About Carly

Senior

Aerospace Engineering

Major: Aerospace Engineering
Hometown:Berea, Kentucky
Campus Involvement: Honors Program mentor, Women's Ambassador, Society of Women Engineers, Aerospace Engineering Student Advisory Board
Why I chose Embry-Riddle: I chose Embry-Riddle because I fell in love with the campus the moment I saw it through a plane window. The campus tour was amazing, and the campus seemed like a place I'd want to call home for the next few years.

Launch Week and Alligator Sighting

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Carly

I have determined that I never want to see an alligator ever again unless it’s in a zoo.

This past week had two launches! On Thursday, December 2, there was a Starlink launch at 6:12 PM, while there was a STP (Space Test Program) launch at 5:19 AM on Tuesday, December 7.

The Thursday launch was beautiful. It happened around sunset, so the reddish-orange tail of the exhaust plume had a dark blue/purple background. One of my friends was going down to Port Orange, so I hitched a ride with him after my physics class. We ended up finding a beach access spot about twenty minutes earlier than launch time:

The two of us ended up talking and hanging out until the actual launch happened. It was on a SpaceX Falcon 9, and it went off right at the scheduled launch time. I’d never watched a launch from anywhere that wasn’t close before, so it was definitely a new experience.

I couldn’t hear the noise over the sound of waves crashing on the beach, but it was still a pretty view. Even up close, the rocket isn’t huge, but from here it looked more like a timelapse of a sunrise. It’s definitely a good way to watch if you don’t want to drive all the way down to Titusville.

The Tuesday launch had several delays. It was scheduled for Sunday at 4:04 AM, then moved to Monday, and finally moved to Tuesday. On Tuesday, at T-4 (four minutes before it was scheduled to launch), it was delayed again to 5:03 AM and eventually launched at 5:19 AM. I’m just glad it wasn’t a total scrub- it’s about an hour’s drive to the launch site each way. Luckily, my earliest class was 3:45 in the afternoon, so I was fine to drive down.

Well, our group had arrived at around 3:45. One of my friends had brought his camera, which he set up, and the other two and I ended up looking over at the water. Someone spotted a gator under the dark water, which scared me a bit- I’m not from Florida and have no experience with wild alligators. It ended up making a splash, but then it became silent again.

Once the launch was delayed, all four of us ended up getting back in the car. We sat around and talked about our classes and experiences at Riddle. That’s one thing that I love about the people in this school- everyone has a shared interest in aviation, aerospace, or both. And everyone who goes to a rocket launch at crazy hours of the morning loves aerospace.

Fog had started to roll in around 5:19, but we were still able to get a good view:

The fog wasn’t too thick, so it didn’t really obstruct our view. This launch was pretty loud, and the alligators around us apparently did not appreciate the disturbance. So a few moments after the rumble had started, we heard a different sort of noise- an alligator growl.

What happened next was a blur. I was closest to the car, about ten feet away, and I jumped in it with everyone else following quickly behind. Unfortunately for us, the camera that we’d set up was still outside, so we ended up backing the car to the camera and pulling it in through the back window. We all watched the rocket curve across the sky from the car, and once it disappeared, we left before running into any more agitated alligators.

Overall, it’s been a pretty good week in terms of launches. There’s one scheduled for Thursday at 1 AM, but I’ll likely not be going since it’s the end of the semester and I need to study for finals. I actually only have three this year- physics, thermodynamics, and statics. It was nice to have a break in between this crazy pre-finals week and watch some launches, knowing that it’s what I’ll work on once I graduate. I’ll see you in the next post, and hopefully at Riddle!

Thanksgiving Break in Daytona Beach

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Carly

…We stay hungry, we devour our Thanksgiving dinner!

After my pre-Thanksgiving weekend and the two days of class, Thanksgiving break has finally arrived. Last year, due to COVID-19, finals were virtual and Thanksgiving and Christmas break were merged into one long two-month break. I went home then, so I’ve never experienced Embry-Riddle during break time.

I did miss my family. To me, Thanksgiving break was a little too short and a little too late for me to want to go home- I’d be seeing my family in two weeks, and I saw them when they came to see me at the SWE conference earlier this year. The only family members I hadn’t seen were my cats, but I got plenty of pictures of them over the break, including this one, where my cat is curled up in my windowsill.

It was also really quiet here, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I did a lot of homework on Wednesday and Thursday, and also made a trip to Walmart on Wednesday. It was, as I predicted, pretty packed. I ended up getting my groceries (hopefully through winter break?), including my favorite holiday treat: eggnog. I know that “Is Eggnog Good?” is a hefty debate topic, but I’m on the side of eggnog being good.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. One of my other friends had also stayed for the break, so we decided to go to dinner at IHOP. For those on campus without access to a car, the Boundless All-You-Can-Eat dining location also does a Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day, and from what I’ve heard, this year’s was really good. At IHOP, I ended up trying the new Winter Wonderland pancakes with blue marble-looking frosting, and they were delicious.

After IHOP, we checked FlightRadar24 and found out that a Delta flight was on final approach. So the two of us jumped in the car and tried to get to the airport’s cell phone lot to watch it come in, but we got held up by several red lights. We did end up seeing it come in as we were waiting, and it wasn’t the worst spot ever, but we couldn’t hear it well, unfortunately.

*Delta flight (last flight of the day) on Thanksgiving on final approach.*

Friday was pretty uneventful too. I ended up going to Steak n Shake for a very late 9 PM dinner with the same friend, getting a chocolate milkshake. We ended up driving around Daytona for a little bit, and then around campus. It was like a ghost town- everyone was gone, and even though it was 10 PM, there were NO cars in the student union parking lot. Usually, on a weeknight, people are still doing their late-night studying, so you’d see at least a few.

We parked facing the runway, and the most unusual thing about the break was the lack of flight training going on. We were there for a decent amount of time and barely saw anyone going in and out. The flight department was officially shut down on Thanksgiving, but flight training continued on Friday. It was unusual to see maybe one ERAU plane in the entire amount of time we were sitting there.

Saturday and Sunday were also quiet. On Saturday, people started coming back from break, but the bulk of people arrived on Sunday night. By then, the halls were lively again, and I’d see people as I passed by instead of standing in a seemingly-abandoned ERAU.

Did I miss my family? Yes. Was I glad that I stayed for break? Also yes. I got caught up on a lot of my homework, and I had plenty of time to do it so I wasn’t stressed about doing it all during one short time period. I had two thermodynamics homework assignments, an essay draft, physics, and math homework to do which I all successfully did over the break.

It was also very nice to sleep in until 11 or 12 each morning and not have to worry about attending or missing classes. The break was definitely needed before the push to final exams, which are in about two weeks. The last day of finals is December 15, and I, unfortunately, have one during the last time period of the day. It’s fine, though- I’ll be studying hard over the next few weeks.

I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle! (We’re having a preview day and family weekend in the spring semester, so I might see you there!)

I Got the COVID-19 Booster Shot

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Carly

Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine? Making blog posts!

So, I ended up getting the COVID-19 booster shot (aka the third dose) on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I’d been planning to stay in Daytona anyway and I didn’t really know how I’d react to the third dose of the COVID vaccine. The first dose gave me zero side effects and the second dose knocked me out for a few days.

Since boosters were available at ERAU’S Health Services, I decided to go over there before class started. They were also free like the original first and second dose I got at Walgreens last semester.

I had two classes after that, Calculus 3 and Physics 2. Since a lot of people were traveling, my Calc 3 professor decided to do the lecture on Zoom and post it to Canvas where we could refer to it at any time. That’s one thing that I really like about online lectures- they’re always there on the Canvas page so I can go back and watch the professor explain in case my notes aren’t sufficient.

We began Chapter 34 in physics, which was talking about energy and light. By that time, my arm had a slight bit of soreness, but nothing too major, noticeable, or bad. I ended up going to the student to get Chick-fil-A from a friend, and the student union was busy. Everyone who was leaving for Thanksgiving was cashing out their meal plans. When you have 14, 17, 19, or even 21 meal plans per week, and you’re only on campus to use them for 1-3 days, it’s hard to know what to do with them, so a few friends offered them to me since I was staying for the break.

*Post-booster Starbucks! It’s an iced caramel macchiato.*

On Wednesday, my arm was decently sore, but I could still raise it and move it around. Thursday was Thanksgiving, and my arm had stopped hurting, but my armpit was kind of sore. I ended up Googling it and that’s a normal side effect. On Friday, the effects weren’t noticeable anymore, and it was business as usual over the weekend.

So for anyone who’s eligible to get their booster and considering doing so during the school year: I think you’d be fine, but I’m not a doctor. I personally didn’t experience anything too bad, but taking a test with your arm hurting is not an ideal condition.

I’ve heard the news about new variants of concern, and I’m glad I got the booster when I did. I’ve personally been wearing my mask indoors (my own choice, not ERAU policy), and combined with the vaccine, I think that’s how I avoided getting a severe COVID case. I’ll see you in the next post and hopefully at Riddle!

Pre-Thanksgiving Weekend

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Carly

It’s that time of the year again… it’s about drive, it’s about power…

So, it’s that time of the year again, when it’s almost but not quite yet time for finals. It’s the time of the year where professors decide that they want you to have a nice Thanksgiving break so they schedule their major assignments to be due before the break. I’m glad for that since I won’t be doing much homework over break, but it’s a stressful time of the year.

That being said, it’s important to have a balance between your academic life and your social life/free time. If you never have any free time and are always doing academic activities, you’ll end up stressed, but if you never do any academic activities, you may not do as well in your classes as you’d like.

On Friday night, I went over to a friend’s dorm where we watched Black Panther. I also stayed the night with her, since she has extra space in her room. Sometimes when you’re supposed to have a roommate, you don’t get one, and that happened to her. You’re able to buy out the other half of the room at a reduced price, but if you don’t want to do that, it’s fine too. You just need to be prepared for the housing department to assign you a roommate.

I learned how to play a few chords on her spare ukelele, and I also got a sneak peek at the new dragons she’s making. She’s got a knack for clay crafts and started selling her dragon models online. You can find them online! I have one that she made, which is also one of the pictures on her website:

After that, I went back to my dorm and did most of my homework. I have a statics test on Monday the 22nd, so I studied for that and did my physics homework for the rest of the week. I’m in physics 2, which I’m really liking. We’re just starting the optics unit, which is the final unit before the class ends.

For dinner on Saturday, I ended up going to Steak n’ Shake and splitting half of a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup milkshake with one of my other friends. On Sunday, I ended up driving by the airport and spotting a C-17. They don’t come in and out of DAB often, but they’re not exactly rare either. There were also some F-18s flying around this morning- I watched them take off around 11 AM, and one of them did an aileron roll, which was fun to watch.

After that, I attended a review session that my statics professor held before going back to my dorm and studying for a bit. At 6 PM, I ended up meeting a few friends and doing a group study/hangout. We’re all different majors- I’m aerospace engineering, and my friends are aeronautical science, homeland security, and mechanical engineering, respectively. We started off doing homework but then ended up playing Kerbal Space Program and watching Interstellar in a study room.

In my opinion, that was a really nice end to a stressful weekend. I’m looking forward to the break, where I’ll be working ahead on my homework and catching up on sleep. I’m not going home this year, so I’ll see what campus events Embry-Riddle is hosting. Whatever they are, I’m sure they’ll be fun! I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle events!

Crew-3 and Study Weekend

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Carly

Am I obsessed with writing about rocket launches? Yes. Will I ever not be obsessed with rocket launches? No.

So, this past Wednesday (November 10) the Crew-3 mission began with the launch out of Cape Canaveral. Since Thursday was Veterans Day and was a day off, I decided to go down and watch. One of my friends has a Discord server put together for the space enthusiasts of Embry-Riddle so that we can coordinate carpooling and discuss space news, and it’s super helpful.

So on Wednesday night, a large group of us drove down to the viewing spot. It’s funny- a year ago, on November 15, Crew-1 launched and we were watching from the exact same spot. I even rode down then with some of the same people as I rode down with this time. It’s interesting how some people who you barely knew a year ago can become some of your best friends now, bonding over shared activities and love of launches.

The viewing spot that we use for crewed launches is called Haulover Canal Bridge, and it’s got a little manatee observation deck hidden off to the side. It’s perfect for watching the launch: the pad is right across from the observation deck, and you can watch the launch curve off to the left.

We all got there about half an hour early, but it’s always better to be early than late. In the meantime, we watched the live stream and hung out. A few of us ended up getting our feet into a circle, yielding this photo:

The launch went off right on time, and it was just as beautiful as ever, even through the clouds.

After the launch, since there was a large group of us, we decided to get dinner afterward. So we all drove back to Daytona Beach and 12 of us showed up to the iHOP, where we discussed the launch, previous launches, Embry-Riddle, what to order, and a bunch of other things.

That’s one thing that I love about Embry-Riddle. While most of us didn’t know each other before the launch, we ended up as friends in the end. When we finally got done at iHOP, it was nearly midnight, and some people decided that they wanted to watch Star Wars. I was a little too tired for that, so I ended up going back to my dorm and sleeping in, which felt nice after a long week.

The rest of the week and the weekend were pretty quiet. I did a lot of homework, studied, and made sure to hang out with some friends to have an appropriate school-life balance. As for the next launch with a launch time set, according to the Discord server, is STP-3, launching on Saturday, December 4th, at 4:04 a.m. EST. I plan on going to that one too- why not? I’ve attended a 5 AM launch, so what’s one hour earlier?

I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle! (And maybe even at a future launch!)

I Attended WE21 and It Was SWEet!

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Carly

SWE swag? SWE swag.

So, during fall break, I attended the Society of Women Engineers’ annual conference, aka WE21, in Indianapolis, Indiana. I’d already paid for everything in the summer, and all that was left was to actually attend the conference!

Everyone had booked their flights separately, and I ended up on a flight that left Daytona Beach at about 4 PM and arrived in Indianapolis at 12:30 AM the next day. It wasn’t an ideal time, but I was able to attend all of my classes and fly out of the nonchaotic Daytona airport. I’ve flown out of the Orlando airport once, and it’s much bigger than Daytona. It also requires a larger time commitment- since it’s bigger, lines are longer, and there’s more chaos in between.

The trip to Indianapolis wasn’t too bad. One of my friends graciously dropped me off (and picked me up!) so I wouldn’t have to pay for parking, and I didn’t experience any significant delays. On the flight to Indianapolis, however, Delta Airlines had overbooked by 5 seats, and they were seeking volunteers to take the next flight in the morning. Thankfully, I had a seat on that flight, and they did get 5 volunteers, who each got $500, a hotel, and meal vouchers.

I got a pretty early start the next day at WE21. I checked in and then watched the keynote speaker, Stephanie C. Hill, the Executive Vice President of Rotary and Mission Systems at Lockheed Martin. It was super cool to listen to her speak in person, only a few hundred feet away (since I was in the back of the room).

WE21 had a lot going on. There were various other speakers, workshops, and social opportunities all included with the conference registration fee. I attended the resume review, where a lady from Honeywell reviewed my resume and gave me feedback. I ended up meeting a few other collegiate members from other schools, too! On the first day, we also took a group picture.

This year’s theme was Aspire to Inspire, and they had a wall to sign for members to leave their mark. Someone had already drawn Embry-Riddle’s logo on it (right above the “s” in aspire) so I ended up signing my name and drawing a little Cessna on it.

SWE had been giving out free luggage tags, and I had a QR code that went to my LinkedIn. They also had a free computer lab, so I printed out the QR code, cut it out, and laminated it on a luggage tag. It worked well for me- I printed and laminated it right before the career fair, and it was easy for recruiters to scan. I also had a copy on the top of my resume in case they wanted to connect with me later.

I had a lot of fun at the conference. I went to several of the talks and spent as much time as I could at the career fair and resume workshops. I met a lot of other engineers, both collegiate and professional, and it was amazing! I also attended some Affinity Group meetings, which are meetings for people of similar backgrounds to meet up and connect.

The conference was definitely worth leaving Indianapolis at 7 AM. We wanted to be there early so we didn’t miss our flight, and I only ended up getting three hours of sleep the night before. I slept on the first plane to Atlanta and then ended up doing some of the coursework I’d neglected to do over break.

The flight back to Daytona was pretty quick. It was on a Boeing 717, which is apparently pretty rare. According to my friends, not a lot of them were made, and not a lot of them are in circulation- plus it’s an older(ish) aircraft compared to the 737 and newer Boeing models. It was pretty cool to see- planes are beautiful pieces of engineering, and I love watching them come and go all day in Daytona. So I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully watching the planes at Riddle!

Pie a Theta Phi and the Lucy Launch

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Carly

Lucy in the sky with diamonds, Carly on the ground with homework.

So, the back half of last week was eventful for me! On Thursday, Theta Phi Alpha had a “Pie a Theta Phi” event. We had shaving cream pies, and people could donate money to pie sisters in the face. Participation to be pied was completely voluntary, and to be honest, I didn’t expect to do it. One of my friends ended up coming by and asking if I was one of the people who could be pied. Not thinking anything of it, I told him that if he doubled the donation, then he could pie me in the face.

So, he doubled his donation.

It was quite the experience. Thankfully, he was nice and it didn’t end up too messy. The friend then offered to let me pie him back for $10, which I immediately took the opportunity to. It just so happens that he’s a new member in ERAU’S FIJI chapter (FIJI is the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity). His fraternity brothers then decided to donate to pie him in the face, which was entertaining for all parties involved.

And for two people who didn’t expect to get pied in the face, I think I ended up having the least messy experience. Thankfully the sisters of Theta Phi had come prepared, and they had plenty of towels and water for us to clean off with.

Friday was pretty normal, except for the fact that I tried to go to bed super early. NASA was launching their Lucy mission and targeting a 5:34 AM launch. I’d already decided that I wanted to go see it, and thankfully, one of my other friends had a car with seats available. So, a few of us piled into his car around 4 AM and made the drive down to Titusville.

One of my favorite things about Embry-Riddle is the number of students that love watching rocket launches. For every rocket launch that I’ve wanted to go to, I’ve been able to find a ride. And even for launches that aren’t on the East Coast, I’ve been able to join a small group. (For example, the Firefly Alpha launch- mentioned in a previous post.)

The Lucy launch went off right at 5:34 AM. It was kind of chilly outside, so I was glad I was in pants and a hoodie. (There was also an abundance of mosquitoes at our watch site, and thankfully, I only got one mosquito bite.) We watched the launch curve slightly to the left and fade into the sky as we listened to the soft rocket rumble. And once it had disappeared, we packed back up and went back to Embry-Riddle.

We ended up getting back around 7 AM, and I was dropped off at my dorm. I ended up sleeping until 12 PM and got on with the weekend homework haul. It’s great living on the Space Coast, though. I’m studying aerospace engineering, and every rocket launch is a reminder of what I’ll be doing for a career one day. One day, I’ll be able to say that I helped put something in space.

So, with that, I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle! (And maybe in the industry?)

Homecoming 2021

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Carly

In which I looked like a Sims character when standing on the field.

*Me at Homecoming as part of the Court! Photo courtesy Christian Muller.*

In case you missed it, last week (October 4-10) was homecoming week! In the week preceding, homecoming court nominations opened, and to my surprise, I was nominated for homecoming court. I was shocked but honored to be nominated.

Homecoming week was super fun. On Thursday, the Student Engagement and Student Union (or SESU) department hosted the First Thursday festival, where candidates introduced themselves to the student body. Campaigning had been going on all week, and the voting ended on Friday at 5 PM. There was also a dance on Friday.

The Homecoming game was on Saturday. Because Embry-Riddle doesn’t have a football team, the Homecoming Royals are crowned at halftime of the soccer game. I arrived at the game early with a few friends and headed over to the student tailgate area. There were several student government officials and students, so my friends and I ended up hanging out over there with them.

A few minutes later, one of the Avion photographers showed up and took professional pictures of the Homecoming court. He took individual photos and group photos before finishing with several pictures of the court as a whole.

Anticipation for the crowning was high. The two royals were Jim Myers and Kyla O’Connor, both seniors in the College of Business. I was happy for both of them- even though I didn’t win, I was extremely thankful for the opportunity. I didn’t expect to win as a sophomore, it was great just to be nominated.

After the game, I changed and attended the Touch-N-Go Homecoming Concert. The headlining artist this year was Lauv with MAX as the special guest. I went with a few friends, but we ended up leaving a little early to go and find a good spot for the firework show, which was immediately after. The three of us ended up getting pretty close to the fireworks and then ended up parting ways for the night.

I really enjoyed Embry-Riddle’s 2021 Homecoming. The student union was beautifully decorated for the entire week and the events were super fun. I’d never been to a concert before the Touch-N-Go concert, and I thought it was a great experience. I will definitely be attending next year’s concert, whoever the artist may be. The best thing is that as a Riddle student, I get to help choose the artist- Touch-N-Go picks several artists and then surveys the students to select the winner.

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

*The 2021 Homecoming Court! Photo courtesy of Christian Muller.*

Midterm Exams and Carpool Karaoke, Riddle Style!

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Carly

In which the blog takes a musical turn, and we’re the main characters!

So, in the past two weeks, I’ve been studying a lot. I had a statics exam on Friday, October 1, an over-the-weekend calc 3 test from Friday to Sunday (October 1-3), an essay due on Monday, October 4, and a physics exam on Thursday, October 7.

I ended up doing really well on the statics and calc exams, and I’ll be getting the essay grade back soon. I spent a lot of time studying for both, but at the same time, you have to have a study-social balance in college or else you’ll get burnt out. So what did I do when I wasn’t studying?

Carpool karaoke!

Carpool karaoke started as a thing between me and one of my best friends last year. She and I would go drive around anywhere between 10 PM and 2 AM on days that we had only afternoon classes and had made sure that all of our work was done. On weekends, sometimes we’d even be out until 3. Carpool karaoke was also accompanied by a run to the nearest gas station for slushies:

Carpool karaoke eventually ended up adapting to be a group activity after gradual introductions of various people. It really depends on who’s free at what times, and we only go if a decent amount of us are available.

The group has adapted a lot. We’ve ventured out from straight musical songs (with World Burn from Mean Girls being a favorite) to pop and everything in between. It also fluctuates with whoever comes along- we might play more pop music as opposed to musicals if certain people are there, and vice versa.

Depending on who’s driving, we’ll also go to different places. Some people drive north and we hang out on the beach for a bit, other people will drive to DeLand and back, and some will just drive in circles around Daytona. And sometimes we’ll do multiple routes, depending on how long we stay out.

Our group’s been kind of slow with the whole karaoke thing since it’s midterm exam season. However, we got the opportunity to go on Tuesday night! I ended up in the back middle seat while one of my other friends took a turn driving.

Instead of going to the beach, we quickly stopped to get gas at Buc-ee’s. After walking around Buc-ees and getting a few things there, we deicded to go over to Steak ‘n Shake. It was kind of busy, but we didn’t mind waiting for a bit. And of course, we ended up taking a group picture.

*Steak n’ Shake! Featuring the O-Team baseball tee.*

After that, we ended up going over to DeLand and back while hanging out and talking. We ended up staying out from 9 to 11ish, so we could all be responsible and get sleep before classes tomorrow. I know that a few of us have also had (or have!) tests this week, so it was a good mid-week activity to do.

I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully (doing your own version of carpool karaoke?) at Riddle!

Inspiration 4 and Star Trek Trivia!

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Carly

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:

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:

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:

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)!

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Author Archives: Carly