Well, I’ve survived my first semester in college and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome of my grades and the value of my experiences.  For this blog post, I’ve decided to write about my top 10 favorite things about Embry-Riddle.

10. Small class sizes – This is one of the biggest advantages of coming to Embry-Riddle.  You have a much better chance to get to know your classmates and your professors, and you can go to either of the two for help.  You feel much more confident and compelled to ask questions.

9. Einstein’s Bagels – Einstein’s is great because it is open until 1:00 a.m. on weekdays.  The other food options close at 9, so on those days when you’re out studying late or your club meetings run too long, you will never have to go hungry.  Also, it’s perfect for late-night snacking.

8. Academic Advancement Center – I use the AAC for tutoring all the time.  Not only can you go there to get help from the tutors, you can also get help from other people who have your same professor.  In my opinion, it’s much better to study with friends than to struggle with something alone.

7. The weather – December rolled around and I could barely tell!  Other than spontaneous rain showers and humidity, it’s nice for it to be reasonably warm all year ‘round.  You can even visit the beach after your exams are over.

6. Professors – I really liked all the professors that I had this semester.  They care for their students and will help you a lot if you visit them during their office hours.  They’re willing to help you raise your grade if you are struggling, and recognize when you are putting your best effort into the class.

5. Living near Orlando – We know we should be studying, but one or two weekend trips to Orlando won’t hurt.  The temptation of living an hour and a half from Disney World is too strong to resist.  Save up your money and buy a discounted ticket from the school, and you won’t regret your Disney day trip with your friends.

4. ERRSA – The Embry-Riddle Resident Student association is one of the best organizations on campus.  They put on programs for students living in the residence halls, and get input from the students about how housing can change to fit their needs.  Most of all, we are one big family and we get the chance to do fun activities together!

3. The Robotics Association – RAER is one of the most valuable things to get involved in if you are going into a technical career.  The organization offers opportunities for robotics teams, and will also keep you connected in outside robotics activities like FIRST.

2. Studying – As counterintuitive as it may seem, one of my favorite things about college is studying.  Unlike high school, I really feel like what I am learning applies to things that I can and will do.  Also, my study habits have improved since I’ve been in class, and now I don’t even have to study as much because I know how to help myself understand the material.

1. Dorm life – Without a doubt, dorm life is my favorite thing about being in college.  I have made so many friends in the past few months that I know I will have for life.  We can talk about anything, go anywhere, and help each other out on our schoolwork.  It’s such a great feeling to have friends around you whenever you need them.

With that, I sign out and say goodbye for this semester.  Let’s hope the next one will be even better!

Hello again!

It’s the time of the semester to register for spring classes, and one of the great perks of being in the Honors Program here is priority registration. Especially since registration is a somewhat complicated process with seeing your advisor, writing your four year plan, and making sure you will pass all your current courses, it feels good to get it all out of the way early. I am excited that next semester I will be starting courses for my Meteorology minor!

The end of the month is always busy because it is normally where the due dates fall for projects and exams. I have been studying away, but there is always time for fun. Recently I’ve caved into a floor-wide fascination with Pokémon. Somehow all of your childhood obsessions that seemed lame in middle school and high school come back to you in college as super cool.

As far as classwork goes however, I’m doing a lot of group work on final projects for several different classes. In our EGR101 class, we are still working on our project for American Home Health care. We made the initial design for our sock device, and now we’ve started our prototypes. That means working in the lab… with power tools! We found out that our group will actually get to present the project to the organization after Thanksgiving break.

I’ve also been working on one of my final projects for Graphic Communications, which is the airplane design project. I am learning so much about CATIA through this project, because the design has to be complicated, but I’m proud of where the final product is going! Even though I’m a mechanical engineer, I still like airplanes, and this school has certainly done a lot to enhance that fascination.

As you’ve probably heard from the news, Hurricane Sandy hit the US in the past couple weeks. Although the northeast got the worst of the storm, the campus was distraught for several days when temperatures dropped down into the upper 40s and 50s. It was normal Ohio fall temperatures for me, but it’s definitely not quite as easy to handle when you’re used to walking outside to 80 degree weather. There were people bundled in winter coats, hats and scarves! Luckily the sun is back out and the weather is back to normal. We’ve actually had clear skies for several days!

In terms of off campus entertainment this week, our RA, Brenna took our wing to Hard Knocks, which is a laser tag arena based on real combat environments. It was really fun, and I liked the change from the stereotypical laser tag arena. We also spent a Saturday afternoon volunteering at the Walk for Autism Speaks.

Getting ready for a mission at Hard Knocks. Lastly, Halloween was this past week, and although I didn’t get to go trick-or-treating, I did get to dress up to go to my ERRSA meeting. The girls helped me put together a costume we did hair and makeup. I used clothes and things I found around my dorm and ended up as a Queen Bee. Everyone in ERRSA dressed up and we did a costume contest.

ERRSA members dressed for the costume contest. Only a few weeks until the end of the semester… see ya!