Happy late April Fool’s Day! The weather has been really nice lately with the temperature in the high 80s for a couple of days. The warm weather makes me feel happier and ready for summer! In fact, we only have about three weeks left of classes, which is exciting. These past two weeks have been pretty busy and the next few are looking even busier, but I’m looking forward to it all!

On Wednesday, April 1st, we had our QFR (Qualifying Fitness Review) for ROTC. This is the fitness test that matters because the results precede you to Field Training and you are ranked against the other cadets in your flight by these scores. I was thrilled with my run time of 12:30 and overall very happy with my final score. I believe that I gave the run everything I had, but I hope to eventually have it down in the 11:20 range. We still haven’t received our dates for Field Training but the rumor is we will find out on Monday. I want to know when I am going so badly because I want to plan out what I’m doing this summer. On another note, we did receive our packing list so we can go ahead and start buying the items we need! In my next entry, I’ll let you know when I’m going and how the packing list is coming!

Relay for Life was held this past weekend on Friday thru Saturday. I learned how much work goes into the event from being a part of the committee. The whole event was a success even though it did downpour for about a half an hour. Also, I slept in a tent for the first time in my life and found it to be pretty comfortable surprisingly. Hopefully, next year will be bigger and better!

Registration for fall classes was on Wednesday and I found out that next Spring I will be done with my undergraduate degree and able to start work on my MBA. I was pretty excited when I found that out, but first I have to meet with the Colonel to make sure everything works out with the Air Force and their stipulations. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best! My course load for next year is going to be pretty heavy with 18 credits and on Tuesday and Thursday I will be in class from 9:45 till 3:30. I think I’ll enjoy my classes quite a bit and am looking forward to being busy.

On Friday, I had to give a group presentation in my Air Force class and I enjoyed getting up and talking to people about Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the Air Force, I want to be in charge of budgets and deciding where the money should be allocated so I know I’ll be giving lots of presentations later on in my career. Therefore, I’ll take advantage of all the public speaking opportunities I can get now! Many of my classes are winding down and the gearing up for finals is about to begin. I will not procrastinate on studying this semester. (I’m keeping the fingers crossed on this one too!)

Next year, I am going to be living off-campus but still in campus housing-the Chanute Complex. I was able to get a studio apartment which means I won’t be having a roommate. After having roommates for two years, I was ready to see what living on my own would be like. One part that I’m looking forward to is getting to decorate the place to look more like my home. Also, I’m going to be getting a tv so I can watch all my favorite shows but I don’t know if I’ll have the time next semester. Oh well!

In four days, I’m heading to Phoenix with Silver Wings in order to attend NATCON-the National Conclave for Silver Wings and Arnold Air. Basically, it’s a three day conference where Silver Wings and Arnold Air talk about business and decide on plans for the next year. It’s my first year going and I’m looking forward to getting dressed up because every day you have to wear suits and one night you have to wear a formal dress. Plus, the ERAU Silver Wings chapter is running for National Staff and I’m a part of that because I’m running for National Treasurer. I hope we win and I’ll let you know how it goes!

Some miscellaneous stuff that has happened recently includes having a panel interview for a scholarship (we still haven’t heard the results) and winning the 2009 Diversity Paper Competition hosted by the College of Business. I was pretty surprised that I won the competition and it just proved to me that you should always enter a contest because you never know what might happen. Also, I went to Busch Gardens with a friend of mine to celebrate my birthday and I had so much fun. I love roller coasters!!

I’m looking forward to the end of school but I plan on enjoying these last few weeks because a part of me is always a little sad to see the year end. If you are having a hard time making a decision about colleges, send me your questions and I’ll be happy to answer them!

Until next time,
Kaleigh

Warm weather and sunny skies are what I’m hoping for this coming week. My sister arrives on Thursday and some friends and I are driving to Orlando to pick her up. I can’t wait for her to be here!! My friends and I have made an itinerary of all the things we are going to do while she is here. I’ll make sure to post pictures of all the fun we have!

ROTC has been keeping me even busier because of Operation Bottoms Up (OBU) Week. OBU Week is a week where the 200s take over the wing and plan and execute everything for that week. To be on Wing Staff, you must submit an application packet and go to wing boards—basically an interview by upperclassmen. I submitted an application packet because I thought it would be good leadership experience and the whole packet took me about five hours to complete. The next day they said the boards would be held on Friday. When I found that out, I was torn between a rock and a hard place because I could either stay in Daytona, participate in the boards, or I could go to Georgia with my best friend to see his family. I thought about my decision and decided to go to Georgia. I don’t regret my decision and I still got a good position for OBU. I got OSS/CC which is Operations Support Squadron Commander. My primary job is to plan and execute Lead Lab on Wednesday morning. If anything goes wrong that morning, then it will be on me and my staff. I’m looking forward to next week!

At the beginning of last week, I met with my training officer for my mid-term evaluation. I think it went pretty well and I’m so glad that we have made it through the halfway point. I had to pick up more uniform items in preparation for Field Training. I can’t believe how soon it will be here! The training officers had a supplementary instruction session to give tips for Field Training and I learned some interesting things. When you come to college, go to events that you believe you will gain something from and go to some where you don’t think you will because you might be surprised. I went to Patrick Air Force Base and got my military id last week, so now I have proof that I’m part of the Air Force!

Classes are going well, but I’m a little disappointed in myself because I still haven’t started on my Business Law paper. I’m such a procrastinator! This week I plan to set a goal for myself to get all of my research done. I have two tests this week: Corporate Finance and Organizational Behavior. I did some studying over the weekend and I’m going to study tomorrow night, so I think I’ll do well.

Silver Wings is getting ready for a joint meeting with Arnold Air this week. We are going to discuss NATCON and play some games. I bought my ticket for NATCON last week, so I’m officially going to Phoenix in April. This weekend we had a joint road clean-up and then we all went out to lunch afterwards.

Well, I hope everyone is having a good semester at school and are looking forward to Spring Break. If you haven’t already visited Embry-Riddle, now is a good time to come because the weather is beautiful and you can check it out before you make your final decision. Next journal entry, I will cover Daytona Beach and Embry-Riddle from a newcomer’s perspective.

Until next time,
Kaleigh

It’s almost March and the semester is already halfway over!! The past two weeks have been pretty hectic with me getting sick and having to keep up with school and ROTC stuff. On February 12th, I had that feeling where I knew I was going to get sick because my whole body just ached and I was really hot feeling. Well, I went to PT Friday morning and felt alright but when I got back to my dorm room I could barely walk around. I recovered somewhat and went to class; I was feeling better around mid-afternoon, so I decided to go to the beach with a friend. Afterwards, I took my temperature and it was around 102°. Needless to say, the rest of the weekend was spent taking it easy and sleeping. I feel 100% better now and I believe that I had just overworked my body which is why I got sick.

My tests went pretty well-Organizational Behavior was an A, Principles of Aeronautical Science, Corporate Finance, and International Business were all three B’s. I was pretty happy overall and I think I’m going to do well in my classes this semester. Currently, I am working on my Business Law midterm which is a take-home exam. Sometimes take-home’s are a lot harder than in-class tests because the teachers expect you to put in twice the amount of time and effort. I still need to start on my Business Law paper but with all my other classes it has been pushed to the back of my to-do list.

This weekend was Project Charity House. Project Charity House is where you build a house out of cardboard boxes and then you sleep in it overnight. Silver Wings built the wad of money from the Geico commercial-I posted pictures on my website. I didn’t sleep outside overnight because it was pretty chilly and I didn’t want to get sick all over again. Throughout the night the participants also play games and in the end the points are added up and a winner is chosen. Silver Wings took home second-place this year!

AFROTC has been keeping me extremely busy because this past week and this week I have had a position. I have been in charge of making sure my flight knows their knowledge for the week as the Flight Academics Officer. Every two weeks the jobs rotate among the cadets and some weeks you’ll end up not having a position. Last week was Big Week, which is when all the cadets who are graduating in a year and want to be pilots find out whether or not the Air Force is going to let them fly. A lot of my friends got good news and are going to be pilots! I was really happy for them! Cadets also find out navigator and combat systems officer positions during that week which is why it’s titled Big Week. Operations Bottom Up (OBU) Week is coming up and that is where my class takes over the entire wing and we run everything from Lead Lab to PT that week. I’m looking forward to it and I have to submit an application packet this week in order to receive a position. Also, this week is the PFA and I’m hoping for some warm weather because it helps my run time!

This weekend, I went and saw the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic. I thought the movie was really good and I would definitely go see it again. This coming weekend I am going to go out of town since I didn’t get to go last weekend; I’m looking forward to that! Well, I need to get to some homework because the mountain seems to be growing. If you have any questions, please e-mail me. If you are thinking about coming to Embry-Riddle and are having a hard time making a decision, send me an e-mail and I can answer your questions.

Until next time,
Kaleigh

Happy Valentine’s Day!! I am pretty excited for Valentine’s because it is a three-day weekend and I am leaving Daytona Beach for a road trip. The Daytona 500 is that weekend, so I’m going to miss out on all the crazy traffic. I found out some good news last week-my sister is coming to visit me during Spring Break! I am pretty excited about it and we have already started making plans for all the adventures we are going to have. She has never seen the school, so I plan to take her on a personalized tour of campus. I can’t wait to see her!

This Saturday was the Bud Shootout (a race) and Silver Wings sold pizza on the corner of the street. We sell the pizza for $2 a slice but we always meet people who want to drive the price down. Some people would buy it and complain about how cold pizza is so terrible, but they always ended up finishing off the slice and sometimes coming back for more. Last year, Silver Wings sold the pizza in a parking lot but this year we ran into some problems with the race track management and had to move to another location. I sold pizzas for about 8 hours and was pretty exhausted from walking back and forth down the street.

Last weekend, I went to the basketball game on Friday night and it was Coaches vs. Cancer which means everyone is supposed to dress up and wear sneakers. One of my friends and I wore dresses, blue jean jackets, and Converses. We didn’t plan it and when I saw what she was wearing I was like, “What a coincidence!” I posted a picture of us on my site. On Saturday, I attended the Relay for Life Team Captains University which was basically a gathering of people from the area to share ideas on fundraising, how to get members on your team, and how to spread the word. I had a good time and we got some really good ideas.

I had Round One of tests last week-a test in Organizational Behavior and one in Corporate Finance. I think I did pretty well on both of them, but I will for sure do better on the next one because I now know what to expect. Round Two is this week with a test in Principles of Aeronautical Science and one in International Business. I really need to study for my International Business test because it contains an essay question and the test is worth 30 percent of my grade. I have a few study tips to share with you that seem to help me: highlight in the book, check out the practice quizzes on the book’s website, read the chapter, form study groups, and study ahead of time. Highlighting helps me remember key phrases and when I only have ten minutes to study, I study the highlighted stuff for a quick review. I also write out the key definitions because if I write them then I have to read them several times, so it sticks in my memory better. The practice quizzes can help because a teacher may pull some of their questions from there. I just go online fill out the quizzes and print them off, and then I go back through them and highlight the answer. Buy several highlighters and multiple colors because if you lose one you have another on hand! I read the chapter at least once so I can get a grasp of the whole picture. Study groups are essential because telling someone else helps you remember it more and if you don’t understand something they might be able to help you. Lastly, study ahead of time because there is too much material to cram at the end. If you study along the way, you will not feel so overwhelmed at the end. As you read the chapter, highlight and write out definitions; therefore, the days before the test just go back and review that material. I hope these tips help somewhat!

Some upcoming events that are on my calendar are a possible Beach Bonfire, Charity House (more on that in the next entry), and the Physical Fitness Assessment for ROTC. Still as busy as ever, but I am finding time to enjoy myself, have a good time and still get things accomplished. Right now, I am off to an Arnold Air and Silver Wings picnic! I hope everyone is enjoying school!

Until next time,
Kaleigh

I’m back in Daytona and have finished the first week of school! I got back to Daytona on the 5th with no problems and all my luggage arrived, so I was happy about that. It was good to see everyone again and get organized before the first day of school on the 7th. Next week will be the first full week of classes and AFROTC, so I’ll probably settle into a routine and get into the groove of doing my homework—look out library, here I come! One big event that is coming up at the end of this month is the Rolex 24 at the Daytona Speedway and as a cadet in the Air Force I will get to work at the event!

I’m really thrilled with my class schedule this semester because on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have two classes after Air Force training in the morning with the exception being Friday when I also have Air Force class. I have Organizational Behavior and International Business. Organizational Behavior seems like it will be a good class because the professor is really enthusiastic and we have our first big project due in February. I plan on getting started on it next week and since it’s an individual project I can finish it whenever. International Business is going to be a lot of work because the teacher wants us to really learn and digest the material. In order to do this, he has assigned each individual person a section of every chapter to outline in detail. Then in class, we will get in groups and discuss each chapter. A neat thing he has decided to do is give us extra credit for dressing professionally every Monday. I plan to get my extra credit and it’s just a coincidence that over break I bought several new suits. When going to college, make sure you bring a suit or at least one professional outfit because you never know when an opportunity is going to pop up that you need to look good for. On Tuesday and Thursday, I have three classes: Principles of Aeronautical Science, Corporate Finance, and Business Law. Principles of Aeronautical Science is just the basics of flight and the class is required, since I don’t have my private pilot’s license. I have been looking forward to Corporate Finance and had registered for it last semester but they cancelled the class. I really hope to learn a lot from this class and I’m thinking about getting my MBA with a concentration in finance if I enjoy the class. Business Law is going to be good too, I think. The major assignment is to write a ten page term paper on any subject as long as it relates to law. I’m looking forward to picking a topic and getting started! I think this semester will go by quickly just like last semester!

This past weekend I went out on the Halifax River with some friends. One of my friends owns a tiny boat and invited us to come out and have a cookout. At first, I wasn’t sure that we would even be able to leave the dock because the boat didn’t want to start. However, the guys figured it out and we took off for a place called the Disappearing Isle (it disappears during high tide). I took some pictures, so you can take a look! I built a sandcastle, while the guys grilled and played football. The water was warm and I couldn’t believe that I was out on a boat, while back home I have to wait until June to go out. I had a good time and look forward to doing it again!

Air Force has started off with a bang and this semester has already provided some challenges, but I think our class will figure it all out. Silver Wings starts this week along with Relay for Life, so this week is going to be busy! I hope everyone had a good break from school and don’t forget to send in your applications if you haven’t already!

Until next time,
Kaleigh

My time at home has been enjoyable and relaxing—just what I needed! I think I have caught up on my sleep and am ready to head back to school for another great semester. The weather here has been pretty strange and unfortunately there hasn’t been any snow since the first two days I was home. Mostly, there has been rain that has turned into ice. Yesterday, the temperature reached 60 degrees and I decided to go for a run in the country. Well, it was raining a little when I started and I thought to myself “No big deal, I have run before when it was drizzling.” Turns out there was a severe thunderstorm warning and in the middle of my run it begins to pour and the winds picked up—tornado weather at the end of December, crazy! I ran a little while longer and then decided I should probably turn around and head for home; however the wind was blowing forcefully against me and I was cold and wet, so I called my mom and had her come rescue me. Next time, I plan on listening to the weather before going running!

Since I have enough college credits to be classified as a junior, the time has come for me to officially declare my Area of Concentration. In the business degree, there are three different Areas of Concentration: airline management, airport management, and general studies. Before coming to ERAU I had decided upon airport management; however, after thinking about what I want to do in the future and after talking to some people I haven’t been so sure. Now, I have decided upon general studies because I can take a mixture of airline and airport classes rather than choosing all airline or airport. So when I get back to school, I will go see my advisor (Dottie) and fill out some paperwork. A note to all future students enrolling in the business program at Daytona—the degree has changed a little and there are now two business majors and you decide which one you want to do your sophomore year. To find out more information click on this link http://www.erau.edu/db/degrees/b-bizadmin.html. If you have any questions, just send me an e-mail.

My time at home is quickly coming to an end, but I’m cramming in as much stuff as possible—shopping, baking cookies, and visiting with family and friends. I’m looking forward to my classes next semester and I have already ordered my textbooks! You can buy your books from the campus bookstore or you can order them on line to check out and see which has the better deals. After a semester, talk to other people in your major and see if you can trade books. Otherwise, check online at websites like Amazon or eBay to save some money.

Until next time,
Kaleigh

I’m back home in Illinois and it is super cold! No snow on the ground at the moment but I am hoping we will get some this week. I had some delayed flights which led to me getting home on Thursday instead of Wednesday. What happened was the airplane arriving in Daytona was held up in Atlanta due to weather and equipment delays, by the time the plane arrived and flew back to Atlanta I would have missed my connecting flight and have had to sleep in the airport. So, I chose to stay in Daytona and spend the night at a friend’s and leave the next day. On Thursday, my flight left Daytona on time and arrived in Atlanta where it was pouring rain and many flights were being cancelled. I kept my fingers crossed and my flight took off a little late, but I made it home!

The week before finals was a busy week due to Pass-In-Review, an event held every semester where all the cadets participate in a parade and awards are handed out. I had a key position (squadron adj.) so I had to attend practice on Monday and Wednesday night. On Wednesday, Silver Wings had elections and I ran for the position of Chapter and Squadron Chief of Protocol (CSCOP). I got the position and now I am basically the liaison between Arnold Air and Silver Wings. Also, I get to plan joint events and I have some good ideas that I am hoping to try out. I’m looking forward to taking on the position! Thursday, was Pass-In-Review and it went really well! Next semester for AFROTC, I will be going through Field Training Preparation or more commonly referred to as FTP. The semester is more intense and it’s supposed to prepare you for the summer when you go to Field Training. All of the 200s (sophomores) are separated from the other cadets. Friday was study day, so we didn’t have any classes. Silver Wings had their Initiation Dinner that night and Arnold Air had theirs on Sunday—I posted some pictures. One of my friends had a small Christmas party and we exchanged gifts; it got me into the Christmas mood and I had fun.

Finals went well—I had two on Monday, one on Tuesday, and two on Wednesday. I thought for sure I would have a few B’s this semester and maybe one C because a couple of my teachers didn’t post the grades for any assignments, so I was just guessing what grade I had and a part of my grade was participation and I’m never sure what I’m going to get for that. Well, I did a lot better than what I had anticipated and came out of the semester with all A’s! Hopefully, I can keep it up for next semester too. My classes for next semester are Air Force, Principles of Aeronautical Science, Business Law, Corporate Finance, International Business, and Organizational Business. I think I will really enjoy these classes and I’m looking forward to next semester.

If you have any questions about living on campus or campus activities, send me an e-mail!

Until next time, Kaleigh