Category Archives: 2008 – 2009

January 25, 2009

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The spring semester got off to a great start! I couldn’t ask for better. Things have been working very well and I feel a lot more confident in myself. So far classes are going great, and I love all my professors. This semester I have all female professors…woot woot! It’s a new refreshed feeling compared to last semester where I had 2 female professors. I feel like I’m learning a lot now and love the learning opportunity. I have my first exam of the semester next Monday in WX 201. So far, in that class, we covered the atmosphere, solar radiation, and seasons. The professor is very low key but fun and knows a lot about weather and geometry and tries her best to make sure we understand the facts and concepts.

With my flight training, I’m currently on financial hold [yes the economy is hitting hard on my pockets], but while I sort out my financial situation, I am doing observer flights with my best friend and now third roommate Derrick, and will be doing landing clinics on Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. to keep up to speed. I am also preparing to take my Private Pilot Written exam by late next week. A few of my good friends, Darryl and Kayla, just started working on their private pilot license and are having a blast so far. I am so proud of them and wish them all the best. They have been really good friends to me so far and I know they are going to succeed in their endeavors.

As for clubs, I am still involved with First Gen and TFO. I will return to the Avion this coming Sunday in hopes that I can still have the same editor position I had last semester. Also, my third roommate Derrick and I joined ERRSA last Wednesday. ERRSA stands for the Embry-Riddle Resident Student Association. It’s basically a way for students to represent their halls and try to fix some of the problems we have in the dorms such as infrastructure, Internet etc. It’s a very good association to be a part of, and a great way to be involved on campus and for community service hours, and just for the individual that wants to make an impact. Just this weekend, ERRSA had a retreat and went to a vacation house in Orlando. Sadly I and Derrick were not able to attend because of the time that we joined and budgeting issues. However, they all had fun and enjoyed the weekend away from campus.

This weekend, we had the Rolex 24 at the Daytona Speedway! It was very loud and you could hear the crowd cheering. It was a cool experience. We got to see the private jets parked up on the ramp and even saw a few take off Sunday afternoon. Saturday night there were fireworks! I am looking forward to the Daytona 500, which lasts an entire week and is a bigger event.

So far, I haven’t really missed family as much as I did the beginning of last semester. I still talk to my mom a lot and every once in a while a cousin or aunt. I have become a lot more responsible and even though I have the cushion of student loans and work and parents helping me out, I am learning to appreciate what I have and to live within my means. Not because the resources are available does not mean one should go out and be impulsive.

Even though it’s really early, I and my friends are planning a cruise to the Bahamas for spring break. It’s still in the planning stages, it looks like a go and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’ll keep you guys posted.

[For those of you guys that didn’t know… Barak Obama is now President… WHOOO HOOO]

My friends Kayla and Hemali got their cartilages pierced last Thursday, while last Friday, Derrick and I got our ear lobes pierced! It still hurts but not bad. Today, Kayla got her hair stuck in the earring. Derrick and I sat her down and took it out, it was a painful experience for her but she appreciated our help.

One last thing, on Sunday, my girlfriend and I celebrated 8 months of being together. Even though she is still in New York City and I’m here in Daytona, we still have our relationship going.

Remember, if you guys have any questions or comments, I appreciate them a lot. Thanks to you guys that emailed me. I wish you guys all the best, and until next time, be safe!

Andre’ McIntosh

January 25th

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Hey everyone! The spring semester here is going by so quickly, I can barely keep up! But although this term is flying, I still have so many new things to share. It has been unbelievably cold during the last week or so and walking to class has been almost unbearable. I guess the Florida weather is taking some time off. I can’t stand it! Classes are still going fairly well and I am certainly enjoying myself so far.

Last weekend, my sister had a cheerleading competition in Kissimmee, FL, which is just south of Orlando. My family decided to all come down and see her, so I ended up meeting them Friday night. The drive was only about an hour and a half commute, so that wasn’t bad at all. As I said, I left Daytona Friday night after my last class and spent Friday and Saturday night there, then came home Sunday evening. My sister’s cheer competition was Saturday morning and following the conclusion of her awards, my family and I went to Universal Studios for the rest of the day. It was a blast! We also spent Sunday at the theme park. Spending the time with my parents and my siblings was very special for me, even though it had only been a few weeks since seeing them. At Universal, the park had a celebration of the University of Florida football National Championship, which was a lot of fun especially for my family because we are all big Gator fans. The park hosted a parade, and featured many players from over the years. I was also fortunate enough to meet a new member of my family that we never knew prior to a few years ago.

After returning to Daytona, I spent Monday playing football with the guys from my dorm since we didn’t have class on account of MLK day. Fortunately for me, I wasn’t assigned too much homework over the three-day weekend. However, the studies I did have, I had completed while in Kissimmee so I didn’t have to cram it all in Sunday night. Here at Riddle, or any college for that matter, procrastination is your worst enemy. So, I have found that the best way to approach homework is to finish it the night it is assigned, that way it isn’t all piled up at the end of the week. Anyhow, the rest of the week was fairly average… Same ‘ole, same ‘ole.

Thursday was the Activities Fair for the spring semester, which was quite interesting. The point of this fair is for all the clubs, Greek organizations, ROTCs, and student unions to present what they are all about. Booths were lined up for the entire Legacy Walk, and almost every organization at Riddle had a booth. This type of occasion was perfect for students who just transferred to the university in the spring, such as me, so I could browse all of the different clubs here. Also, I was able to talk to all of the fraternities which was very beneficial for me to see what each of the different frats stand for, how their organizations are run, and what kinds of community service each of them take part in. One of my main goals I had set before moving down to Riddle was to pledge a Greek organization. I decided to rush Pi Kappa Alpha (or Pike, as the brothers say). Thursday night was an event designated “Meet the Greeks,” where students interested in rushing can come out and meet the members of all the Greek organizations. I was able to hang out and get to know several of the brothers of Pike, and I really had an excellent time. On Friday night, there was a Pike rush event in which we all went bowling. Again, it was a great time and my decision to rush Pike has been continually echoed with good feelings. At the end of the night, one of the brothers in a point of authority approached me and gave me a bid to join the fraternity. I accepted, and so my pledge process starts! All this next week is “Rush week,” so I’m really looking forward to attending the events and getting to know more of the brothers.

Embry-Riddle had a hockey game also on Friday night, so after leaving bowling a bunch of the members of Pike and myself went to the rink and watched our Eagles play against Florida State. I was very surprised that we were playing such a large school, especially since in basketball and in other sports in which Riddle competes, we always play little schools that specialize in some specific subject, much like ourselves. It turns out we have a pretty talented hockey team, because we beat FSU 9-1. The game was a blast! However, it was unbelievably cold that night, and the ice in the rink made it much colder.

It is finally starting to warm up here, thank goodness! I finally did my laundry, so I feel very accomplished about that. The laundry facilities here at Riddle are incredibly neat. You can pay to wash and dry clothes with your Eagle card, and the time remaining on your machine is posted on the ERNIE (Embry-Riddle Network for Information Exchange) web site. It is also possible for you to receive a text message when your cycle is complete! This is perfect for me because I live on the third floor of Doolittle, but the laundry room is on the first floor. That way I don’t have to keep coming down to check on my clothes.

This week coming up should be pretty busy, with all the Pike events and all. I also have a few tests coming up next week so much study time will be spent over the next few weeks. Until next time, take it easy!

Josh

January 25, 2009

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The Rolex 24 was this weekend and the good news is I didn’t have to work it! I got some homework done and hung out with some friends. It would have been nice to go to the beach, but the weather has been way too cold. Last Friday, I checked the temperature when I woke up and it was two degrees warmer back home in Illinois. I couldn’t believe it! One of the reasons I came to Florida was for the warm weather, so I hope that it warms up soon! People have been getting sick lately due to the weather and I hope I don’t catch it because I don’t really have time to get sick right now.

This past weekend we kicked off Relay for Life week with an Oozeball (mud volleyball) tournament on Sunday. I got to decorate the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk! I hadn’t done that since I was a little kid and I forgot how much fun it was! I even posted some pictures of my handiwork. We decided to do a Relay for Life week in order to get more teams signed up and get people excited about the event in March. There are activities planned for several days this week and it all wraps up at the basketball game on Friday night. I’m really looking forward to the actual event!

Last Wednesday, the officers of Silver Wings and Arnold Air got together to plan some joint activities and hopefully get the organizations together on some service activities. So far, we planned a social at the park one weekend, a trash clean-up on the highway, a joint meeting, and a beach bonfire are all in the works. The Activities Fair was on Thursday and I think Silver Wings will have a good turnout. I’m looking forward to NATCON (the National Conclave for Silver Wings and Arnold Air) which is where all the chapters and squadrons in a region come together. In fact, some exciting news is that I think I’m going to run with some people from our chapter for National Staff.

Classes are going well and my first tests will be next week. This semester has really made me realize the importance of time management. I’m trying to get as much done as possible each day so I don’t procrastinate and have to spend all weekend working on homework. I have decided on a topic for my Business Law paper—the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. I chose this topic because I was actually reading about it in my Corporate Finance book and I thought it sounded interesting. Basically, the act was created after the Enron scandal and attempts to make sure the firm’s financial reports accurately represent its financial condition. I thought it would be a good topic because there is plenty of information out there about it. I’m hoping to have the paper done before Spring Break because I don’t want to work on it over break! I’ll keep you updated on my progress and let you know how the tests go.

Field Training Preparation has been keeping me busy and with all that we do it’s almost like another three credit-hour class! It seems like every week there are two or three additional meetings, but I love being busy like this because it makes the week go so much faster. I have held two jobs within the flight already—deputy flight commander and deputy flight physical fitness officer. For the deputy flight commander job, I had to keep track of the attendance and for the other one I was in charge of Physical Training one day because the cadet who was supposed to do it was sick. I’m learning so much and it’s keeping me on my toes.

This coming weekend is the Super Bowl and I’m pretty excited because some of my friends have a 42’’ TV and we are going to make some homemade pizza and watch the game! I forgot to mention that I went to the Daytona Beach flea market on Saturday and found a charm with my name on it, spelled correctly, for my charm bracelet—it’s the first time I have ever found my name with the exact spelling on anything!

Until next time,
Kaleigh

January 25, 2009

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Hello! Well I just got back from an amazing day of flying. I went flying today with one of my private pilot students. I took him north to a small airport to practice landings. We flew up there at 10:00 this morning and had a blast. After I perfected his technique, we flew to another local airport about 25 miles north of Daytona. Here they have a fantastic restaurant called High Jackers. We landed, parked the plane in front of the restaurant, and had lunch. Their food is excellent and it’s only about a 10 minute flight away from Daytona. After a wonderful lunch, we flew back around 2:00 p.m. and called it a day. I love my job! Who can say their workday consisted of flying all around the Daytona area and eating lunch in another city?

Classes are going well, just busy. They aren’t hard this semester, but there is a lot of busy work. I spend most of my evenings reading and doing small homework assignments for my weather, history, and humanities class. I haven’t really had any tests or quizzes yet, but I’ll keep everyone updated when they occur.

One neat thing that I forgot to tell everyone about in my last journal was the fact that I got a new camera for Christmas! I finally had the opportunity to use it and I have some fantastic pictures for you guys of the Embry-Riddle flight-line at night.

Finally, we had a very exciting day here at Daytona Beach International Airport last Friday, the 23rd of January. I was getting ready to climb into one of our airplanes and begin a flight lesson when I noticed an airplane approaching one of the inactive runways. It was then I realized that an emergency was in progress (this is not one of Embry-Riddle’s planes). As the airplane approached the runway, I noticed that its nose gear was not extended. Therefore, the pilot had to land the aircraft with only two wheels, instead of three. The pilot made two practice approaches, and the third one was the charm. The aircraft touched down and was magnificently stopped on the runway without any problem. Both pilots walked away unscathed. Fortunately, I had my camera and got the whole incident on film. Here are some pictures I took of the wonderful landing. Enjoy!

January 13, 2009

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Well, hello to everyone out there! It has only been a week since I wrote my last journal but I sure have quite a lot of new things to share. Classes here at Riddle are in full swing and the days seem to be flying by faster and faster. So far, I really enjoy going to my classes, which is more than I can say about any of my previous experiences with school. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I always went to class and tried my best in high school and last semester in college. But I can’t say that I truly taken pleasure in attending most of the courses I have been forced to take. Here at Riddle, it’s different somehow. Even though some of the classes I am taking are pretty generic and specialize upon some boring topic, the professors here are top-notch and really know how to make the course material relevant and practical. For example, my calculus professor is an Aeronautical Engineer, so somehow he always finds a way to relate what he is teaching to aviation. He knows the specific ways how vectors and derivatives and all those fancy terms are used in the real world, which is reassuring to see that the topics aren’t completely pointless. That factor to the education here at Riddle is something that has really stuck out and shown me how this college separates itself from other universities.

In my last journal, I gave you my list of classes but unfortunately, they have changed. At least some of them have. As it turns out, the math classes I took prior to coming to ERAU did not line up with courses in the outline for my major. This was a huge problem because I had already spent two semesters trying to knock out my required maths, but all the money and time I had invested in those classes was going to be overlooked. Luckily, I was able to take to Math Placement Exam which basically evaluates your overall math skills and places you into the correct math class. After taking it, I placed into the math I needed to be in and I got credit for the math I previously took. So in the end, it all worked out. Also, if you read my last journal you will remember me talking about the pains of registering as a transfer student. Because I couldn’t register for my classes until I got to campus, all of the ATC courses were full. But as it turns out, there were several other students in my same predicament. The director of Air Traffic here decided to open up another class of the entry-level ATC class, and I was able to jump into it. Unfortunately, that class was scheduled at the same time as my Aviation Safety class so I was forced to drop Safety this semester.

Here are my classes now:

  • MWF 8:00-9:00 – AT200 – Air Traffic Management I – This class is the basic, entry-level air traffic control class. The professor was a controller for thirty years or so at Washington Center so he definitely knows his stuff. So far, we have only learned about the history of air traffic control in the United States. The topics are a little dull for the time being, but I’m sure the material will liven up soon.
  • MWF 11:45-12:45 – WX301 – Aviation Weather – This is the second class in the Meteorology sequence. To be honest, weather is usually my least favorite subject in all of aviation and I absolutely dreaded WX201. But, so far this class has been pretty interesting. The professor used to be the local weatherman for the news here in Daytona, so that is really neat. Also, this class is held in very state-of-the-art classroom with computer stations at every desk. This allows the students to pull up the professor’s Power Point lectures up at their own desks, rather than having to stare at a huge screen at the front of the room.
  • MWF 4:45-5:45 – PS103 – Technical Physics I – First of all, this class is really easy so far. I took physics in high school so I feel that I have somewhat of a strong background on this subject and that might be why this class has been such a breeze. The professor is an engineer and he is a little off the wall, but a pretty good teacher nonetheless. I feel that I will be pretty successful in this class and I have always liked physics so I am looking forward to what else is to come. There is also a lab for this class that must be taken as a co-requisite that I have Wednesdays from 2:15-3:15.
  • TTH 9:45-11:00 – MA112 – College Math for Aviation II – This is the second mathematics course in a two-part series, obviously following College Math for Aviation I (MA111). It is a technical calculus class, and so far we have just been reviewing what was covered in MA111 for students who did have not taken it but rather have either tested into the class as I did, or transferred to Riddle from other schools and have taken a course equivalent. The professor (Jan Collins) is absolutely hilarious and I would recommend him to everyone who takes MA112. Anyhow, I usually enjoy math classes and this one seems like it should be fun.
  • TTH 11:15-12:30 – BA201 – Principles of Management – I like this class probably the least of all of the classes on my schedule. However, it is necessary so I am trying to stay interested and I keep telling myself that the material isn’t as boring as it seems. This class is just as its title entails, a course teaching the basic skills required to succeed as a manager in the business world. The professor talks non-stop for the entire hour and fifteen minutes and we just sit there and listen, jotting down the important points of her lectures. Hopefully this class will become more interesting as time progresses. There is a group project in this class, so that might bring a little spice to the party.

Campus life here in Daytona has been a blast so far. My dorm mates and I have been doing all kinds of fun stuff. Last week, my Resident Advisor called a meeting for our section of our floor in Doolittle. The point of the meeting was to introduce the new people, a.k.a. myself and one other guy, who introduced himself as, “King Louie,” or that’s what we thought he said at the time. It turns out his name is Kang Luiz, and he is from another country. It was a pretty funny conversation. Anyhow, the other point of the meeting was to sign up for sports to compete in “The Residence Hall Olympics.” This event is a chance for all of the residence halls to compete against each other in different sports. Soccer and basketball were Friday night and football and track were Saturday. I was on our flag football team, in which we took the bronze medal! I was pretty excited. Sunday was spent recovering from running, jumping, catching, and throwing all day Saturday. My roommate and I were both really sore so we both just rested in our room and watched TV.

I have probably eaten Chic-Fil-A everyday last week and this week for lunch. And dinner usually is spent at the buffet over in the Student Village. I bought some cereal and milk so I can have breakfast anytime, too. Overall, the food here is pretty good. Although, because I am so new here and all of my dorm mates are Engineering majors, many days I am stuck eating lunch in the Student Center by myself. I’m sure as time goes by, that will occur less and less. There was a basketball game tonight, so that was a blast! We played Florida Memorial University and we won, but the game was back and forth for its entirety. That made the game that much more exciting, especially when we pulled out a victory.

Well that’s all for now. My mom sent me a special pot for cooking soup in the microwave, so I think I am going to make some ramen noodles in it. It looks like it is getting ready to rain too so I might go sit in the study lounge and do some calculus homework. As I said in my last journal, if anyone out there has any questions about life here at Embry-Riddle, just send me an email and I’ll be sure to answer your questions as best as I can. Later!

Josh

January 11, 2009

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First off, hey everyone and I hope you all had great holidays! Second, I got my computer fixed so I can finally use it the right way instead of having to deal with that stupid Mac!!! So on my break I went to Virginia the day we got done with classes, and spent almost my whole break up there, went to the Dulles Air and Space Museum (awesome!) and went to NYC for a weekend. I had to drive back home with my family though and on the way back my uncle’s car broke down 4 times and he was following us so we had to wait so it took us 4 days to drive from northern VA to South Florida..UGH! I am no longer driving with the family places, I will fly and meet them! I spent 2 days at home and caught up with old friends then headed back to Daytona. I picked up my roomie at the airport on Monday and then the boyfriend on Tuesday and we headed into class on Wednesday. I have Flight Phis, Weather 301, Physics 2 and lab, Calculus, and Aviation Legislation. Not the worst schedule possible. We also got a new roomie named Lauren, she’s from Connecticut and she seems really nice, I haven’t gotten to talk much yet. But right now I am headed to watch the Steelers game so GO STEELERS!!! Talk to you all soon.

P.S.
Check out all the pictures from the Air and Space Museum on my facebook!

January 11, 2009

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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

January 11, 2009

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2008 is now gone and 2009 is here! It’s a new year and a new semester. It’s a perfect opportunity to start fresh in the world of academia and learn new things. Christmas break was awesome. Seeing family and friends again was really good. It was cold and it snowed quite a bit but I enjoyed it a whole lot. But as we all know, all good things come to an end, and as soon as January 5th came, I had to come back to Daytona to start the spring semester. This semester feels a lot different than last semester, I know my way around campus, I know people on campus and it’s almost like my second home.

While home, I visited my old high school, hung out with my friends and went to a track meet to watch my old high school’s track team run. I also went shopping a lot! It was a blast being back home. Even though it was just 3 weeks, it seemed a lot longer because I was having so much fun.

I am so pumped for this semester. Now that everyone knows everyone, it makes finding something to do a lot easier. Since I’ve been back we went to a hockey game, basketball game, and watched the Embrear’s that US Airways has brought in to service to Daytona. As for the classes, this semester I have all female professors… woot woot! I feel positive about this semester as my professors are very experienced in their fields of study and have a lot to teach. This semester I am taking:

AS 221-Insrument Pilot Operations
BA 201-Principles of Management
WX 201-Survey of Meteorology
PSY 101-Introduction to Psychology
MA 112-Technical Calculus

I am so excited to take these courses. I am currently taking a break from flying to focus on taking my Private Pilot Written Exam and also to give me some time to straighten out my loans. In the mean time, I am doing some observer flights with my friend Derrick so I can keep up to speed.

So far, I have been focused on getting settled in for this semester. Thanks to all of you guys that emailed me and responded to my posts last semester. I look forward to your emails this semester. And to the rest of you guys, if you have any questions, please free to ask, I will be happy to answer your questions.

Until next time.

January 11

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Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Mine was particularly busy, but I had a lot of fun. Right when I got back to Missouri, my friend and I decided to go to a St. Louis Blues versus Calgary hockey game. Although my beloved Blues lost, there was a lot of fighting and the two teams combined to score 9 goals. This excitement and intensity made the experience a lot of fun. A few days later I was lucky enough to also go to a Mizzou Tigers basketball game. Throughout the rest of my days in Missouri I was working, hanging out with friends, or spending time in St. Louis or Kansas City.

The day after Christmas, my mom and I went to see family near New Orleans, Louisiana. After a few days on the bayou, we went to their beach house in Pensacola. It was nice seeing my family and friends, and I never stop appreciating the nice weather in the South. Shortly after New Years, I found myself back in the Saint Louis airport on my flight back to Orlando. It all happened so fast and I had a lot of fun, but it’s good to be back.

The first three days of classes went very well. I think I am going to enjoy my professors and the material this semester. The only change to the schedule I had previously posted was a professor switch in Meteorology 201. I learned the first day of class that Barry was assigned to other duties and my new professor is Eicher. Here are some of my first impressions of my courses:

BA201- Hinebaugh is always energetic and a lot of fun. She has funny class rules, including singing “I’m a Little Teapot” if you are more than 5 minutes late. On Friday we were assigned to our companies (groups) and I am overall pleased with the members of the group.

PS142- I didn’t know what to expect from this class but so far it has been quite entertaining. Cabiac is loud and obnoxious, which makes the 8:15 course much more enjoyable. Although most people are taking Physics, I think I made the right choice by following more of my interests by taking Environmental Science.

I already had a lot to do this first weekend back. I took part in Volleyball during the dorm Olympics. My team lost in the first round but it was very close. I also got to attend another ERAU hockey game and basketball game. The hockey team BEAT the Florida Gators 6-5!!! It was an awesome game. I also made it out to the beach and swam in the chilly Atlantic. I have a few reading assignments to do to finish my weekend, but that is the extent of my homework. Thanks for reading, and let me know if I can help you with anything.

Until Next Time,
Mack

January 7, 2009

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Well hello to all out there!  Seems as though I was just finishing finals for last semester and here we are ready to start another.  To start, I’ll share a little bit about myself since I am a new resident student to Riddle.  My name is Josh Daily, and I am from the panhandle of Florida.  It’s roughly a six hour drive from campus, which is perfect; not too close to home, but not too distant either.  I was lucky enough to have an ERAU extended campus in my high school back home (Choctawhatchee Aviation Institute), so I was able to complete 18 credit hours of coursework for free while I was in high school. After high school, I attended Northwest Florida State College for last semester because unfortunately, I had to have surgery on my wrist forcing me to stay close to home.  In any case, I am here now!  I am an Air Traffic Management major here at the Daytona Beach campus.  I aspire to work in the ATC world in some way, shape, or form.

Transitioning into living at college could not have gone smoother for me.  I was really surprised at how well organized this whole operation is managed and run.  I had heard some horror stories from upper-classmen about the strains of housing assignments, registration, and adjusting to life on campus.  But honestly, the staff and students at Embry-Riddle are truly one of a kind.  I was assigned to Doolittle residence hall, and it took me all of five minutes to receive my keys and paperwork.  Before I knew it, I was all moved in!  I have been happy living in the dorms so far, and everyone seems to be really friendly.  From what I hear, Doolittle residents have some of the closest relationships due to the layout of the suites.  Eight students share a common bathroom facility here, which might sound terrible, but it’s really not bad at all.

Registration was probably the most painful part of the process, but it still took me less than thirty minutes.  Because I am a transfer student, registering for classes was problematic because some of the courses I had taken in previous semesters did not line up with the course outline here at Riddle.  On top of that, incoming students in the spring terms must wait until arriving on campus to sign up for their courses.  This situation presents the challenge of finding the courses you need, but digging to find ones that aren’t full.  For me, I wasn’t able to take any air traffic classes this semester for that reason.  But, the classes I did sign up for are needed in the long run, so no worries!  Speaking of classes…

Here’s my schedule:

MWF: SF210 Aviation Safety,  WX301 Aviation Weather,  PS103 Physics w/ lab

TTH:    BA201 Management,  IT109 Intro to Computers

Anyhow, classes start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to this semester!  So far I have done nothing but goof around on campus and hang out with my newly found brethren of Doolittle’s 3rd East wing.  Food here is pretty good so far, and the meal plan set-up is quite neat.  Whether playing volleyball, tennis, or football, playing some Xbox in the room, or just simply walking around campus enjoying the weather here in Daytona, there seems to always be something going on.  I’m sure I’ll find tons of other activities to do outside my studies to keep me occupied while on my downtime.

Well, that’s all for now.  I’ll be sure to update as often as I can to keep all of you readers out there informed.  If anyone has any questions about academics, dorm life, or student activities just shoot me and email and I’ll be sure to respond as soon as I can!  Thanks for reading this and I hope to hear from all of you out there.  Be sure to let me know when you get your acceptance letters!

Josh
Daily539@erau.edu