Category Archives: 2018 – 2019

Why I Chose Embry-Riddle

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Happy fall!

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Maybe not officially, but to me fall is in full swing. My routine has settled a bit more and you can believe that lots of pumpkin chai (made in the dorm) and Starbucks Caramel Spice Lattes with extra caramel are always in hand. While I do love my afternoon courses, I try to get out of my room and grab a coffee to get some work done before class. All the while I still get to sleep in, so that’s nice.

As we settle into classes, I wanted to shift my blog focus from preparing the incoming freshman and other students to sharing more general information about the university. You may be seeing more about student life, academics, on-campus jobs, and etc. I want to be real with you about my life at Riddle… See what I did there?

To begin this new series, if you will, I want to discuss why I chose Embry-Riddle. I think I can summarize this into a few points to keep this nice and simple. In my opinion, the school really sells itself. I have said this before, but if you can come tour the campus, you will fall in love. It happens to everyone. Especially with our brand new Student Union (pictures and post to come soon)!

1. The Name

The Embry-Riddle name is quite prestigious. It’s easy to forget how widely-known our school is in the aviation industry until you work in it. At my internship with United Airlines, everyone was blown away that I was a Riddle student. Not to mention any time it came up, I typically could find an alum who was happy to come join the conversation and network with me. Aviation is a tight-knit community. Having the name Embry-Riddle attached to you, on the top of your resume holds more weight than we may think.

2. The Campus is Gorgeous

As I mentioned above, we have a new Student Union. More so, we have gorgeous new dorms (with even more being built right now for Fall 2019). There is the shiny COAS (College of Arts and Sciences) which is stunning with its dome encompassing the largest telescope in Florida. Anyways, *closes jaw* the new Student Union is beyond beautiful. Not only does it resemble an airplane/eagle, it has a new walkway surrounded by palm trees. Our tiny school is beginning to have big campus looks with the small feeling we all love. And I almost forgot… the beach is nearby and you literally walk to class watching planes take off from the airport right in front of your face. Enough said. Take a look for yourself on our Instagram.

3. The Professors are Top Notch

This is kind of nerdy, and I never really appreciated it until I was in class here, but the professors are the best in the industry. When you are reading the books written by your professor, really soaking in their years of experience, that is the stuff that helps you grow and become an industry expert too. My professors can bring their years of experience into the classroom and help me understand the ways of the business more than a regular, old PowerPoint ever could. One professor even offered internships at the end of the course since he owned an airport consulting company nearby.

4. I Wanted Something Different

This is more personal to me, but I just wanted change. I love home — do not get me wrong. I just felt everyone all purposely went to the same colleges and I wanted a fresh start. I enjoyed high school, but I wanted a unique college with students who could truly relate to me. Embry-Riddle is just this. When else do you find other young adults who stop walking and gawk at the airplanes in the sky or have a passion for rockets or drones or anything aerospace and aviation related really? This leads me to my next point…

5. It Felt Like Home

When my parents dropped me off, they were very comforted by the faculty, students, and staff repeatedly saying we are a family. This is true. Your professors genuinely care about you and how you are. Your bosses at your on-campus jobs care. Your peers care. Most of us are from areas far away from Daytona since we come for this specialty focus. This means we are all far from home, far from family. So we make our own. Normal state schools have many students who live nearby or at least in-state. Here we lean on each other a little more because in a sense, we all relate to one another.

Also, this point can be used to talk about the sense of community I felt when I walked onto the campus the first time. I felt like I belonged here and I cannot explain it. Every school I compared to Embry-Riddle’s environment. I knew I couldn’t miss out on all its opportunities and its quirkiness.

Until next time,

Maddie

I’m Back!

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Well hello everyone! I am certainly glad to be back. For the current Eagles reading this, I hope your fall semester is going well, and for the future Eagles, I hope you’re getting ready for a great time.
After taking a year off to study Biology at Stetson, I am happy to say that I am back and in full swing. For those of you who don’t know, I am currently studying Aerospace Physiology. It is the newest major added to the list here at Riddle and I absolutely love it. First three weeks of school have been hectic since I am taking seventeen credits and working two jobs, but if you know me, I love to be nothing short of busy.
I am very happy to be back in Daytona and back at ERAU. The campus has changed with the addition of the student union, which I am very excited to see open in October (fingers crossed) but there is still the same atmosphere. Competitive, hungry, and of course, the sweet sound of airplanes.
I hope you are ready to follow along with my journey because I am certainly ready to be sharing it.
Stay tuned till next time and fly high!

September & Self Care

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Happy September everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, where I currently predict I will be in for the next few months. Although when I typically think of September I think of Fall, here in Florida it still feels excessively like summer with the high temperatures and humidity. Fun fact: the first day of fall is September 22!

Classes have officially begun and are in full swing. This semester I’m taking 18 credits, which are comprised of classes such as Statics, Thermodynamics, Physics for Engineers III, Physics Lab for Engineers, Honors Calculus and Analytical Geometry III, Arabic, and of course my Air Force Leadership Laboratory and Air Force class. Outside of classes my schedule includes my duty day work shifts for my Resident Advisor position, homework, studying, working out either at the gym or outside when the weather isn’t too hot around campus, drinking coffee, and sleeping! I also attend the occasional group fitness class at the gym and like to add Boxing Conditioning, BodyPump, and Yoga sessions to my schedule when I can.

Trying not to take life (or yoga) too seriously!

As most of you know, college at Embry-Riddle is intense and while it’s good to be involved and stay busy, it’s always good to take time for yourself to unwind and relax too. Life is about balance, and overexerting yourself physically, mentally, or emotionally isn’t healthy at the moment, and is especially unhealthy in the long run. In my first year at Embry Riddle I’ve truly learned to appreciate the importance of balance, through trial and error of course. Recently, I’ve encountered a lot of changes in the pace of my life, I’ve traveled a lot, changed settings, changed schedules, but something that’s stayed with me throughout all that is a focus on balancing work and life.

My first semester at Riddle I hit the ground running, I was taking 16 credit hours, was really involved in AFROTC, and was trying to find myself and make friends on campus too. I completely immersed myself in classes, homework, and exercise, but on the downfall of not getting enough sleep, and not taking time for myself. About half way through my semester, I was walking back from my morning classes and realized that I was constantly rushing everywhere, and I never took time to stop and enjoy life, the weather, or even to take a moment to breathe. This is when I realized that as I was going through the motions of my day, I wasn’t really getting everything I could out of all the amazing experiences I was having. Being present 100% in everything I was doing is really the way I learned to make the most out of my experiences. Whether that meant putting my phone away in class or giving speakers in presentations my full attention, focusing on how my body feels when I’m working out, or building meaningful relationships with the people that I work, study, and live around such as classmates, professors, or even faculty members at the university.

Beach run with my AFROTC family!

My most recent focus this semester has been on proper sleep and self care. I started taking time at the end of every day to reflect on how to make the following day better, to breathe, and to do something for myself: such as reading something that’s not specifically for one of my classes, stretching, drinking tea, doing a face mask, or even cutting up some fruit to snack on while I do homework. Balance has given me an appreciation of the effort it takes to do well in my studies, but also the importance of happiness, and that how taking a few minutes every day to relax are crucial aspects to living my best, calm yet driven, lifestyle.

Stay motivated my friends. Will report back soon!