About Billy

Junior

Aerospace Engineering

**Campus Involvement:** Staff member and photographer, Avion Newspaper, Student Technician for Information Technology Department, Digital Design Studio Tutor

**Hobbies:**Graphic Design, Photography, Video Production, Playing the Piano

Spring Break Round 2

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Billy

Hello, hello! After a nice two week hiatus, we’re back with our regularly scheduled broadcast. Spring Break was not too, too bad, which is nice.

The conference was held at the Sheraton Hotel. Unfortunately, the WiFi was not free so I didn’t get to work as productively as I would’ve liked.

The weather was also really wet and cold for some reason.

The first half of my break consisted of me representing The Avion Newspaper at this years College Media Association (CMA) conference in New York City. Considering that this was my first conference for anything, I think it went pretty well. The weather was a bit chilly so I never got to do any of the cool photo stuff I was planning to do, which was a bummer. While at the conference, I got to meet some really interesting people, I learned how other colleges, across the United States, layout their newspapers, and I have some valuable information to bring back to use for our newspaper.

I kept getting the right answers during Photography Jeopardy though.

I miss doing theater.

Once the conference was over, I luckily had the option of going straight to my house in New Jersey where I spent the remainder of my break. It was nice being home even though it was only for about four days. I got to see my high school’s production of Footloose which was amazing, and I had lunch with a friend: Pretty much average Spring Break. Maybe next year I’ll do something more awesome, but only time will tell.

Lugging my luggage from NJ to John F. Kennedy International Airport was fun considering it was a 3 hour journey.

With only just 6 more weeks left of Spring 2016, I’m really nervous about what’s next. Maybe I just need to take a leap of faith and go with the flow. I’ll let you know how that goes in two weeks.

What are the “Hippity Haps” for this week?

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Billy

Hello, hello! Back at it again with the biweekly updates. With another two weeks under my belt, I cut right to the chase.

You can catch me on the air with my good friends Lonnie and Ella Wednesday mornings on WIKD!

As usual, classes are starting to get more and more challenging as the semester progresses. And with my time management getting slightly better, I am definitely looking forward to using Spring Break as a period of time to catch up.

Yeah so you can actually see a rocket launch from campus which is legit.

Speaking of Spring Break, I was selected to represent The Avion Newspaper at this years CMA conference in New York City. The College Media Association (CMA) is an organization that offers resources for news organizations on college campus nationally, and every year, they host a media conference where students from different colleges can meet and get feedback on their material.

Even though I’ve been to New York City many times, I am still excited for the trip. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a vacation and I’m looking forward to meeting people across the nation to gain insight and knowledge that would help benefit the newspaper.

Cue the CSI Miami music.

It snowed in Daytona Beach.

In other news, Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) recently held their tri-annual safety drill. The drill, which involved the FAA, FBI, DHS, and the Red Cross, simulated an aircraft that over-ran the runway. It was nice that DAB had a reserved section for Riddle students to view the training exercise.

Ah, the new residence hall.

That’s pretty much it for now so I’ll see you all in another two weeks!

Thunderbirds Are Go!

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Billy

Hello, hello! I hope everyone is doing ok. I’ve been severely busy so this whole “4 jobs plus school” thing is really starting to take its toll on me. If anyone has good time-management tips, please send them my way.

Some pretty cool stuff has happened in the past few days since my last update. Most notably the Thunderbirds came to campus a few days ago. They have been here since last Sunday, and it was no secret that they were in the area. The sound of an F-16 taking off is something that you do not forget, and if you somehow did not hear them, then the 3.5 magnitude earthquake that followed would definitely get your attention. I was sitting in physics the other day and the class stopped one we heard the engines spooled up: it’s intense.

Watching all eight of them landing is also a sight to see. Because the Daytona International Speedway had recent exterior modifications, the Thunderbirds did a few flyovers with smoke for promotional photos. Also, watching he C-17 land, taxi to the left, and back up was also a sight to see.

Recently, Touch-N-Go had their Casino Night where attendees were given $5,000 worth of casino chips to play for prizes. The prizes ranged from TVs and copies of Battlefront to a Frozen snow-cone maker and a popcorn maker. That was the first time I have ever “gambled,” and while I lost quite a bit of money, I would definitely do it again. Plus TNG had free pizza and drinks.

Aside from that, there isn’t anything else to report. I’ll see you all in another two weeks!

Got Anymore of Them “Time Management” Tips?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Billy

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I have been back. It definitely feels like I’ve been back a lot longer than that.

A few weeks ago, Embry-Riddle had its 2nd annual Activities Fair which was cool.

A lot of campus organizations had tables and stands on display for the day-long event.

I hope everyone’s been doing alright, I wish I could say that for myself. School is definitely starting to pick up and the 4 jobs I have currently are starting to take a toll on me. I think that the key is time management which I need to get severely better at.

In my career as a photographer, this was the first time I have ever shot baseball. Definitely need more practice.

“Another one bites the dust.”

Not a lot has happened since my last update, sadly. The Avion Newspaper is still going strong as we just published our 3rd issue for the semester, I had my first appointment of the semester at the Digital Studio on Monday, and there’s definitely a lot of work to be done for IT.

Embry-Riddle also had their Family Weekend recently.

Students were encouraged to invite their family and friends to visit them at the Daytona Beach campus.

Class wise, things are definitely picking up. I find myself seeking more and more help for homework and assignments, which isn’t really a bad thing. If anything, it benefits you since you’re getting one-on-one instruction by your professor, and it shows your professor that you’re serious about learning.

The Amateur Astronomy Club also had their Astronomy Open House around the same time.

Attendees were treated to a presentation by a visiting professor from the University of Kansas regarding dark matter, dark energy, and the expansion of the universe.

The event was highly received.

My Sci-Fi humanities class is really interesting. We just finished reading H.G. Well’s The Time Machine, and instead of writing a traditional essay, we have to make a webpage from scratch in HTML. Personally I think this a really neat and interesting approach because we are learning interdisciplinary along with coding; definitely a unique combination.

I am sorry if this month’s update was not as exciting as my earlier ones. Hopefully with the semester entering its 5th week, things will start to pick up.

As always, thank you for reading and I will see you next time.

Winter Break: Round Two

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Billy

Hello, hello again! I can’t believe that it’s been almost two weeks since winter break ended…at least I wish it was winter since I didn’t get any snow back in New Jersey.

On my flight to New Jersey, I had a 30 minute layover in Charlotte, North Carolina which, at the time, didn’t seem so bad. That was until I realized my flight from Daytona departed 30 minutes later than expected, and I had to cross two terminals. Long story short, I did not make my connection to Newark so I had to wait 2 hours to board another flight.

Once I finally made it home, I pretty much spent a majority of my time playing Fallout 4, hanging out with friends and family, traveling to New York City: the usual.

2016 brings with it not only a new semester, but definitely a new year. Everyone always talks about things they’ll do for their “New Year’s Resolutions,” but I really do feel that 2016 will be different.

Well for starters, I’m now The Avion’s advertising manager which means I’m also a member of Embry-Riddle’s Student Government Association. I’m pretty excited to say the least. It’s a big responsibility but people have faith in me, faith that I won’t bankrupt the newspaper, so I might as well give it a shot.

With me being advertising manager, that brings my total of on-campus jobs to 4, which is quite extreme. I don’t know how, but I need some way of paying the bills! Maybe this semester will be a good place to practice time management.

Well that’s it for me. Hopefully I’ll have some fun stuff to report back on once the next post comes out. Until then, stay curious and welcome back to Riddle everyone.

The Final Push

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Billy

Hello, hello! Sorry about that weird awkward gap thing that happened. One of my posts got posted a bit latter than expected and it threw off my whole posting cycle.

Over_Due_Rocket_Launch_Picture_(1).jpg

Over_Due_Rocket_Launch_Picture_(2).jpg

Anyway, since the rocket launch, things are starting to pick up since we’re at that point in the semester where everyone’s trying to cram everything into the last few days of class. I can’t believe we’ve come so far since August!

Me: “What’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to you on the job?” Her: “I can’t answer that!”

SPIN.

SMALLPOOLS?

On The Avion front, aside from covering the Atlas V launch that happened last month, I was able to cover another volleyball game, a fantastic Presidential Speaker Series with former CIA agent Valerie Plame, and Embry-Riddle’s annual homecoming carnival.

Embry-Riddle held a candlelight vigil for the victims of the November 13th attacks in Paris.

In terms of school and classes, I have never seen so many group projects and tests crammed into one month. It actually got to the point where I had to deliver two team presentations in one day, one of which had to last for a full 50-minutes, so that was fun.

As usual, Physics II is kicking my butt and so is Calculus II, but I’m slowly gaining traction in both subjects. I guess I’ll be living in the library for the next couple of days so I can study for finals.

I swear Deland’s Amtrak station isn’t a creepy place.

Thanksgiving Break has been really interesting to say the least. For starters, my and my roommate took a 20-hour train ride up the Northeast Corridor via Amtrak. At the time, taking the train was definitely cheap and with my roommate’s destination being Virginia and mine being New Jersey, we were together for a majority of the train ride so it was not too, too bad.

Because of my travel accommodations last year, I missed my high school’s annual Thanksgiving football game against our rival high school. I’m glad I was able to see it this year because it’s been about two years since I’ve been to a high school football game. It was nice to see all my friends and former classmates after so many months of studying. It was also nice to be welcomed back by the cheer team after not being on the team for so long.

Ah, New Jersey. Home of pork roll sandwiches and gas station attendants.

Flash forward a few days later, I’m back on the Amtrak train headed to Florida. It’s always a somber moment whenever I leave home, but thankfully I’ll be back in two weeks time.

Looking back at the beginning of this semester, I definitely noticed that I changed as a person. I was able to overcome a lot of the obstacles thrown my way, and for the ones that I couldn’t conquer, I used those as a learning experience.

With only a few days left in the semester, it’s time to apply what I learned as Finals Week approaches ever so quickly. I feel some-what confident in my self which is a first. So on that bombshell, happy holidays everyone. I look forward to telling you about my winter in the Spring of 2016!

I Should Be At A Rocket Launch Right Now

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Billy

Hello, hello! Things have been crazy the past few days and it’s only going to get crazier from here on out.

10/10 will do again. Thank you Newman!

This Embraer E-175 was only 15 days old when I took this picture last week.

The cockpit is very stylish and somewhat roomy!

For the last two weeks, a friend of mine, who happens to be a flight instructor for Riddle, had been coaching me in the flight simulators that we have here on campus. He put me through engine failures, landing patterns, IFR approaches, and stalls. As someone who really enjoys flying but cannot afford to do so in reality, this is a great substitute, and I really do appreciate him doing that for me. Plus, having a flight instructor guide you through everything makes flying the simulators a lot more fun and meaningful.

I didn’t understand Rachel Week’s costume. She told me who she was dressed as and now I feel stupid.

This guy’s costume was the best I don’t care what everyone else said.

This Wednesday, I covered Tri Sigma’s 8th annual fashion show which was very interesting. Because I’ve never covered the fashion show before, I was technically going in blind when I accepted the task. At the end of the day though, I was able to capture some memories that will last a lifetime for everyone involved, and I got practice in shooting fashion shows: a win-win if you ask me.

Actually this guy was the funniest.

ERMERGERD ITS A ROCKET. ERMERGERD.

Probably my biggest highlight so far was that I was cleared by the Air Force to cover ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) IIF-11 launch that was supposed to happen today (Friday). Unfortunately, the launch was scrubbed until Saturday because of a leak in the water suppression system. It’s also because of the scrub that I won’t be able to cover the Stewart Airshow that’s happening this weekend as well.

“Oh so artsy b&w image.”

Regardless, I had a blast on Thursday going out and setting up remote cameras out on the launch pad. I got to meet some really nice people and saw some familiar faces from the last time I was at Cape Canaveral which was back in April for SpaceX’s CRS-6 launch. I was also amazed at how close ULA let us media credentialed individuals get to the rocket. I was definitely a lot closer to the Atlas V than I was to the Falcon 9.

Lens flairs so unnecessary they call me JJ Abrams.

With this semester coming to a close in just 4-5 weeks, (I know right?) I find it hard to believe that we’re now at this point in the semester. Actually, let’s just forget that the end is near and look towards my next update. Sounds like a good plan. Cheers!

Famous People – Anniversaries – Space – Excitement!

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Billy

Look! I found the Death Star’s superlaser!

Hello, hello! I hope everyone’s been well! Not a lot has happened so I apologize for lying in my last update.

I’ve never seen so many people in the quad before.

I guess the biggest elephant in the room was that Embry-Riddle’s 50th birthday in Daytona Beach was last Friday. The gala, dubbed “Operation Bootstrap 2.0” (in reference to Operation Bootstrap which was the name given to Embry-Riddle’s massive move from Miami to Daytona Beach) was incredibly large and attracted many people. There were zip lines, food carts, a large “mob shot” (a group photo), and fireworks. I, unfortunately, could not stay for the whole thing, but from what I could see, it was awesome!

It’s like I’m at Coachella…or Glastonbury…or Lollapalooza…

Ermergerd it’s Amelia Rose Earhart!

Another highlight was that Amelia Rose Earhart recently spoke at Riddle. She was here for the Presidential Speaker Series we have on campus every week or so. I was very disappointed because not many people showed up. Considering the event was free and her contributions to the world of aviation have gone unnoticed, I’d thought the Willy Miller Center would’ve been a mad house. Anyway, Earhart’s presentation was wonderful regardless. She is very passionate about flying and I believe anyone sitting in the audience that night felt that.

It’s hard to not look awkward in pictures.

My friend Christopher Nguyen (no we’re not related) who’s soon to be the world’s first FAA certified suborbital flight instructor!

Some random cosmonaut I found. (He’s not really a cosmonaut)

Recently, I was allowed the opportunity to visit PoSSUM, Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere, a team of students and faculty conducting high altitude research. I met with some really cool people and got to see not only the suborbital flight simulator and pressure suits in action, I also randomly met Patty Wagstaff!

I’m still really confused with how Patty Wagstaff just happened to show up.

I think the last “major” thing that happened was me finding myself in a movie theater crowded with Riddle students watching The Martian. The movie was absolutely fantastic so if any of you are on the fence about it, do it. Matt Damon really nailed Mark Watney’s character and this might get him an Oscar.

That’s it for now. I think the next update might be fun since I’m in the process of getting accredited to go see ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral October 30th. Also, I’m planning on seeing Bridge of Spies with a few friends which also looks really good. 2015 really is the year for movies I’ll tell you what.

So on that bombshell (?), take care everyone, and I’ll see you on Sol 29!

Minor Updates

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Billy

Hello, hello! I hope everyone is doing well. The past two weeks have been a killer for me, especially with all of my classes starting to kick into high gear. There’s nothing really important to report on sadly (I know, it’s really depressing), so it’s gonna be one of those updates.

In the past two weeks, I had to write a precis (yeah, I still don’t know what that is) for my SIM 200 about in-flight simulation which in of itself is a really cool topic to read up on. On top of that paper, I had to compile a rhetorical analysis for HU 143, my intro to rhetoric class. I did amazingly well on my precis considering I never wrote one before, and I did ok on the rhetorical analysis, which I also have never written before.

My PS160, physics II, test was fun and so was my MA 242, calc II, test. In COM 219, speech, I had to give a narrative speech and I did well on that. Now I’m preparing to deliver my informative speech on photography in a few weeks in conjunction with studying for this Friday’s test.

I will say that my SIM 200 class is very interesting. One week I was in the GAT trainer, which is a disorientation simulator, and ran through two disorientation tests. Only 13 more and I can be certified…for something! Another week we went into the simulation bay to look at Riddle’s Level D CRJ 200 full-flight simulator. This thing is massive and thinking about the price of this thing makes my head hurt.

This thing is ridiculously small…

…really small.

Look at it! Look at this machine!

In the extra-curricular activities life, I’ve contributed a few written articles for The Avion, which is weird because I don’t like writing at all. I’m a better photographer than a writer, but people say otherwise so maybe I have an act for both?

I recently had the opportunity to attend one of the volleyball games which was fun! Good job Lady Eagles!

Working at the Digital Studio as a tutor is fun. I’ve gotten to meet some really cool people and learned a lot of new skills. I’m really excited to see where that goes.

I’m sorry if this update was short, and maybe boring, I promising to find interesting things to write about next time! Until then, be curious, ask questions, and watch Doctor Who.

This past Sunday was the “super lunar eclipse”…or at least it was supposed to be since we couldn’t see anything thanks to the clouds.

And We’re Back!

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Billy

Hello, hello! After a much needed 4-5 month hiatus, we’re back! And I’m not just talking about me being back on the blogging scene, but rather everyone coming back to Embry-Riddle. So on that note, welcome back returning students and faculty, and hello to the new students and faculty getting their start at Embry-Riddle this semester!

This summer has been a jam-packed one for sure. With things ranging from collegiate visits and parades to work and traveling, Summer 2015 may have been my most productive summer to date.

Summer 2015 also marked the time where I started taking “artsy” pictures.

With victory and triumph in my veins after conquering the spring semester, I boarded my flight bound from Orlando, Florida (MCO) to Newark, New Jersey (EWR) and rode the train home once I got to New Jersey. It was probably 1AM when I finally got to my house on May 1st. Unfortunately for me, most of my friends were still in school/college. Needless to say, I did not spend May wisely and spent most of my time at home. (Whoops.) I did however, visit my high school to catch up with some teachers and friends. I even spoke to a few freshmen classes about college and how to prepare for the next 4-5 years of their lives.

Suddenly June came barreling in, and I suddenly found myself in a chaotic ballet of commitments and unexpected events. My sister’s orientation for Penn State University was during the first week of June so I had to put off working in New York City until the week after. Despite the logistics, 4-hour drive, and uncomfortable hotel beds, it was a fun time. Most importantly, my sister enjoyed the school which is what really mattered.

I guess Penn State ran out of rock climbing walls.

With Penn State’s orientation over and my sister finishing high school in 2 weeks, I went back to work in New York City. Not much has changed since I left last summer, but it was still nice to go back to work in place that was familiar to me. The atmosphere and pacing is so different from life here in Daytona Beach, and that’s the lifestyle I was accustomed to.

Sometime in the middle of July, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team defeated Japan during the Women’s FIFA Cup and to celebrate, there was a ticker tape parade in New York City. Conveniently, my office was on Broadway and I managed to get some really nice pictures. It was my first ever ticker tape parade and it was really special considering the last one was in 2012 after the Giants won the Superbowl.

ERMERGERD. ERMERGERD.

I saw people just dump entire packets of paper outside their windows. It was crazy.

Annoyingly, August rolled around signalling the end of my summer vacation a few weeks later. By that time, I finished my internship and spent my time at home preparing for the fall semester. I managed to go out and photograph a few sunrises, the Perseid Meteor Shower, and sunsets. It was nice and a fitting salute to my home state before leaving for Riddle.

I saw the Milky Way in person for the first time ever!

The last sunrise I saw in New Jersey. *sheds tear*

Oooo.

On my flight back to Orlando, I ran into William Stirna who was a graduate of Embry-Riddle’s class of 1994!

With things at Embry-Riddle in full swing now, nothing’s really changed since I left last spring. My classes are very interesting with SIM 200 being the most “technical” class I’ve taken to date. My professors are wonderful and they make class enjoyable, and I’m honestly glad things worked out the way they did. So, on that bombshell, thank you for reading, and I’ll talk to you all soon!

This isn’t Daytona Beach, but this was taken in Florida…that counts right?

“Oh so artsy.”

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Author Archives: Billy