I thought I would catch everyone up to speed with all the events that have occurred over the past five weeks of my first semester. Back in August, after moving in, orientation week began. It was an awesome experience as I met people from across the country and all over the world. It was overwhelming to hear all the dreams and goals people want to achieve. I have even met students who uphold the same aspirations and ambitions that I do.

Fitting in at Embry-Riddle has been no problem at all. There are plenty of clubs and activities to get yourself involved with and you can be as committed as you want to be. As I have already experienced, there will be weeks where I have don’t have much time to put forth to the clubs that I am a member of. That, however, is perfectly acceptable. Some of the work and projects that I am performing on in these campus organizations coincide with my studies. It is great experience as I am learning how to apply my knowledge and incorporate it into real life tasks. The benefits of being involved are substantial and here at ERAU, all of it is available to you.

I should mention that time management is critical and even being in the college world for two years, I’m still learning how to budget. It’s one of those topics that many students dread. For some, it’s difficult managing and figuring out what works well and what doesn’t. The best advice I can give is to stay focused. School work and education is a priority, but nevertheless, reward yourself after you finish a task. I try and complete all of my assignments during the week this way I have my weekend to rejuvenate. It doesn’t always work out as planned but it helps me stay on track.

You may be thinking, how’s the workload at Embry-Riddle? With my current background, the work has been quite difficult and many of the assignments are time consuming. As I stated on my introductory post though, I’m a transfer student in which my previous major was a complete opposite of Aerospace Engineering. I knew already back in high school I was going to enroll at RIT as an Information Technology major and therefore didn’t need to fulfill anymore science or math requirements. Looking back, I wish I challenged myself just for the sake of it. The moral of this story is to always take the opportunities that are given to you, even if they don’t directly apply. You will never know what inspires your interests in the future. For all I know if I took physics and calculus back in high school, my dream of going into space would have hatched sooner.

So while the work is difficult for me, it doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone else who is in my field. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. My struggling in Calculus and Physics is starting to diminish though. After five weeks, it is all starting to click. The professors hear have been extremely helpful as well. I have had no trouble with visiting each of them at their scheduled office hours and I have been able to wander in, sit down, and start asking questions. They understand my educational background where I am coming from. It is great feeling to know that they are aware of my weaknesses as they can help troubleshoot and resolve the issues I encounter.

I’ll be preparing another post shortly after this regarding my experiences of viewing my first shuttle launch and the sweet benefit of being only 60 miles from the Kennedy Space Center. But I will reserve those exciting stories for a later time. Until then, I will continue on with my journey of working my way into space. See you out there!

It’s a weird feeling – the feeling of being at Embry-Riddle for more than a month. As it is now a month into classes, there are plenty of tests and homework assignments that have kept me busy enough to forget about time. The homework load isn’t scary or difficult in any way, however the amount of studying required for classes reached a new level last week.

The first barrage of tests is always the most difficult. Each professor has their own style, and they also have their own ways of making up tests. The first test generally gives you a rough idea of the future format of forthcoming tests. Since I did not have the slightest clue as to how difficult my tests would be, I’ve put a lot of effort into studying (at least 3 hours each).

With a good amount of time invested into studying each week, the weekends come quickly. There are always great things to do on and off campus. This past weekend, I went to Embry-Riddle’s observatory for quick glimpse at the stars. Nearly a dozen telescopes were set up, each with a different star in focus.

Embry-Riddle’s student government run Touch-N-Go Productions always has something planned for the weekend. Aside from movies during the week, there are events, such as this past weekend’s Friday Night Laughs (comedy). Events like these allow you to hang out with friends, and make new ones.

Trip to Yelvington Aviation with CEO club.

I’d like to touch on my experience with the college of business this past month. Wow! And I mean it. Every Embry-Riddle business student is enrolled in “intro to business programs,” an advisor-run class that helps you with the in-and-outs of campus and the business school. We spent the first two weeks getting to know classmates, exchanging phone numbers, and genuinely discussing what each of us are passionate about. This past week we created our four year plan, which maps out the classes we’ll be taking to earn our degree. 120 credits seem like a lot to get through, but I’m excited to take most of the classes I’ve chosen. I’ve officially declared my major, air transportation, and will likely minor in communications.

As for clubs, I’ve joined a few. I plan on being active in Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization (C.E.O), as everyone involved is interested in starting businesses with a focus on new and innovative ideas. I also plan on joining the Airport Management Club, which has yet to have their first meeting. On the topic of clubs, I’ve attended a number of club meetings and events, yet sometimes there are clubs that you know you will not fit in with, or you just won’t like – that’s why there are roughly 150 clubs. There really is something for everyone; if not, start one!

With weekly club meetings, studying, sleeping and time spent hanging out with friends, the weeks go by quickly.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back in a week or two.
Jonathan

Hello everyone and welcome aboard! My name is Stephan Wlodarczyk and I am a first year transfer student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Originally, I was studying Information Technology at the Rochester Institute of Technology for two years. Growing up, I’ve always had a knack for computers but I didn’t have any leads as to what type of career I wanted to pursue with them. Majoring in Information Technology was the best choice as it would allow me to expand my interests into a variety fields.

At the conclusion of my freshmen year, I discovered a passion that completely flipped my world upside down. I was taking a liberal arts core requirement in U.S. History, wondering to myself why do I have to relearn all of this. After all, our nation’s history is a subject that we begin learning about upon the first day of elementary school. As the old saying goes, “What you put in is what you get out.”, so I kept an open mind when going to class. The day my professor lectured about the space race, I became overly indulged and inspired. The whole idea of people riding a top of a converted ballistic missile venturing out into the unknown completely fascinated me. I fell right into a daydream, thinking what it must have been like to see our planet from a distance, to see it hovering in the black void of what we call space.

From that day forward, I made it a goal to establish a career with NASA and furthermore, fulfill my lifelong ambition of becoming an astronaut. I eventually found out that in order to become an astronaut, one must pursue math and/or science related degree. Information Technology was out of the question, but I didn’t want to switch majors into something I had no interest for. I didn’t want to create a checklist of how to become an astronaut. It was important for me to make sure I found a career path that I would enjoy. I stayed at RIT for one more year, seeking out areas of how I can be involved with our space program as an IT professional. However, my degree wasn’t supporting my passion.

I was recommended by a colleague about Embry-Riddle. He mentioned that the institute has the number one aerospace engineering program in the nation. He proceeded to say the degree is right up my alley and he certainly couldn’t have been more right. By the end of my sophomore year, I made the decision to apply. During the summer break, I toured the campus with my family and met with a few advisors. Upon being acquainted with them, I was greatly affected by their positive influence and complete faith of stating that I have what it takes to succeed here and live my dream. It’s a tremendous feeling to know that the faculty, staff, and professors are 110% behind you. I know now that I’m headed on the right track to chase down my dream and I couldn’t have made a better decision than to choose Embry-Riddle!

I have already started a blog titled, Working My Way into Space, that is devoted to keeping track of my progress, commission, studies, and the tasks I am performing to get involved with our nation’s space program. You can follow along at: http://www.stephanwlodarczyk.blogspot.com.