Hello!

We are in the final stretch of the Spring 2017 semester! All of my classes are done for the semester, and only four tests remain. Plus, I am off to Tampa to present with one of my co-workers on how student assistants and ambassadors spread the word of Career Services.

The last two weeks of every semester are extremely busy, and the lines at Starbucks seem to get longer and longer. Time management is key this time of year! So, I have been constantly juggling a variety of last minute assignments/projects for my classes, and work has been very busy with a lot of people coming into the office to register their internship for credit.

I have had six different presentations over the last nine days, and all of them went very well thankfully. Even though its now final time, all of my tests are just regular third tests as in they are not cumulative.

Now, off to study!

Jack

Hi All!

There are just two weeks of classes left!

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to work at Preview Day and talk about Career Services to future students and parents. It was really fun to meet many of the students who will be starting this Fall, and it brought back many memories of when I attended three years ago. If you will be attending ERAU in the future and have the opportunity to attend an open house or Preview Day, I highly recommend it as it helps you get acquainted to campus before you move in!

I have three presentations next week and one other project due. So much to do and so little time it feels like. While it may seem like a lot compared to high school, strong time management skills can help make juggling everything pretty easy while also getting some down time.

Next week, I am presenting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) on San Francisco International Airport in my Airport Management Class; I am also presenting about a lawsuit about airline frequent-flyer programs in my Business Law Class; lastly, I am presenting about the cargo company Atlas Air in my Principles of Transportation Class. Plus, we are starting our sales call project for my Professional Selling Class.

While it is a lot to juggle, all of the presentations are group work which makes it a lot easier when you have a group. Plus, I have a lot of things coming up to look forward to which also helps getting through the crunch time at the end of the semester!

Eight months to graduation…less than a month until I go back to Delta for the summer…and just two weeks of classes left. Boy, time does fly!

Until next time,

Jack

Just two weeks ago, my Spring Break started, and it could not have arrived any sooner. It was very nice to just take the week for some R&R with some of my friends that came to Daytona Beach for the break.

Campus during Spring Break is very quiet, and a lot of the places to eat on campus are closed or have very odd hours. However, Daytona Beach is not a bad place to spend Spring Break, especially if one is just looking to lay out on the beach for a few hours every day.

This year, Daytona was quite busy during our break; there were thousands of college kids in town for their break as well as thousands of bikers in town since it was Bike Week. It was definitely busy on the beach side to say the least. 

I escaped Daytona for a few days with one of the program managers in the Career Services Office to make a few site visits in Atlanta with Delta Air Lines and Expressjet. It was really neat traveling with the program manager and participating in the meetings with the different people discussing a wide variety of topics from education to recruiting. Plus, It was very nice to be back at the Delta headquarters and spend some time with the folks I worked with over the summer. I am so excited to return to Network Planning in just over a month for the summer!

My friends and I also spent some time at Epcot over the break; one benefit of being a student at ERAU is that we can buy discounted park tickets to the different Disney parks from our athletics department, and it can save a lot of money! There are some blackout dates, but it is a perk that is totally worth taking advantage of while at ERAU.

Well, time to get back to work…just five weeks of the semester left!

Jack

“When am I ever going to use this?” This is a common question that I have asked from time to time, especially in high school. Thankfully, I have begun to ask this questions less and less as I have worked my way through the business classes.

Many of the professors explain from the get-go how we will use what we learn through real-world application and talking about their experiences. However, my Airport Management Professors has taken it to a whole new level.

My Airport Management class is a three hour evening class that is once a week; it is taught by an adjunct professor who is an alum and currently works full-time for an airport planning firm. It might sound like a bore, especially at that time, but he keeps it very entertaining which means that class passes very quickly.

The first several lectures we learned the basics such as the process of the airport master plan, how airport projects are financed, the FAA, and what goes into the design of an airport. Just last week, we spent the whole class talking about one of the projects he is working on, and it connected all of the dots. We watched a recording of him presenting to the public during a city meeting, and after all of the previous classes, it was easy to understand the presentation and what was going on. He also brought in real drawings and plans to show us what the Airport Master Plan (a book with all of the current stats of the airport and plans for the future) as well as the actual drawings for a new airport terminal.

We also begin each class by discussing current events; it is a great way to start off the class because we are talking about relevant topics that are going on the in the aviation industry. Unfortunately, this is something that a lot of professors do not really pick up or do in class.

It is professors like him that remind me that I made a very good decision to attend Embry-Riddle.

A few months ago, I completed an interview with Smithsonian’s Air and Space magazine about a little project I did back in high school and how I became interested in aviation. After seeing the article in print two weeks ago, it has caused me to do a little reflecting, especially since I am set to begin the next chapter of my life at the end of 2017.

My earliest memory goes back to being four or five years old on a plane going somewhere and coming to the realization how much I enjoyed flying and airplanes. As I grew up, I began to learn as much as I could about aviation through books, aviation websites, and talking to airline employees. Yes, I was even the kid who made up his own flight schedules.

Five years ago, I was a sophomore in high school, I wanted to take my interest in airlines to the next level. However, I quickly learned that airlines like to hire people with college degrees or some college experience. So, I decided to find something I could do myself to expand my knowledge and become a little less bored.

At the time, United and Continental were merging, and I noticed that many fliers had questions about the combined fleet, but there was not one central place to get information. So, I created a website that tracked a lot of information about the fleet one plane at a time. For example, I had links to seat maps and a lot of information on configurations, in-flight entertainment, power outlets, ETOPS/Over water certification, which planes were in modifications, what type of seats aircraft had, and much more. Yes, I recognize that I was a big AvGeek but still am very much so to this day.

It was pretty fun meeting United fliers and hearing how helpful the site was, but eventually, I got bored and wanted to diversify. So, I began working with Airways magazine as their Social Media Director and eventually began writing for them. This allowed me to expand my horizons and learn a lot more about different airlines all over the world.

In the Fall of 2014, I had the amazing opportunity to begin the next chapter of my journey as a student at Embry-Riddle which has allowed me to expand my knowledge about aviation and business a lot more. My favorite class this semester is Airport Management; it is taught by a ERAU alum who also owns his own airport consulting firm. The class is once a week and is about three hours long, but those three hours fly by (pun intended). He has so many stories and makes learning fun, and he has a lot of advice to offer.

It has truly been a great and unique experience, and especially if you are looking to go into the aviation field, you are in good company. If you don’t believe me, come visit campus, and time it to when one of Delta’s MD-88s roar down the runway and take off as you’ll see most people stop and watch the aluminum bird take to the skies. Even after college, ERAU seems to have a very strong Alumni network, and after meeting dozens, all have been very helpful and interested in working with students.

In about 10 months, I am very much looking forward to be joining the Alumni network, and in less than a year, I am very excited to achieve my dream of becoming a full-time employee at a major airline. It’s crazy how time flies by.

Hello There!

The Spring 2017 semester has officially taken off, and it is shaping up to be a fun one.

This semester, I am taking six classes which are all business classes. It seems safe to say that the further you get into college, the more interesting the classes become as they begin to heavily relate to your major. For example, I am taking Business Law, Airport Management, and Professional selling, just to name a few. It is really neat to be able to see how I will eventually use what I learn once I start in the “real world” next January.

11 months from today I will be graduating, and I cannot wait. However, I am very much looking forward to enjoying one more year in Florida.

Until next time,

Jack

Hello All!

I am quite happy that the Fall 2016 semester is officially over; only two more semesters are left for me at ERAU!

Shockingly, all of my final exams/tests were extremely easy, but studying a lot for them definitely helped. In one of my classes, I just had to get a 1% on one of them to get an A in the class which made it pretty stress-free.

To celebrate finishing finals, I headed to the beach one more time. One of the nice things about Florida is that sometimes even mid-December that it can be beach weather! Although, I feel bad for some of my classmates who will be trading in their flipflops for boots and gloves as temperatures up north will be below freezing up north.

I took a little trip up A1A, which runs along the coast, to Flagler Beach for a quick visit; there is still some remnants of damage from Hurricane Matthew that visited the Florida coast. Hopefully, everything will turn back to normal soon!

I am glad that it is officially Winter Break, and it could not have come at a better time. Well, time to head to the airport to catch a flight to start my break!

Happy Holidays,

Jack

Hello there!

Friday, December 9 is the last official day of classes, and there are four days of finals starting on Saturday; typically, there are no classes as it is a study day, but it is being used as a make-up day since we missed three days of classes due to Hurricane Matthew back in October.

As of now, there is just one final that stands between me and one month of vacation. I am very much looking to having some time off to relax, hang out with friends, and travel.

The end of this semester has been fairly easy; I just had two regular tests this past Thursday and only one final exam. Plus, I had a paper due for my final grade earlier in the week. So overall, it is a pretty low key end of the semester.

It is interesting how the end of the semester can vary a lot from semester to semester and vary a lot for every person, but thankfully, things are winding down and the end is near.

More soon!

Jack