our team!

Until next time, blue skies!

Emmy

Lots of Packing and and Unpacking

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Hello readers!

I do apologize for not writing sooner – it’s been a crazy few weeks. I completed my internship with Gulfstream about a week ago and today is the first day of classes back at ERAU!

I’m just so thrilled to have had such an amazing time at Gulfstream this summer. Now that my internship has come to a close, I don’t have very busy days; I’m simply finishing reports and data collection, which is a little different from my earlier task load. I’m used to having lots and lots to do and due dates to keep track of. But now it’s very calm and simple, which I can’t complain about, really. But that still doesn’t mean I’m not busy. I’m incredibly busy when I get home. If you haven’t moved before or moved by yourself at all, you’re in for a real treat. Packing up and unpacking all of your belongings is quite a feat.

I’m sitting in my apartment now, just looking around at all of my stuff. I don’t think you ever realize how much stuff you actually have until you have to pack it all up and move. I’m currently in the state where I don’t even have boxes taped together and am just sitting, anxiously hoping that somehow all of my stuff will magically pack itself, like a spell from Harry Potter. We’re not so lucky in our muggle world.

I know that moving to a new place, especially a school where you probably don’t know anyone (just like me my freshman year), trust me when I say that it’ll turn out better than you plan. Your room will be planned out just like you wanted it to be (or even better!), your RA will be awesome, and you’ll make friends that you’ll have for the rest of your life. My best friends are people I lived with in the dorms my freshman year. They were and still are my lifeline.

I’ll keep this one brief and keep you posted with the final ending to my time at Gulfstream (for now!).

Stay tuned for another update on the first few days of classes for my last semester as an undergrad!

Blue skies,

Emmy

Coming to a close

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Hello again readers! Another busy weekend kept me from my computer, so I’ll have a few more updates this week.

I think everyone can agree with me that this summer has flown by (both figuratively and literally). It feels like yesterday I was up in Ohio competing at NIFA SAFECON and here I am now packing up my apartment to head back to the good old DAB. So this means that people are starting to leave and the internship program is coming to a close.

To celebrate all 190 intern and co-ops’ success this summer, Gulfstream’s Collegiate Programs put together an amazing evening of networking and celebration with many directors and Vice Presidents of the company. It was an evening of remembering where we were 4 months ago sitting in our first introductory training course to where we are now, pursuing our own projects and publishing formal documents and conducting real-life tests and evaluations to further product development. They had a slideshow of pictures that all of the interns submitted from their summer adventures at Gulfstream and in the Savannah area, so it was really interesting to see what else the interns did this summer. I wasn’t the only one to visit the Grand Canyon either which was awesome to see!!

But it’s amazing to compare your experiences with others. There were over 190 different Gulfstream summers experienced and we were all in the same room to share our stories and celebrate our accomplishments. I heard about intern positions that I didn’t even know about (did you know there was a Flight Ops internship?? I didn’t!! How exciting!) and different labs and office environments and schedules. It’s pretty amazing to hear about all of the diversity throughout the Collegiate Program and the company.

There was delicious food and good music and lots of people. It was very interesting to see all of the departments represented that evening. Departments I had never heard of and groups I couldn’t wait to learn more about. I spoke with Chief Pilots, Engineering Managers and Directors, and Company Vice Presidents. It was truly an honor to be able to represent our great university within such a prestigious group.

My favorite part of the evening was the promotional video that some students put together, about their time as an intern or co-op. I love seeing how different we all are, in our majors, schools, departments, and interests. However, the one thing we all have in common is a love for aviation and a love for Gulfstream. You can’t work for a company as dedicated to aviation without loving it first. If you don’t love what your doing and what you’re a part o, then how are you supposed to perform at your optimum level? It gives you goosebumps when you realize what you’ve been a part of, even as small as an intern. I know that my projects have helped further product development in one way or another.

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Back to work for me (only 10 days left!) – until next time.

Blue skies,

Emmy

Welcome to the Club(s)

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Hello, readers!

I know that when you’re looking at colleges, you’re not just looking at your degree program, you’re also looking at the things you can do there. Some people even pick their school based upon what they can do, not necessarily what they’ll study. Hopefully you’re looking at Riddle because you’re excited to study one of our degree programs offered in Daytona, but also because of the endless opportunities the university has to participate in something bigger than yourself.

Of course, we have a great athletic department, which is greatly increasing in size as we transition to NCAA. We have fantastic teams that compete very well! I have many friends on Track and Field, Tennis, Volleyball, and Basketball. It’s a great place to embrace your sport either from high school or from just pure interest, and be able to explore the collegiate opportunities there.

We have a few sororities and fraternities on campus as well; I’m not as familiar with Greek life, but I know plenty of people who are involved and absolutely love their Greek family that they’re a part of!

In terms of the clubs we have at Riddle, if you can think of an idea for a club, we probably have it. SCUBA diving, skydiving, sport aviation, rowing, motorcycle enthusiasts, archery, gaming – whatever it is that you enjoy, we probably have it. And if we don’t, its SO easy to create your own club. If you and a few friends want to have a movie critique club and can find a faculty member to sponsor it – go for it. (We might even have a club that does that, but I’m not sure – don’t quote me on that!). Flight Team, for example, is a club that isn’t designated as an AS (Aeronautical Science) only team/club. We have HF (me!), engineers, and mechanics alike. Go out there and see what’s there and have fun. The most important thing is to find something that you love and have some fun!!

As I’ve said in a previous post, I think it’s so important to be involved in some club or team that isn’t associated directly with your degree program. You get to meet people from other degrees and other countries and nationalities that you might have had the opportunity to otherwise. You might meet the people that’ll be your friends for life. It’s also a great place to network – meeting professors and other faculty members may become your mentors, your go-to people with personal and professional aspirations. They might also give you opportunities that you wouldn’t normally have – for example, I am serving as the Region IX SAFECON President for our Regional competition this fall for Flight Team. I wouldn’t have had such the honor if I hadn’t stuck my neck out and joined the team.

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Above is an image of me flying N53ER, the Flight Team’s old precision landings aircraft, the Maule MXT-7-180 Comet. Photo taken by Zack Wilkinson, Summer 2014. Another advantage of doing something outside of your major might include flying airplanes you wouldn’t normally fly!

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Above is an image of Ernie flying with me up to Virginia for the 2015 Women’s Air Race Classic. You never know where your team might take you! Mine teams have taken me across the country and back, literally.

There’s a lot to be said for research though – make sure you’re participating in at least one research project while you’re in school. It definitely doesn’t have to be for all 4 years, it can be for a semester or even a summer. The knowledge you can gain simply by participating or assisting in research can have end results that you might not even a imagine (a job offer maybe?!).

It’s intimidating trying to fit into a club or group with people you don’t know – I completely understand. But my best advice is to do something out of your comfort zone and have fun! Meet new people, do things you wouldn’t normally do (like skydiving!), and enjoy your time outside of class and study time. That’s what college is all about!

Every semester, the school hosts an Activities Fair, which is an opportunity for students to see all of the clubs and teams and Greek life you can be a part of! It’s a lot of fun (you never know what cool free stuff you can find….) so I encourage all of you to check it out if you’re on campus!

Enjoy the rest of your week – back to work for me!

Blue skies,

Emmy

Flight Team!

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Hello, readers!

I’ve probably bored you with my endless talk about Gulfstream and Human Factors and living the life of an intern, so what about something else from Riddle?

Besides studying Human Factors at ERAU, I’m also a member of the Eagles Flight Team. The Eagles Flight Team is a part of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA). We compete at a Regional and National level against some of the best flight teams in the Nation.

It’s very important that as a student at ERAU, that you find something to be a part of that is outside of your degree program. It gives you a more well-rounded college experience. You meet people from different degrees that you wouldn’t normally meet and it gives you something else to do other than homework. You feel like you can be a part of something bigger than yourself. Plus you never know when you might be able to represent your university on a regional or National level!

On the Flight Team, we compete in both ground and flight events. For our ground events, we have what we call the Big Three. They’re named this because we can send 5 competitors for these eventsi n competition – no other ground events can have 5 people compete! They are Aircraft Recognition (Rec), Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation (SCAN), and Computer Accuracy (COMPACC). Rec is just as it sounds; we identify aircraft by manufacturer, number, and model name (e.g. Cessna 172 Skyhawk, Douglas DC-3 None, Grumman F-14 Tomcat). We’ve won First Place at Nationals for the past 7 years, so you can say that we’re pretty good at what we do. SCAN is basically like mock-cross country flight planning. You must answer 40 questions regarding a flight plan within 60 minutes. The test includes, performance, weight and balance calculations, weather knowledge, FAR/AIM knowledge, and much more. COMPACC is a math-based event, focusing on answering performance questions by using a CR-3, a flight computer. I myself am a Reccer (as we call ourselves) and a SCANimal. I absolutely love these events; what I learn from flight team in these events has truly helped my overall abilities as a pilot.

We have several other ground events that you can participate after one semester on the team. We have preflight, ground trainer, IFR sim, and CRM/LOFT that you may participate in.

Besides ground events, we also have our flight events! These include Power-On and Power-Off Landings, Navigation, and Message Drop. The goal of Power-On and Power-Off landings is to land as close to the Zero Line as possible. The lower the points, the higher you place. Navigation is about flying the perfect cross-country based upon the flight plan you plan. Message Drop is a really fun event: you drop “message bombs” (they’re just Styrofoam pieces) out of the airplane and try to get them to land on a target. It’s a lot like flour bombing, like pilots used to do back in the old days.

In my three years at Riddle, I’ve served as the Public Relations Officer and the Captain of the team. I absolutely love being with this team, practicing and competing.

I’ll post more about how you get on the team and what that entails in a later post! Just wanted to spark your interest of the amazing things you can do as an ERAU student.

Until next time….. Blue Skies!

Emmy