Hello Everyone,
Well, I must say that I have appreciated all of your compliments through email and AIM, you guys make it worth my time to write and I thank you all for reading my blogs. SO ANYWAYS, this month has been so awesome in so many ways. It has been going by so fast, I can’t believe we are already past midterms and that we are now in the second half of our first semester. I have done so much and I have gone through so much in such little time. I have grown as a person, through leaving my family, starting this school, meting new friends, and just being involved on campus. It’s been such a great experience. So there is my little preach before I tell you about all my excitement this month.

I’ll start with school first. School has been getting intensely difficult, it’s been highly stressful, but all at the same time I feel like I’m actually being challenged and I love it. I have not been doing good in my Business class, just for the simple fact that I don’t care about that class. That’s really bad to say, and I hope it doesn’t happen to any of you, but I just don’t understand what the teacher says half of the time, I don’t understand the class, it’s so early in the morning, and I really believe that it’s just not my strong suit. I really am enjoying all of my classes though. I will tell you all one thing though, this school is not for slackers, if you think you can get by like you did in high school and not do homework, and study maybe for an hour before an exam, then you are sadly mistaken. My example, I studied for 8 hours for my exam and I only made a 73 on it. This is not cake work and you’re not just going to skim by on going to class and getting extra credit. This is YOUR future and you’re going to have to work for it. In this industry, they don’t hire you by if you went to class or if you did extra credit to raise your GPA, you’re judged on everything you do. Please, keep that in the back of your mind!

So onto some fun things that I have done – Kennedy Space Center: This was by far one of the greatest things that I have done. I absolutely loved it there. We got to see the Space Shuttle Discovery on the launch pad getting ready for its launch, and we got to see the part of the International Space Station that is going up in a month and a half. The history behind space flight was just so intriguing and to see how far space flight has come was just amazing. We got to go on the new Shuttle Launch Experience, and that was just the craziest thing ever, it was so much fun. If you go onto my blog site, you will see pictures from the trip and I hope you all enjoy them.

Some other things that I have done recently – I went to Universal Studios for my first time ever for Halloween Horror Nights. That was so much fun, too. We did The Mummy ride, Earthquake, Men In Black, and a Haunted House. It was just for a few hours so we actually go to do a lot more then we thought, and it was A LOT of fun!!! This trip was with ERRSA, and I have to say that ERRSA has been the best thing that has happened to me since I have been at ERAU. The President of ERRSA has become someone that I can look up to as a mentor and that in the little time that I have known her, I could trust her with my life. She really is an inspiration to everyone who meets her, and she has given me so much already that I can’t wait to see what else she can teach me, and where she can lead me. Some of the greatest people run ERRSA, Puga (VP) Dave  (Treasurer) CJ (PCC) Erik (Riddle Vision Coordinator) Pulkeshin (CCC) and Dustin (NCC) they are some amazing people and I have also grown to respect them and I am now close with a lot of them. I hope that they will become some of my closest friends. I really don’t know what I would do without this organization. I plan to run for the Governor of my Residence Hall and, by doing that, I hope I can gain leadership skills and learn Parliamentary Procedures in order to pursue my interest in ERRSA to an executive board level, so that everything I learn from the Executive Board this year, I can carry with me and do them proud my keeping all they have done alive and keep the organization as strong as they have made it.

So my final piece of news is about me! I am auditioning for the Talent Show. I am auditioning with the AcaFellas and we are going to sing Happy Days (since our homecoming theme is Primetime TV) and I am also auditioning with my friend Kelly to sing All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, so wish me luck!
Hope all is well with everyone, and keep all your hopes alive, because the dreams that you wish, will come true! (mine have)

Until Next Time,

Joe Jaworski

Hello!  These past two weeks have once again been packed full of adventures and I am excited to tell you all about them.  First of all, I did get back my AFOQT scores and I am happy to report that I passed even without the calculator!  Next, the Student Center is going to be renovated over the summer so next year we will have a Chick-fil-A and a smoothie place.  I am pretty excited about this because although the food is good, you do get tired of it.

On October 9th, I went to an event called Tuesday’s Treasure sponsored by the Women’s Center and The Office of Diversity Initiatives.  Every month they bring in different women to talk about what they do and their experiences.  This month was Mrs. Arleen Smith who is the Assistant to the Director of Aviation—Coordinator of Airport Security at Daytona Beach International Airport.  I decided to go because I enjoy learning about airports and one day I hope to be an airport manager.  Her talk was really informative and I learned some interesting facts about the Daytona Beach Airport.  Also, on Friday of that week I went to another women’s event—Chat-and-Craft for Charity.  We made Thanksgiving table decorations for the local children’s home and we had snacks, got to know one another, and watched a movie.  These programs are a really great way to meet other women here on campus!

Recently, the ROTC programs here at Riddle competed against one another for the Commander’s Cup.  Army, Air Force, and Navy compete against each other in a run, pull-ups, tug-of-war, and other categories.  I know for sure that the Air Force won the run and the tug-of-war categories.  One of the other categories was school spirit and we cheered the women’s soccer team to victory.  The Navy had won the Commander’s Cup last time, but the Air Force won the trophy back.  I had a fun time just cheering everyone on!

PT has involved a lot of running because we are getting ready for the physical fitness test which will be this coming Wednesday.  I have never really enjoyed running, but as time goes on I find myself not disliking it as much.  Maybe by the end of the school year I will be able to say I like running or better yet, that I love running.  One morning we all met at the beach and ran about three miles.  When we got there it was so dark that you couldn’t even see the water but by the end of the run the sun was up and shining.  I liked running on the beach because it was nice to have a change from running in circles on the track.  Soon, I think we get to go running on the racetrack at Daytona Speedway and that will be exciting.

As part of Silver Wings, I went to the Star Shelter this past Saturday.  Our job was to hang out with the kids for a couple hours and we decided to color with them.  Several of the kids were really creative and made Halloween masks or pictures to decorate their rooms.  I had fun helping a little girl glue streamers onto a paper crown.  A Silver Wings member helped a little boy make a Frankenstein mask and a paper hammer.  The boy had so much fun chasing people around and scaring them.  We are planning on going back to the shelter and building a gingerbread house with the kids for a local contest.

My classes are going well and I have been able to get all the projects done.  Each class has one big project that you have to complete either by yourself or in a group.  For example, in my Management class we have a group paper where we have to analyze a company following the outline the professor gave us.  My group chose to do Walt Disney Corporation and we had to have half of it completed by last week.  For my Macroeconomics class I had to do a paper and presentation and in my Honors class I have to do a presentation and numerous papers.  The only class I have without any projects is my math class.  If you don’t have PowerPoint on your computer when you come here, make sure you go to the library and get it installed because you will definitely use it.  The library has all kinds of computer programs you can check out and install on your computer for free.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention Biketoberfest!  For all of you who don’t know, Biketoberfest is like a mini bike week because it only lasts for four days and there aren’t as many bikers.  I have seen some pretty cool bikes, but I definitely won’t be walking anywhere off campus until it is over because the traffic is crazy!  Registration begins on Monday so in my next entry I will be sure to tell you how it went.

Until next time,

Kaleigh

e-mail:sidesk@erau.edu

Well hello to everyone!!! Hope your day is going favorably and that you are enjoying the wonderful World Wide Web! That’s what the www stands for in the internet tool bar up there ^. Anyway, I’m enjoying life down here in wonderful Daytona Beach. I would like to tell you about all the fun things that I have done this past two weeks, but to be honest, I haven’t really done anything exciting. BUT, I do have some fun things planned! So I’ll tell you about those things instead of what I have done. But first . . . classes . . .

TTH 8:15am-9:30am – Aviation Weather – So far so good . . . I got a 90 on the first test that we took, which isn’t too bad. I still think 8:15 classes are pretty early, but I’m glad that I’m getting out of bed and being active. As much as I enjoy just sitting and doing nothing, it’s good to get up and feel productive. Otherwise the class is going good. We’re learning about some turbulence and then some thunderstorms, so it should be interesting.

TTH 9:45am-11:00am – Business Communications – So this class is my hardest class this semester, partly because I don’t enjoy writing. We finished our first project and when we turned it in, my professor immediately assigned the next project. And half way through that project he assigned our third project! So I have been doing a lot of writing and so far I have made Bs on my papers. My professor says average work gets a C, good work gets a B, and excellent work gets an A, so I’m surprised that I got a B. But I’m still pushin for an A, so we’ll have to wait and see how that goes.

TTH 12:45pm-2:00pm – Intermediate Aeronautics – My professor once again lightens up the class and generates a good mood from all my classmates. We’re starting to learn the specifics regarding all the technical aspects of instrument flying. We are going over departure procedures, arrival procedures, holding patterns, and tracking navigational aides. All in all it’s pretty exciting learning about all these procedures that thousands of airline pilots use on a daily basis!

TTH 2:15pm-3:30pm – Air Traffic Management II – We took our second test and I got a 94, so I’m pretty happy about that. This class is sometimes a bit dull (because a lot of the information overlaps with my other classes) but my professor does a good job of lightening up the atmosphere. We were just learning about aircraft recognition and what distinguishes similar looking aircraft. We talked about an airplane called a Cessna Skymaster and our professor told us a pretty funny story. When he was a controller he saw an airplane coming in that was far away, but he thought it looked like a Cessna Skymaster so he talked to the pilot and asked him, but the pilot wasn’t in a Cessna Skymaster and he didn’t know what a Skymaster was either. So he asked: “Cessna 213 are you a Skymaster?” And then there was a long pause then the pilot responded: “No, I’m a student pilot.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I don’t know if you’re laughing, but I am!

TTHS 5:30pm-8:30pm – Flight – My instrument rating is coming along nicely, but it gets tricky at times. I thought there was a lot going when I was a private pilot, but it gets a lot busier when you go for your instrument. There is a thousand things going on at once and it gets pretty stressful. That’s why I’m glad I have my instructor with me because this is a walk in the park for him. I can’t wait until I get to that level and I don’t have panic attacks! My instructor and I are getting along well and we are always laughing and having fun. This week I will be flying some holding patterns which should be fun. I just have to remember how to enter the pattern, which direction to go, and for how long and I’ll be fine!

So my classes and flying are going along nicely. Other than that, it has been an uneventful two weeks. I have been working a lot to get some money, which doesn’t grow on trees as I just found out. But other than work and school, there’s not a whole lot goin’ on. I would tell you about the success of my intramural volleyball team cleverly titled the “BAMFs” but unfortunately we haven’t played in three weeks. Not sure what’s happening with that, but apparently they just haven’t scheduled us for games so we haven’t got the chance to play. Oh well, it would have been unfair if we got to play because no other teams would even have a chance! (Sarcasm)

So now I’ll talk about the future instead of the past. Coming up on this Thursday I will be attending Halloween Horror Nights which is at Universal Studios in Orlando. It’s basically a big scare fest with creepy goblins and ghosts that walk around scaring people. I’ve been in the past and had a great time so I’m looking forward to it this year. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it next journal. If you want, you can check it out here http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/orlando/index.html

Ohh! Switch back to the past. I saw the movie Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller and I thought it was pretty funny. It’s definitely an “adult” movie, but I haven’t seen a movie where I laughed that hard in a while. Okay, back to the future.

So coming up in November I am going with some friends to a comedy show in Orlando. It’s in an arena that holds 17,000 people, there’s only one comedian, and his name is . . . well I just had it. I keep forgetting . . . Let me just flip through my calendar . . . Oh yes! That’s his name. You might have heard of him before, but I doubt it . . . his name sounds like Cane Dook. Yes, its DANE COOK!!!!!!!!!!!! (Sorry for the stupid lead up, I knew who it was the whole time) So Mr. DC is a hero of mine (despite his recent movies) and I have seen him live twice in my life and now I am going to make it a 3rd time. He is going on a 25 city tour (Rough Around the Edges Tour) that starts in November and goes to mid-December. I suggest that if you are a fan of Mr. Cook that you go to his website (DaneCook.com) and buy tickets immediately! Or if you aren’t a fan, don’t go because that wouldn’t be a smart thing to do really. He’s coming to Orlando on November 14th and I am psyched! I will definitely be counting the days off until he arrives. So be sure to stay tuned to my journal because I will definitely be writing about that and posting some pictures on the website.

Well, I guess that’s about it. I’ll try to have a more exciting week or two so I have something to write about. Maybe I’ll win the lottery or get chosen to represent America in an egg throwing contest! (Kind of random, I apologize). Anyway, hope everyone is doing well and I will be back in no time. Ah, and don’t forget to check out some videos and pictures that I have posted, and not to mention the other student journals. I was reading them, they got some good stuff! Until next time!

-Blake

email: wasteofsoap@yahoo.com

pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wasteofsoap/

videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=blakeguiles

Hey Everyone,
Hope you are all doing okay! If you have been following my blog posts you will know that I have been “On Trial” for the Acafellas and I just wanted to let you all know that I have officially made it. I must say that this group is amazing, they are the funniest yet nicest guys in the world and it’s such an honor to be a part of them now.

So I’m now in my new Residence Hall in Adams Hall. It is a Freshman Residence Hall but it is actually really nice. It’s fairly spacious and it is right in the Student Village. The Village is a large building with 4 Halls in it. There is O’Conner, Adams, Wood, and Stimpson, along with Einsteins Bagels and The Buffet! This is also where the ERRSA office is located and the Housing office!

So for the Acafellas, we were able to sing the National Anthem at the Heart Walk and it went really well, we all did really good and it was near perfect! Otherwise, it has just been crazy as usual, lots and lots of Homework, lots of tests, lots of studying, and NO TIME!! Trust me when I say that your semester will FLY by (no pun intended) but I think it is a good thing. Whenever I get free time, I tend to find myself thinking about and missing home which is never a good thing, because then I get depressed and just don’t feel like doing anything. It is good to keep yourself busy, maybe not with as much stuff as I do, but it really is a good idea to be involved. You should never be bored on campus, and I know I have said that in my previous blogs but it is sooooooo true.

Classes:
AT302— Air Traffic class is going well, we took our first test and it was fairly difficult but all the same we are really getting into very interesting things, such as sectional maps, special ops, airspace, and all that fun stuff!!! I actually look forward to this class, despite the fact that I have it at 8 in the morning!!!

MA006— Math is soo much fun, the teacher is great, the class is easy, it’s just an all together good class! I believe I have an 87 in the class currently which is fairly good due to the fact that she is a very hard grader. I know I said the class was easy, but she doesn’t believe in partial credit, which means if you forget a negative sign it’s totally wrong. I don’t really believe in that type of grading but whatever floats her boat!!!

PSY101— Psychology is a great class. There is really not much to say about it, but its very interesting and it’s an easy “A”

BA201– NOT SO MUCH!!! Not a fan of this class AT ALL… it’s really boring and it’s an 8 am class! The class is a bunch of following Powerpoints and class work that is irrelevant to anything that we are learning. I try to get interested in it, but it really is just a boring topic to me. (BA201= Business Administration)

WX201– Meteorology is a hot/cold type class! I Love the topic and I love to learn about weather, but we aren’t really learning about…. well weather…. I mean we are but we aren’t. It’s the basics of weather, so we aren’t into anything substantial yet, it’s a lot of Air Particles, Air Pressure, conversions, and BLAH BLAH BLAH!!! It’s a really fun class to be in but it’s actually really HARD. The average score on the first test was a 68, just to give you a visual on how hard it really is!

So that’s about all for now, If you look at my pictures there are pictures posted of the First Acafellas performance of the National Anthem and such. I hope all is well at school for all of you, I hope you are all doing good, and as always, never hesitate to contact me for ANYTHING!!!

Until Next Time!

Joe Jaworski
Aim: HYPORBOY226
Email: Jaworksj@erau.edu

Hi everyone!

The journals were finally posted this week, yay!

These past two weeks have been chill. I’ve been working harder than I think I ever have in high school but also have more time to do everything. I’ve officially joined the clubs I want to and here’s the final list… Task Force One, the Society of Women Engineers and the Honors Student Association. All three together offer me a good balance between some leadership, fun, academics, and career opportunities. Both TFO and SWE are planning a homecoming float, the theme this year is something from a TV show. I’ve never been to a homecoming, or seen a homecoming parade (other than on TV) because I went to a small school, where our pep rally’s lasted all of 30 minutes (it’s okay though, we loved it). Homecomings during the end of November, so I’m excited!

I finally booked my ticket to Jersey for Thanksgiving! Yayy, I’m excited to have a break and see some extra familiar faces, like my parents for example!

Last weekend, a bunch of us saw the movie, ‘The Gameplan’. It was pretty good. Later that day, we walked outside and could barely stand up straight because the wind was blowing so furiously. I held on to my friend, hoping that both she and I together won’t fly away; it was crazy. The best part was that the wind wasn’t cold. If it ever gets windy in New Jersey, you’ll feel your nose stuff up and turn into an icicle. Here, it was windy as anything, but you didn’t even need a jacket to survive it. This past weekend, I went bowling with the Society of Women Engineers and had fun. By the end of the night, it felt like my fingers were going to fall off but I didn’t come in last in a few of the games. Yay!

I realized I never mention anything about my classes and I should, because they’re cool this semester and you’ll definitely want to know which teachers to take to make sure your freshman year isn’t harder than it has to be.

Here’s a list of what I take:

EGR 101-Honors Intro to Engineering w/Mrs.Lisa Davids

–          This is one my favorite classes. We always do extensive projects and the people in my class make it so much better too.

EGR 120 Graphical Communication w/Ms. Elaine Weavel

–          This class is a drafting class. We use Catia here and it’s similar to AutoCAD, if you’ve used that before. Drawing by hand is a bit challenging for me, but on the computer, I love it!

HON 150 Honors Seminar w/Dr. Barbie

–          You won’t be able to take this class unless you’re an Honors student but it’s awesome! It’s a class about analyzing different forms of rhetoric, oratorical, media and print. It’s great.

MA 241 Calc 1 w/Dr. Mancas

–          This professor is great. He makes sure you understand everything and will do absolutely everything he can to make sure you get the grade you deserve (and want).

PS 150 Physics w/Dr.Barjatya

–          This class is possibly my most challenging class, only because we go at a really quick pace. The professor is new, but I like the class because it keeps me on my toes at all times.

That’s all the classes I’m taking my first semester. It’s a total of 15 credits. FYI, if you can (as I did), ask to see if you can get out of University 101. It’s a one credit course that meets twice a week and can be not worth all the effort, or so I’ve heard. I’ve gotten my first paper this past week and it’s for the Honors Seminar. It’s a rhetorical analysis of any historical speech I want to do and I’ve chosen to analyze the President’s address to the nation on 9/11. It should be interesting; it’s one heck of a speech.

Jill Meridith, who makes these handy journals available to you, gave me awesome news the other day. She asked me to be the student representative speaker during the prospective student orientation! I get to get up on stage, introduce myself, tell everyone something about myself, and then am available for the rest of the day for questions etc. The orientation is on Oct. 27, if you’re attending, be sure to look out for me and wave hi. You are also always welcome to ask any questions you may and expect an honest answer. I’m really excited; it should be a lot of fun.

These next two weeks should be fairly normal. Dad might come visit next weekend, so that should be cool. The 22nd, is the first day of Priority Registration for the Spring Semester, so I’m hoping to have an outline of all the classes I want to take that semester by that weekend at the very least.

That’s all guys. I’m ready to open my calc book up and get my homework done, still aware of the fact that it’s a Saturday night. Btw, don’t forget to watch Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday nights, the new season so far is awesome.

Until next time,

Spree!

Email:shankars@erau.edu

Well, we’ve made it to the six-week mark. It’s hard to believe, but nice to have the experience. I finally walk around campus as if I know where I’m going and what I’m doing. Whether or not that’s always the case is another story…

Some days I have been so tired, but Thursdays and the weekends have saved my tired self. In Calculus 1, we’ve been moving along with more quizzes and derivatives and integrals. Honors Seminar has taken me through another film, Happenstance, and we’re now reading A Fine Balance. Despite hearing all of the different sides, I have not changed my belief about the world and determinism vs. chaos. You’ll have to ask me if you want to know! 😉

By the way, I apologize for the extra “?” in the last entries. It was my good ‘ol Auto Correct making 🙂 into the smiley symbol which the webpage didn’t recognize. So, 🙂 was me smiling. Ha.

Back to the class summaries: Graphical Communications has been more challenging but also more fun because we are working through CATIA. I can’t believe all of the buttons and things you can do with the 3D parts. We have created some very nice-looking things. I only hope I can remember procedure should the test involve making something from scratch. I’ll try to put up some pictures of my homework.

And of course I can’t forget… Chemistry! I am finally beginning to feel a little bit better. I feel like it will be one of those classes you always hear about that you keep working hard and despite feeling like you failed, the grade is surprisingly good. At least, that’s what I’m hoping! 🙂 So, I promised to tell you about the test. On the way to Chemistry two days after, I saw someone dressed in a costume in front of me. I thought, “Who is this weirdo?” It was a red and black grim reaper costume including the sickle. I looked down at his hands and they were wrinkly and clutching what appeared to be tests. “No way! It’s Prof Cameron!” I started laughing and the whole class joined in when he opened the door. He proceeded to write that many of the test scores were lower than they should be. I was. It was the lowest grade I’ve ever seen on a test that belonged to me, but compared to not being able to finish quizzes, a C isn’t terrible. It’s just difficult for a perfectionist-type gal to see something lower than a 90-something. But don’t worry, I’m no genius, and it’s important that I learn to not be devastated by not getting A’s. I have some very, very hard classes ahead! But, don’t look at this and think there’s no way you want to do Engineering Physics! Chemistry is my only hard class right now, so if you want to be an engineer and love space, go for it! Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t! We have so many great resources like tutoring, fellow classmates, and patient
teachers- you would be just fine!

So I don’t leave you with all negatives from Chemistry, here’s the good news: In class on Friday, a miracle happened- I finally finished a quiz with the right answer and everything! I drew a sun on my paper and when asked why by Prof Cameron, I said, “I’m happy! I finally finished a quiz!” He smiled and walked away. I love my teachers.

On to EP 101: We had several interesting presentations and guests including quantum mechanics, NASA, and caution against drinking, drugs, and too-little sleep. This class is very helpful and interesting!

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go on the short retreat put on by Campus Outreach in St. Augustine on a Friday and Saturday.

We carpooled from the ICI center and stopped at Chipotle for dinner. I enjoyed the worship sessions and teaching time as well as playing board games into the evening while the best beat-boxer I’ve ever heard strutted his stuff. He did a great job of acting out things with it and included the gospel very well. To close everything off on the second day, we had a yummy picnic lunch in the windy, sandy beach area. The Embry guys had the idea to go to Deb’s ice cream ( I forgot the name) where we had delicious gelati. It’s like frosting ice cream with a layer of shaved ice and then another swirl of the ice cream. I got mango and it was delicious. It was also a blast getting to know more Embry Christians.

For the Honor’s Society, I was able to go on a field trip to visit Piper Aviation Company in Vero Beach. I had to work extra-hard on Tuesday to make it possible by doing a Chemistry lab from 8-11 am, making up a Calculus quiz, and telling Dr. Olivero that I couldn’t make EP 101 on Thursday.

A quick side-note on the lab: It was fun and interesting! It was nice to have a change of partner and such. I think the stirring tablet (magnetic) on the Bunsen burner with the magnetic stirrer is brilliant! We had a blast making the solution turn pink. I’ve never had Chemistry lab before, so it’s been a struggle, but very exciting.
Good times.

Back to Piper: When we first gathered, I happily recognized one girl from Honor’s Seminar and a guy from my floor. There wasn’t much conversation on the way down, but I used the time to read and then daydream out the window. It was pretty overcast, but still warm as ever. We stopped in Vero Beach to throw away our box lunches and get a peek at the actual beach before driving back to the plant. The buildings took up a ton of space, but I’m used to Boeing, so they were small. The workers were all so close and the company was much smaller than I expected because of knowing their prestige. It was a delight talking to the different people who were kind enough to be our guides.

We even met several Riddle graduates. I was really impressed with their efficiency and planes. I had such a huge desire just to touch one and climb on in for a flight. I can’t believe how much I miss flying! But, back to the trip, it did help me visualize the kind of job I could have. I love Boeing, but I also love a more intimate work experience. Boeing is huge! We paused to visit the gift shop and then take a picture by the Piper sign. I bought a cute Piper pilot teddy bear as well as a bright yellow classic Piper Cub T. I hope someone puts up the group picture we took.

As for friends and down-time, I’ve enjoyed a little bit of both! I still call my parents several times each day. I know that surprises some people, but it’s nice to hear what’s happening back home and share my experiences.

After that infamous Chemistry test, my friend took me to Wal-Mart to get a new calculator that I needed and then we stopped at my favorite place: Sonic Drive-In! I got the fabulous French toast sticks and a sonic Blast with Reese’s. It’s nice to have a gift card (my parents gave it to me for graduation). I also have spent some time relaxing while watching all of the new TV shows of the season. It’s so cool that we get free cable! And, every once in awhile, I drink tea and watch a movie. My room is a nice sanctuary after hard days and weeks.

Also keeping me interacting with others is Christian Fellowship Club.
One week, after a message on Job, we all went to CiCi’s. Everything looked delicious, but I had already eaten dinner. The guys pigged out on pasta, pizza, and cinnamon rolls since it’s all-you-can-eat Italian place. Back on campus, several of us played video games in O’Conner and laughed at YouTube videos. Fun, fun!

The flag football team I mentioned last time was cancelled, unfortunately. I guess I have to find another way to exercise. There’s a little room with treadmills and bikes right by the bridge in the Student Village, so I should check that out. My friend and I ran on the beach one night, but I don’t have a car, so that can’t always happen.

In closing, one of the awesome things about college is the random events happening on campus. On the way back to the dorms, a friend and I saw a sign for free Smoothie King smoothies and an inflatable obstacle course and wall climbing. We entered a drawing for prizes, laughed our way through the course, and took a smoothie for the road.

The obstacle course was hilarious! You slide down one thing and the bounce launches you through the next. I slammed against the wall several times! That strawberry banana smoothie was lovely! 🙂

Less than 5 weeks until my Dad visits; less than 7 weeks until Thanksgiving; and less than 10 weeks until I’m going home for Christmas break!

~~~~~

Well, hope my stories were organized enough for you! Please feel free to e-mail me any questions you have. Senior year, college applications, and decisions are difficult and I was just in those shoes!

My e-mail: spencern@erau.edu

Thanks for reading!
Natalie

Time flies when you’re having fun!  I have found that saying to be so true here at Riddle.  Already it’s October and the middle of this week marks the halfway point!  In my Business 101 class, our advisor was talking about how registration is coming up and we need to decide what classes we want to take.  I am excited about picking new classes!  My schedule now has mainly morning classes and I hope to keep it that way because I would rather have my afternoons and evenings free.  As an incoming freshman, you don’t have any say in your schedule so you might find that you really like morning classes after all.   I will keep you updated on the whole registration process.

ROTC continues to be an adventure!  These past two weeks have been jammed packed with all kinds of activities including:   a cookout, paintball, uniforms, volunteering, and painting the spirit rock.  First of all, I had the pleasure of taking the AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualifying Test).  Think ACT or SAT testing and you kind of have an idea of what it was like.  The test lasted about four hours; if you would like to see the format or take a practice test you can find a book at your local bookstore.  The test has two math parts and the great news is you cannot use a calculator.  I don’t know about all of you but I NEED a calculator!  However, I think I did okay and in a couple of weeks I will find out for sure.  The same weekend my flight commander had a cookout at his house after extra drill.  I had a wonderful time and got to know some people in my flight a little more.  My favorite part about ROTC is the instant bond between all of us cadets.

Paintball was something I had never done before and signing up for this was equal to physical training.  The Air Force only trains twice a week on Wednesday and Friday.  I don’t mind running but every once in a while your legs would like a break.  All I knew about paintball was from the movie Failure to Launch and this was a little bit different.  We were in the sand pits and I don’t think I actually hit anyone.  I got hit once and in my finger—my trigger finger!  I could see someone and right as I put my finger on the trigger they fired.  I couldn’t believe I had been hit and I will admit it did hurt a little.  I do plan on trying paintball again and next time I will have a better idea of what I am doing!

Ever since school started my Air Force uniform has consisted of blue jeans and a t-shirt.  Well, I received my service dress uniform which is blue pants and a light blue shirt.  The detachment had an alterations company come to alter our uniforms which is good because my pants needed to be a lot shorter.  A pointer for anyone doing AFROTC next year—be early!  I was waiting in line to get my uniform and had to leave because I had class.  The next day I made sure I was there ten minutes before schedule and there were already several people in front of me.   I should be getting my battle dress uniform soon which is the camouflage pants and blouse.

Another cadet from my flight and I volunteered to help a local soup kitchen serve dinner.  I had never volunteered at a soup kitchen before, so I was ready for another new experience.  We got lost on the way there and drove out of Daytona Beach because the road to turn on was hidden and didn’t have a very big street sign.  We eventually figured it out!  Once there, we helped wash the tables, make cheeseburgers, serve dessert, and then clean up.  I enjoyed the evening and we only spent two hours at the soup kitchen.  Unfortunately, we got lost on the way back to campus and we traveled into Port Orange; however, we made it back about an hour later.  The soup kitchen is about fifteen minutes from campus.  My flight also painted the spirit rock and I posted some pictures of the wonderful artwork.  The spirit rock is a big rock in the middle of campus that all the clubs and organizations can paint.  We plan on painting it again because later that night someone painted over our artwork.

One of the clubs that I am involved in is Silver Wings, but before you can actually become a member you must go through the associate process.  The process involves doing a group service project, taking a test, and going through an interview.  Members can be both Air Force cadets and civilians and what the organization does is service projects throughout the community.  My group is doing a clothing drive on campus to collect clothing for the homeless shelters.  Next week for the meeting we have to wear a suit and since I didn’t bring one to campus I got to go shopping.  Luckily, I was able to find a suit that fit perfectly and everything I bought was on sale.

Well, I think these past two weeks have been the busiest.  Homework keeps on coming and I have really had to take advantage of the time I get between classes.  On Thursdays there is a free movie and I went to the one last week—Evan Almighty.  I enjoyed relaxing and watching a movie.  Next week is Live Free or Die Hard and I plan on going to see that because I didn’t get a chance to see it when it came out.  One last word of advice – bring a good umbrella because it rains daily and the wind can be ferocious.

Until next time,
Kaleigh
e-mail: sidesk@erau.edu

Hey Everyone,
So I decided that I got involved with way too much, way too fast. However, I do have good news! I made the AcaFellas!!! For all of those who don’t know who that is (which is probably all of you) it is an all male Acapella singing group at Embry Riddle. They are a really good group and it was an honor to be accepted into the group. It has been a CRAZY few weeks. I have now had a test in all but one of my classes. I must say that when you go to study, study the opposite of whatever the professor tells you to study LOL… Just Kidding! But on a serious note, I studied my butt off for my ATC exam 1, and I went in there knowing exactly what I thought was going to be on the test and it was the exact opposite of what he told us to study!! I was quite upset to tell you all the truth. I pulled a 79 on it, but it was a wake up call and a reality check… STUDY STUDY STUDY!!!!

Now, I have to do my “Getting Involved Speech” I am currently in 7 organizations and I must say it is time consuming!!!! It is really nice to be involved on campus but just watch out how much you do. I must say my two favorite organizations are ERRSA (Embry Riddle Residence Student Association) and the AcaFellas. Between those two organizations, they take up a lot of my time! This campus is awesome when it comes to getting involved though… there are always different org’s to join and different things to do….. you should NEVER EVER be bored on this Campus!!!

This past weekend, I went on the ERRSA retreat and it was like the BEST thing that I have done here so far…. We did a lot of Team Builders all weekend and I met some people that I will probably be friends with for life. This is like the best group of people on campus… What we do on campus, is that we are the liaison between the residence and the department of housing. We put on a lot of programs, and we really work hard to make YOUR life on campus a lot better. Our office offers rentals of movies, vacuums, DVD players. We also have video game systems for you to play IN OFFICE ONLY!! I truly had a great time this weekend and I urge ALL OF YOU to join!!!!

Well I don’t want to make these too long, because we all have things to do, but like I said, If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call or email me, I would be more than happy to answer some of your questions!!! Have a good one!!

Joe
Email: Jaworksj@erau.edu
Phone: (716)713-9397
AIM: HYPORBOY226

Hey Everyone, since this is my first blog post I thought I should formally introduce myself, at least as best as you can by way of the computer, but I’m Joe and I will be here all year for you to come and read about what college life is like, what it’s like being and Air Traffic major, and to tell you about the great things that happen here at Embry Riddle! I hope you enjoy reading these and it brings insight as to why ERAU is such a prestigious University! LET US BEGIN!

Once upon a time…. JUST KIDDING!

Orientation:
Let me just say that the orientation process was CRAZY! They throw 590437759834985 different things at you and think that your going to remember it all, and do you? No! It’s a great way to get to know the University a little bit better, and it gives you a chance to understand more about your major, meet some professors, and developing friendships that are sure to last a lifetime! My orientation was spent figuring out why my financial aide was not going through ( I suggest you figure that out B4 you come here LOL) but it was eventually settled and took a load off my shoulders!

Housing:
I came to check in to O’Conner Hall which is a hall for many of the transfer students. Throughout the weekend before classes, I got to know a lot of my suitemates and I knew from day one that they all were going to be great!!! When I checked in, I was not supposed to have a roomate, however, I did get one and I’m very happy that he was a nice guy. He’s from Kenya, Africa, and I don’t know aboout you all, but I thought it was awesome to get to room with an international student. He told me a lot about his life and how he just felt so blessed to be in America, since that is everyone’s dream back where he is from! I thought that was super cool! Anywho, the housing situation was perfect and it made for an easy transition after my parent left to go back home!

Registration:
OH MY GOSH!!!!! That was the craziest thing I have ever gone through in my entire life! BUT don’t worry! For Freshman, your schedules are pre-made for you so you don’t have to go through any of that hassle! For transfer students however, it was insane. They had classes that didn’t match course numbers, they were trying to sign us up for classes we had already taken, and then when it came down to the wire, we were limited with class choices anyways due to the fact that we were the last to register! It was crazy, but as I said, unless you’re a transfer student you have nothing to worry about!

First Week of Classes:
Contrary to the fact that registration was so bad, MY CLASSES ARE AWESOME!!!!
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
8:00-9:00 – AT302 w/ Mr. Coyne, 9:15-10:15- MA006 w/ Debbie Edwards,10:30-11:30- PSY101 w/ Jessica Cruit
Tuesday, Thursday: 8:15-9:30 BA201 w/ Tamilla Curtis, 9:30-11:00 WX201 w/ Chris Herbster

I’m so happy with all of my classes and all of my teachers are great!!!!! We did get quite a bit of Homework for the first week of class but, WELCOME TO COLLEGE!!!! It’s really not that bad!

So I think that will be all for this time around! Make sure you check out pictures of my room and stuff like that, and if you want pictures of any part of the campus just to know what it is like, let me know and I’d love to take them for you!

If you ever need to get ahold of me, my door is always open (not literally, I do close the dorm room door!) but do not hesitate to email!

Until Next Time!

Joe Jaworski
Jaworksj@erau.edu