I have learned some things over the past year that I thought I would share with you all!
Work/life balance is so important. Even if you are working on things you love with people you get along with, work takes its toll on you, and the burnout sneaks up literally over night. Rests, fun activities, and self care are good for you and will help you to be more productive and happier in the long run!
Spotify Premium for students stops after 4 years. After many emails with customer service and their business partners, there are no exceptions to this role even though you may take longer to complete your degree or have an extra year (or more) to get more degrees. 🙁
Consistently having nutritious well-balanced meals will improve your mental health drastically and really makes all the difference during exam season. Freezing a bunch of meals that you made yourself before exam weeks is very helpful.
If you overdo it on the caffeine, you can struggle with heart problems and/or make your tolerance wonky so that it’s not as useful anymore (and costs more money for more bean juice).
College is the time that you make a lot of lifelong friendships and/or industry connections; have fun and make the time for it!
If you have meal plans to cash out but are craving something different, cash out on a bunch of ingredients to cook with at home! I used to get boxes of chicken tenders and then make chicken parmesan out of them. I also used to get boxes of salad bar items like spinach and mushrooms that made a great stir fry.
Set up a schedule for basic things (laundry, gym/fun movement, vacuuming, hair wash days, etc.); when life gets hectic, the schedule is essential.
Do a ton of internships, research, and other projects. This is the time to learn new random skills and figure out what you love to do the most.
I am born and raised in Florida. I am almost done with my time in college here. And the last time I was at Disney (not counting Disney Springs), I think I was maybe four????? I have really been wanting to go to the Star Wars area too, so my boyfriend took me the other day!! The food, I have to say, was way better than I thought it would be. Blue milk is not really my thing…..I think it tastes a bit like the bubblegum flavoring that they use in kids’ mouthwash. All the rides were SO COOL, and it was so nice to do something fun like this for a day to take a break from school and work. AND ERAU offers discounted tickets through the ICI office. My boyfriend has an annual pass from his family, but my day pass that I got through campus was only $125 after tax which is really good. If you are an ERAU student and want to do something local (Bush Gardens, KSC, Disney, Universal, a race, etc.), check the ICI office website first for discounted tickets because we get REALLY good prices.
I can’t believe the number of opportunities I have received so far this year. It isn’t even February, and I have already traveled to two professional development events, and even moved into our own apartment! If you love all things aerospace and satellites, and are looking to learn about new opportunities, then this blog post is for you!
At the very beginning of January, I was incredibly grateful to have attended AIAA’s SciTech 2025 conference in Orlando, Florida. It was a 5-day event held at the beautiful Hyatt Regency of Orlando. This was one of the biggest conferences I have attended, as the conference website stated there were about 6,000 people who traveled to Orlando that week for SciTech 2025. I was able to sit in on seminars, hear about new research, and network with many other students and professionals in the industry.
I recently joined the BID4R (Biologically Inspired Design for Resilience) Lab at the College of Engineering on campus. I have accepted a Lead Systems Engineer position on Project COMET (CubeSat Optical and mm-Wave Enabled Telecommunications). I am also gathering data for my thesis this semester and weaving this project into my thesis topic as well. I plan to submit a my research to present at SciTech 2026.
The properties in Orlando never seize to amaze me with how gorgeous and luxurious they are. It was beautiful visiting this resort and really felt like a small vacation.
As part of the project, we had the opportunity to attend the University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) Kickoff event in Albuquerque, New Mexico this past week. It was a 3-day event with a rigorous agenda, but it was all worth it. We were introduced to many concepts, several already very familiar to me, including mission operations, CONOPS, satellite subsystems, and communication networks in space. In collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), and the Small Satellite Portfolio, I spoke with many experienced military and government personnel and received great advice for our upcoming research with Project COMET. We have the next 2 years to mature the idea until we will return to New Mexico for the next part of the project.
It was a great opportunity to work on my public speaking skills, critical thinking skills, networking skills, and satellite engineering skills. It definitely was a challenge and enriching experience.
Almost forgot to mention the change of scenery to cleanse my mind and wake up my tastebuds was just what I needed. The views, the food, and the people were all incredible. The balcony view from my hotel room was just jaw-dropping: the mountain view, the sunset every evening, the sunrise every morning, and the cool desert air traveling through my room. Even though I only kept the door open for 5 minutes until I almost froze. However, despite it getting into the single digits, I can honestly say Florida in the winter is colder (because of the moisture in the air)! My sinuses definitely prefer sub tropical climates.
This semester is going to be a busy one. I am traveling A LOT this year and have so many things planned: Women in Aviation International 2025 in Denver, CO, Megacon in Orlando, FL, SmallSat 2025 in Utah, and best of all, our wedding! My fiancé and I have been engaged for 2 years now and we finally found the time to plan our reception, despite us both being full-time students and employees that work 2+ jobs each. Life can be challenging sometimes, but I am always up for a challenge.
To top it all off, we just got our own place! We moved into a gated apartment community and we couldn’t be more proud of ourselves. Our family, pets, and friends are all so happy. The complex is beautiful, safe. and everything we could have asked for and more. We live in an upstairs 2/2 and have the best lakefront view! We are planning our housewarming party, our wedding, and my fiancé is transferring to UCF this year. It has been nothing short of exciting and beautiful. We have a busy year ahead of us!
My current month’s to-do list consists of research, research, and research. Specifically, my thesis, the project I am leading at BID4R, and some personal research as well. I am getting really good at this research thing. I highly recommend taking EGR 600 with Dr. Steinhauer at the College of Engineering for any graduate student looking to pursue an engineering Masters/Ph.D. and is looking to do the thesis route. It is a wonderful expansion on the foundations of research and how to conduct research in an appropriate and efficient way.
That is all for now. I can’t wait to see what else this year brings.
The second class that I am taking this semester is SYS 505: System Safety and Certification. This class mainly covers safety and risk measures, methods, etc. for aircraft like planes. I hope to take the material learned here and apply it to systems such as rockets. Daniel Penny is teaching it this semester; he is a good professor. I have had him for previous MS SYS classes. His lectures make sense and are very easy to follow; he also lectures in a way that keeps you engaged and paying attention through those 5pm-8pm time blocks. Due to the fact that it is 5pm-8pm Monday nights, we only have one class per week which is really nice. The SYS classes are pretty straightforward in general which is great. This class has around 1 online quiz and 1 assignment per week with a final exam at the end. The workload seems very reasonable thus far. Overall, it’s a great class, and I look forward to learning more in it!
Due to being in the accelerated masters program here at ERAU, I am graduating with my M.S. in Systems Engineering this May, only 1 year after graduating with my undergraduate degree! I am also taking only 2 classes this semester. In this post, I’ll chat a bit about my first class (HFS 612 – Human Factors Methods) and then cover my second class in the next post.
HFS 612 is taught by Dr. Doherty. If I remember correctly, he has been with the Human Factors (HF) department for over 20 years. This is his first time teaching this class, but I knew that I wanted to have him as my professor for a class this semester. About 3 years ago, I took HF 300 with him which was an undergraduate HF class that I took towards a HF minor (tldr on that – the scheduling did not work out for me to complete that minor). I remember that as one of my favorite classes here at ERAU where I really felt like I learned a different way of thinking that would help me throughout life and especially engineering job that I will have. I also recognized how much Dr. Doherty seemed to care about the success of his students and his passion for what he does which makes ALL the difference. Thus, I immediately signed up for HFS 612 which I am using as an elective towards my graduate degree.
This class (so far – I am not THAT far along yet haha) seems to be a really good overview to a bunch of different topics that people working in Human Factors (in multiple industries) use day to day. A lot of it is set up to be randomly assigned group work and some summaries with an exam at the end. I like the way this is done; I feel like it’s not too much work but is really valuable work to absorb the information. We use a textbook. Dr. Doherty gave us a pdf, but I also got a copy off of Amazon since it seemed to be good to have (and I want to reference it later in my career). I’ll follow up again later once the class is almost finished, but I am enjoying thus far. It is MWF 1-2pm which I like. 3-hour graduate classes, especially late at night, are difficult; I don’t always feel like I’m absorbing all the information I should.
I have said it many times, and I’ll say it again. One of the important ways that you can make the most of your time at ERAU is exploring the surrounding areas in Florida. There are so many cool things to do, and I wanted to share a few with you all. Then, my next two blogposts will be a bit more about my classes this semester because they are just starting and seem really exciting.
Over the holidays, I went to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa with my family and Disney Springs in Orlando. Both were great ways to spend a day with loved ones. Here are some pictures from both! At Disney Springs, you can taste Coke products from around the world!
Ok, finals are coming up. In the past few days I have already done a few exams (take-home and in-person), done some presentations, and am still working on some projects. Last week, in order to mentally and emotionally prep myself for this (and part of next) week, I attended a concert!….because music helps mood….which improves mental health….which improves grades….right? 👀 Anyways, enjoy these pictures from the Kacey Musgraves (with Lord Huron & Nickel Creek opening) that my boyfriend and I went to in Orlando!
This is my last post of the semester. Next semester (Spring 2025) will be my final semester here at ERAU. Since I started blogging here at RiddleLife, lots has happened in my life, career, etc. When you go into college, your parents and family always tell you that this is the most fun time and that you will grow within those 4-5 years more than you ever will in life. I didn’t quite understand that back then, but I think I do now. College is an interesting experience; you will change and grow. The key to making the most of it is learning how to live life and what makes you happy.
Signing off until next semester, the final semester,
I am writing this because it is my last first day of classes. Possibly ever. I have spent years at ERAU. Four years in high school (long story that some of you may know), four years of undergrad, and now finishing up my last year for my graduate degree. I remember campus before the current Student Union was built, when Starbucks was attached to the library and next to the food hall with the tiny Chick-fil-a and the odd Asian buffet thing.
I could spend all day reminiscing but am going to leave today’s post with a multitude of photos of Kennedy Space Center over the holidays. KSC always does light shows and the most beautiful holiday decorations. If you are a student, it is SO WORTH IT to get an annual membership. You get food/merch discounts, and if you go at least twice you get your money’s worth.
Whether you have a bunch of exams, only projects, or a combination of both, finals week (and frankly, the last 2-3 weeks of the semester) can be super tough. Here are some of my tips for surviving this time of the semester.
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first” – Mark Twain
I like to refer this as the “frog mentality” half because it’s funny to say and half because it actually works. During this time of the semester, everything seems like a daunting task, but you will always have a few per day that you prefer to do over others due to fun factor, length of time, interaction with people, etc. I like to sort these tasks into a list of frogs (biggest to smallest) and tackle the big ones first. Start your day when the sun is shining and birds are chirping to do the largest, most dreadful task first. Then, finish up your day with the ones you like. This will not only force you to be productive as you race to get to those tasks you like but also make the day more pleasant.
I mentioned this in my last post, but studying in a group is great. It gives you some accountability for focusing on your work and boosts your mood while tackling those big frogs.
Pomodoros
My boyfriend actually introduced me to this technique recently. We were having trouble either focusing at all or focusing way to much for many hours resulting in being burnt out for many hours after that. Either way, this was not productive. Pomodoros are a timed system where you work for increments of 25 minutes with 5 minute mandated breaks in between each time. This is fun to do with friends, as well. If you need some extra motivation, there are some pomodoro apps out there that let you grow a virtual garden and don’t let you use your phone for other purposes. There are also some YouTube channels like LofiGirl that now do pomodoro livestreams with cool music in the background.
Self care
Self care is essential and will actually help you be more productive since you are less likely to burn out as easily. This could be as simple as putting on a nice face mask while you work on a take-home exam or taking a 30 minute break to take a walk outside with your roommate. Get some fruits and vegetables, eat some protein, touch some grass, and take care of yourself. Your grades and concentration capacity will thank you for it.
Checklists
I find checklists to be super satisfying. I like to check things off and know I accomplished something. Apps like Todoist (my personal favorite) will throw little virtual confetti at you and congratulate you for different productivity goals.
Make sure to also split these checklist items into something manageable. It may be more rewarding and motivating to check off 3 tasks, 1 for each part of your take-home exam, than one big task called “take-home exam”.
