They were right; at the beginning of the semester, I remember being told that time would slip away much quicker than we would expect, and in less than two weeks, this fall semester will be coming to a close. It’s a time of reflection. Did I get everything I wanted out of the classes here? Is this the right college for me?
Embry-Riddle is specialized in aviation, and when I enrolled, I had a general idea of what I was getting myself into. To answer the question, Embry-Riddle’s business school is a perfect fit for me, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the classes I’ve taken, the people I’ve met, and the degree of aviation specialization classmates and teachers put into their work.
At Embry-Riddle, there is a sense of community that’s new to me, specifically at the college of business. Familiar faces in classes quickly became friends, and friendly faculty / staff always have their door open for questions and help that has helped yield success. Recently, I’ve been trying to take a more active role in our sports teams by attending and cheering with The Flock. So far, I’ve only gone to soccer and basketball games, but I will try to attend other sports in the forthcoming spring semester. The school is very spirited, and The Flock / Pep Band do a great job of getting the crowd cheering for E-R-A-U.
Thanksgiving break was this past weekend, and I was fortunate enough to fly back home. There, I enjoyed my family’s famous stuffing, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes with roasted marshmallows on top. It’s always a treat to go home, but I’ll be back in just under two weeks.
Next time I’ll cover my experiences with finals.
Until then,
Jonathan
Another few exciting events took place within the past two weeks. I witnessed the launch of space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129)! As I stated earlier, I had class during that time, but my physics professor took us outside to view the launch. In my opinion, day launches are more exciting as I am able to view the launch vehicle in my binoculars. I was able to see Atlantis and its three main engines still firing away, well after SRB separation!
If I remember correctly, they were filming a remake of Red Dawn. The picture is one of me on the set next to one of the tanks that was getting ready to be filmed driving down the street. I thought that was pretty cool to see! One thing I can say about Detroit is that the city has taken a hit since the automobile industry has been struggling; hopefully, the economy will pick back up soon. Silver Wings is a pretty unique organization in the fact that it is run completely by college students and there are some big changes that are coming in order to distinguish ourselves more. In 1998, we changed the culture of our organization and that has allowed us to become sort of lost in who we are. Now, we are trying to find our identity and in order to accomplish that some new things are going to be happening. I’m excited to be part of the staff that is going to implement these changes.
The College of Business Industry Advisory Board always comes to town during Homecoming Week and what this means is about twenty professionals in the aviation industry come and talk to us students along with some of their other duties. Some of the people include the co-founder of Ryanair, the risk manager at Jet Blue, people who work for Boeing, Lockheed Martin, the FAA, and so many other companies. I was one of the lucky students who were invited to attend a dinner with all of them and I learned so much about being a leader. A tip one man gave a few of us students was make sure you always give your full attention to your boss when he is in your office—don’t answer the phone, be typing on your computer, or surfing the web. They are the only thing that matters for the few moments they are in your office. I was impressed by how much these people wanted to talk to us students and how willing they were to share their knowledge with us. I’m looking forward to when they come back next year!
This past weekend, I toured Orlando-Sanford International Airport with the Airport Management Club. We toured the domestic and international terminals, the ramp, and the airport’s firehouse. Every airport is unique, but Sanford stands out, as it’s partially privately held – a rarity for U.S. airports.
I now have a new instructor for the remainder of the semester, as I mentioned in my last entry. He also came to this school with no licenses in hand and he finished his private pilot’s license after 110 hours of flight training. What I find so interesting is he has been in my shoes before and knows exactly how to help me.
Homecoming week was last week here at Embry-Riddle and consisted of many games, shows, and contests among the various student groups on campus. Finalizing homecoming week was a static display of aircraft on the flight line. I didn’t attend that display because I had some plans of my own for that weekend: The AOPA Summit.
I really had a blast, and walked away with lots of free stuff, as usual with these kind of events. After we were finished at the summit, we got back in the car on our way back to Daytona (2.5 hours). Halfway of course is Orlando, which we made a stop in to go plane-spotting at Orlando Int’l (MCO). It really is a great place to see everything from big to small and from domestic to international flights.
It’s really an amazing sight getting up close to these cars. My friend even got a chance to ride in one of them on the track!
My final event for this journal was our trip to Walt Disney World. We went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park for the day and really had a great time. We rode the rides, took the back lot tour of Disney, and got a chance to buy Disney merchandise. All of which was fun until we realized how much money we had spent. Well that’s all for now.
Hello again! Usually the posted highlights of my time spent at Embry-Riddle come from the weekends, but this time it comes from a weekday event. This past week, I went on a tour of Daytona Beach International Airport with the Airport Management Club. We had the opportunity to speak with airport operations workers, who administered the tour. I feel like I have a new perspective of how intricate and detailed running an airport can be.
First, we toured the terminal. Everywhere we went, there was something new to learn. Justin, who worked at airport operations, explained the procedures for painting the terminal ramp, as well as the runways. Additionally, jet bridges (or Jetways) are extended to their full length to allow the jet bridges to ventilate and dry out. In Florida, as I’ve quickly learned from observing the chain on my bike, everything rusts.
We drove around the perimeter of the airport, carefully watching the swamps and water runoffs, as these areas are prone to wildlife. The airport operations workers cautiously moved a snapper turtle, from the road to the runoff, with nothing but their arm strength and a shovel. I never thought about wildlife’s role on airports, or how airports control them.
Further down the road led us to the airport firehouse, where we got a demonstration of their newest truck, capable of holding 330 thousand gallons of water (if I recall correctly). It’s amazing how fast these trucks move, considering their weight. Following the demonstration, we thanked the airport operations guys, and headed back to Embry-Riddle.
Outside of school, I went to a Volvospeed Car Meet at IKEA of Orlando on November 1st with a friend of mine from here. At the meet were of course Volvos and also there were some VWs, Mercs, BMWs and even a Citroen. I had a lot of fun checking out the cars and I even won a raffle prize of leather conditioner/cleaner. Since the meet was held at an IKEA we all had lunch there and I also got to do some shopping for the dorm. Both IKEA and Bed, Bath & Beyond are the two stores I swear by and I highly recommend them both for almost all your college dorm needs.
Last Thursday, I was given the opportunity to miss class and drive to Orlando for the National Business Aviation Association Conference. This conference allows aviation businesses to come together in one location and showcase their products to potential buyers. My Professional Selling professor wanted us all to attend so we could observe some sales people and see how they sold their product. I got to see a lot of different companies and how they tried to entice the customer to come to their booth by different display techniques and free promotional products. For example, one booth put on a magic show and in the end gave away a bunch of prizes for audience participation. A group of my classmates and I were able to talk candidly to one company and we found out that it was one of the smallest conventions in the past three years and they blamed it on the economy. Furthermore, they stated that the aviation industry will most likely be in a recession until 2012. The good news is their company was able to get some prospective new customers out of the show, so hopefully they will survive the economic downturn. Overall, the conference was interesting and I learned some new information, so I’m glad that I made the trip to check it out.
My scooter and I took a trip to one of my favorite locations: the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. It was a beautiful day and I hadn’t rode my scooter for awhile. During my freshman year, I made my first trip to the lighthouse and was impressed by the magnificent size and beauty. I’ve always enjoyed lighthouses and this was the first one I was able to go inside and climb to the top. I think it’s about 200 steps to the top and once you are up there you can see for quite a distance. I had a fun time and enjoyed having the break from homework.
