Quarantine & Self Care

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Happy April everyone! I am currently blogging from Northern Virginia, where I am blessed to be quarantined with my sister who is an amazing chef. Currently sipping on whipped iced coffee with coconut sugar and vanilla almond milk and it’s lovely. I would like to provide a Quarantine update as April is the last month in the spring semester, and focusing on your studies is as important as balancing that with time to relax.

Staying constantly plugged in is something I’ve definitely struggled with while adjusting to online classes. So when I’m not monitoring my laptop or my phone, here are some things I like to do in Quarantine besides study, take notes, and do homework:

If you have the luxury of living in a semi-rural to rural area, take walks, runs, or hike! I’m working out, taking vitamins, drinking a lot of water, running, going on walks, hikes, or hilly/wooded area treks, eating healthy, and doing yoga daily. My personal favorite is Yoga With Adriene on Youtube, a virtual online yoga class with everything to relaxing sequences to power yoga that will give your muscles a run for their money. I usually practice her videos in my dorm room at school when I don’t have time to go to a class at the fitness center and they are perfect to do in your backyard or in your house, while using safe social distancing techniques (6 feet bubble)!

  • On a daily walk with my sister! (I’m 6+ feet away from her.)
  • I saw my first groundhog recently while on a walk. Can you spot it?

Try to branch out from boredom by listening to new music, or tuning into free social media live-streamed digital concerts from your favorite artists.

Catch up on podcasts! For me Crime Junkie by audiochuck, The Long Distance Love Bombs Podcast by Dr. Jeremy Goldberg, and Press Send with Chinae Alexander by Dear Media are my favorites to stream on Spotify.

Catch up on some shows or movies!

Things I’ve personally been watching include:

Hulu: Dave, Little Fires Everywhere

HBO-Go: Euphoria, Ramy Youssef: Feelings

Netflix: On My Block, Night on Earth, Tiger King

Disney +: All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Ice Age, Ratatouille

Social media cleanse! The rule I’ve been following lately is to unfollow any pages that does not inspire or motivate me, or if I don’t think I’d be willing to stop and have a conversation with someone in person, there is no reason why I would need to keep their life online, so I unfollow! Be picky about what you expose yourself to, it’s under-appreciated self care!

Side-note: The Spring 2020 AFROTC Det 157 patch design I collaborated with another Professional Officer Course (POC) cadet came back from production, so now we have a decal. I’m super excited about it (even if I won’t be able to physically have it until the Fall 2020 semester, @social distancing).

  • AFROTC Det 157 SP20 Semester Patch Design

Keep on keeping on folks, stay safe, wash your hands, cover your faces, and I will report back soon!

Checkride Season

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What is a Checkride?

Here at Embry-Riddle, the flight portion of our degree for those majoring in Aeronautical Science requires us to complete the Private, Instrument, Commercial and Multi-Engine certificates / ratings. I have been working on my Commercial Single-Engine Certificate which will be added to my instrument rated private pilot certificate. Every rating or certificate you complete, you need to take a knowledge test and a practical test, known as the checkride. These checkrides can be completed with a check airmen (ERAU instructors) or a Designated Pilot Examiners (DPE) (FAA).

Commercial Pilot Checkride

If you are completing your commercial pilot training here at Riddle, you need to take the in-house checkride (oral and flight with ERAU check airmen) then you need to complete an oral and a flight with a DPE, known as the DE. By the time this post goes up, I will be waiting for my DE to get scheduled upon completing and passing my in-house checkride.

My In-house Checkride

My checkride was fairly straight forward. The oral portion went by rather quickly, just like every other oral checkride here at Riddle. I had about 3 observers who were also students on the commercial track, who wanted to observe my checkride before they have to go on their own. We are sometimes asked to take observers on our orals and flights to encourage backseat learning. After about 2 hours of intense briefing and questions being tossed around, I had passed my oral portion of the in-house checkride.

Couple of days later, I was put on schedule for the flight portion. It was a 2 hour and 20 minute flight on a hot, spring day here in Florida. Despite all the thermal bumps in the air and the extreme afternoon heat in our small cockpit, the flight went smoothly. The check airmen asked me to perform the required maneuvers, perform my landings in a small non-controlled airport near Melbourne and demonstrate my abilities to safely operate and conduct this flight. He was very helpful in guiding me in times when I was stuck on a question or occupied with maneuvering my way through other traffic.

Riddle provides these cool pins for every rating / certificate you earn!
Here’s a pretty neat visual on what my checkride looked like from the sky! (N430ER)

Checkrides in the Future

Now as I study and prepare for my “real” checkride, a DE with the Designated Pilot Examiner, I am heading back into self-quarantine surrounding myself with books, documents, study guides and other references to prepare myself.

For those who are hoping to become airline pilots in the future, you will start to hear a lot about checkrides starting with your very first Private Pilot certificate. You will start to hate everything about checkrides because they are the most daunting part about flying if you are not a big fan of examinations. Good news and bad news, you will be well prepared for every one of your checkride despite what your nerves tell you. Bad news, the checkrides will never end until you decide to retire at the age of 65 because airline pilots go on their “checkrides” every 6 to 12 months (depending on your company).

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Spring Break & Schedule Changes

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Happy March everyone! I am currently blogging from Northern Virginia, in quarantine for the n-th day, and WOW at the current global situation with COVID-19 currently afflicting the world…but honestly we should’ve left this one in 2019.

BUT FIRST, let’s flash back to the beginning of March when college students were about to go on Spring Break, COVID-19 seemed like a distant tragedy, and life only seemed stressful at average levels.

Greetings from Key West! Our postcard decal.

I spent Spring break with one of my best friends in Key West, Florida and even though it was still Florida, being on *basically* an island for a week was absolutely well needed. In the current situation, confined from the great public domain with a strict and paranoid 6ft rule of distancing from strangers, I am feeling greatly nostalgic of a week ago when I was happily soaking up sunshine and basking in the glory of constantly being sun kissed and barefoot with salt water hair and always a little bit sandy, despite all the showers I took.

A short lived windy bike ride to the Southern Most Point in the USA.
Being one with nature (currently reminiscing from inside my house).
A potato head selfie from the plane.

Key West had an extremely casual, laid back, go with the flow atmosphere which is completely opposite of my usually very busy and structured life. During the last few days of Spring Break we got an official university communication email saying that Spring Break would be extended two days into the following week and online classes would be happening until early April. At first this sounded like a fantastic and fun idea, until reality set in when we returned. When we got back to Daytona Beach, stores were starting to run out of food, the media seemed to be spreading paranoia, and everyone was panicking. A few days later residence halls were vacating and I prepared to come back to Virginia as there was talk about canceling flights and limiting domestic travel across state lines.

Fast forward a week and I’m in a quarantined lifestyle with online classes until the end of the semester, metros shut down inside Washington DC, Uber and Lyft currently closed, and Amazon not delivering groceries anymore, yikes!

To be continued folks, will report back soon, COVID-19 updates are around the corner!

Shifting to Online

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Hello everyone! I hope everyone is adjusting well to online schooling. I know that things right now are not quite ideal, but I hope that everyone is staying safe and being cautious. I’m sure that has been said and heard a thousand times, but I just wanted to reinforce it. I also want to talk about organization and ways to make sure you are keeping track in this blog, because, if you’re like me, online schooling may not be your strong suit.

I personally have had a lot of issues staying on track, staying motivated, and keeping track of my school schedule. Some professors help by doing online virtual lectures, whereas others just add more work and reading. With that, it can feel a little bit over whelming, especially of you have full-time classes and other obligations. Which brings me to the tips I want to share:

Tip #1: Stick to Your Schedule

Try to focus on your classes at the corresponding times you would’ve met up with them in person. This is the main thing that’s been really helping me stay on track and stay motivated. With Monday, Wednesday, and Friday being my long days with 4 classes each an hour long, I have been able to really get my work done and get through the slides and reading that those professors left for me to read and review. Because I have been using this method to do my work, I have been able to stop about the same time I stop school on campus and carry out the rest of my day to do whatever.

Tip #2: Put it in Your Planner

My next tip is to use a planner. Most professors have changed up their learning plan and have adjusted schedules. In order to keep track of the new work and dates I suggest recording them or finding a method that suits you to keep track. Whether that means a planner on your phone, a calendar, or printing the syllabus. This way you don’t confuse yourself or forget about tests or assignments without the professor reminding us when our next test is or when that final paper is due.

Tip #3: Create Your Space

As far as staying motivated and focused go, I would advise sitting at a desk or a table of some sort that’s well-lit and devoted to work. Try not to lay in bed to do your work and school, believe me I have tried. The difference between working at a desk in a chair instead of lounging in bed is huge and works wonders for your brain. This is partly because of a psychological aspect. Typically, when you’re in bed, your mind associates that to sleeping or relaxing, I promise it just makes you a little lazier than your need to be.

Tip #4: Don’t Panic – Manage Your Stress

My final tip to everyone is not to stress or panic. I know we are in crazy times and that the work load of online schooling is more then we all bargained for, but if you take my advice and dedicate times of the day to your classes, the stress will not be as bad. Wake up every morning, eat some breakfast and get to work with your classes as if you were going to classes in person. As soon as you’re finished for the day just relax. Watch a movie, chef it up in the kitchen, exercise, call a friend or read a book. Do whatever you need to during this hard time, try to keep things as normal as possible and focus on the future.

Safety, Sanity, Sanitary

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Spring Break 2020

When most of us got out of class as we headed into our spring break, we didn’t expect what kind of change we were going to be dealing with during the break. The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread rather rapidly, and our school extended our spring break. The admin concluded that our classes will be conducted online with all of our campus events cancelled. This caused a lot of travel and academic plans to be changed by our faculties and staff as well as the student body. As a flight student who is planning on staying to finish my rating, I noticed how empty and deserted our campus feels now that the majority of our students have made their way back home.

I realized that some students who are staying to finish their flight training or who couldn’t plan to travel back home might be stuck around here for some time. It can be difficult when all your friends are away and you are stuck at home or around campus because many places are closing down for safety reasons. I wanted to write a blurb about how to maintain your safety, sanity and sanitary as we prepare for the worst.

Safety

Daytona Beach just hosted their annual Bike Week 2020 which really marks the beginning of spring break season. Thousands of college students and visitors make their way to Daytona Beach to enjoy the beaches and the warm weather. That is more reason for the Riddle student body to be cautious as they hang out around certain parts of the town. As we all know, the beachside with Seabreeze and A1A gets bombarded with tourists coming in and we all experience increased traffic on ISB and Beville. We have to be careful of motor accidents and other incidents that could take place with increased population from out of state.

Sanity

It is hard to keep yourself busy and on track when you are sitting on your couch back home. It can be especially more difficult if you are still in Daytona Beach. I have been trying my best at keeping myself busy and active with the resources I have.

  • Kayaking by St. John’s river
  • Nature trail walk at Tiger Bay State Park
  • Flagler College in St. Augustine
  • Daytona Beach, Fla.
  • Korean food in Orlando
  • Little bonfire with friends

I have been traveling around locally as my days are mostly free of classes now. I took advantage of some of Florida’s best natural perks by kayaking and going on walks by the beach and the state park. If you have your own car or one of your friends does, you can also explore by leaving Daytona Beach and going to places like Orlando or St. Augustine. You really have to actively try to stay fit and mentally awake as the temptation of procrastination grows larger everyday.

Sanitary

Lastly, let us practice common sense and take care of ourselves by washing our hands and avoiding interactions with a large group of people. The time we are going through is absolutely crazy and it may seem like the end of the world but with simple practices, we can prevent and solve the issue at hand. Especially the flight students who are here to fly, we have been using Lysol wipes and hand sanitizer before, during and after our flights. It should become a habit as we try our best to disinfect our aircraft.

It is a tragedy and an unfortunate turn of event but we have to make the most out of the situation that was given to us and move forward. To those who are still in town, keep your head up and always stay safe, sane and clean. Blue skies, tail winds and coronavirus-free!

Keep the spirits high!

I Can Sea Clearly Now

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Spring break is finally here, the weather is finally warmer, and it is now the perfect opportunity to relax while getting slightly ahead on a some of the schoolwork for weeks to come. This break has given me the opportunity to get back to a place in Daytona I love so much. The Beach.

The sand beneath my toes. The warmth of the sun on my skin. The feel and smell of the salt in my hair. And the feel of the breeze (unfortunately the water is still too cold to swim in). The beach is my escape and place for relaxation, a home away from home, and this spring break has been amazing weather to be able to enjoy the beach. I believe the beach is a major perk of going to Embry-Riddle’s Daytona campus that isn’t used properly by everyone who goes here. Even though schoolwork is top priority, it is good to prioritize a little bit of fun every once in a while, and the beach is a perfect place to get some sun and be one with the outdoors. It is a great place to focus on yourself and spend time with friends outside. This spring break I have even enjoyed a little sunshine and schoolwork outside which has also improved my mood and making me even more ready to crush the rest of the semester.

Meanwhile, I have also been getting schoolwork done at a productive pace to keep my mind fresh on new topics and prepared for the next round of tests. It is good to know I will go back to classes with a little edge being on some major projects and coding assignments. I am looking forward to starting classes again with a more relaxed feel and ready to conquer the rest of the semester attitude.

Eyes Peeled for Open Doors

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Embry-Riddle offers a wide variety of student organizations and clubs that students can take part in to develop their interpersonal relationships and find a way to de-stress from their rigorous academics. It can be overwhelming at first when deciding what organizations to join and I learned after 3 years at Riddle, that this process can be very long and exhausting.

For this blog, I will be talking about one particular event I had this past weekend with one of the student organizations I am part of on campus. I am a general board member of the Alpha Omicron Alpha (AOA) Aeronautical Honor Society. It is an organization built for students who are studying in the aeronautical science major. We work with the College of Aviation in assisting with various on-campus events along with our own unique social, fundraiser and educational events. Our organization is among the few pilot specific groups including the Tutor lab team, FLAP team and the Riddle Flight Team.

Group photo in front of the Airbus training center in Miami, Fla.

This past weekend, I was fortunate to go on an overnight trip to Miami, Fla with about 30 AOA students to an Airbus training center. We were greeted at the center where professional airline pilots come in for initial, currency and type rating trainings in their state-of-the-art simulators. We were able to sit down for an informational presentation about the Airbus company followed by a tour of their simulators. These simulators included sections for the emergency slide practice, cabin crew door modules, and full-motion simulators for the A320, A330, A340, A350 types. We were able to see these simulators up close and allowed to briefly jump in these modules for some hands-on experience.

  • One of the full-motion A320 simulators
  • Airbus safety presentation

The entire group was thoroughly briefed and presented the Airbus’ philosophy and their safety culture. It was a meaningful experience as most students in the organization are working towards becoming airline pilots, who will be completing the same training in these simulators in the near future. Our presenter and the guide was a Riddle alumni who was now the Director of Safety in the Americas for Airbus and he opened up so many doors for us and gave us an idea of what it’s like to choose this career path.

It is very important to choose the right number of organizations where you know you can handle the workload as you try to manage your academics, personal life and flight training (if it applies to you). It is also important to find a healthy balance between groups that you are passionate about and groups that look good on your resume or for your future career path. You need to give yourself plenty of opportunities where you can take advantage of your organization’s resources and network in order to open doors for yourself and your peers. It is important to know that we have all the resources and the power to shape our own college experience which can drastically shape our career path.

Who doesn’t like cool, free merch?!

A New Experience Awaits

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My current home in Phase II

As a resident advisor (RA), this time of year comes with the excitement of receiving our building placements for the fall semester. I have been through interviews and met with multiple supervisors to figure out where the best community is for me to thrive as an RA. I am currently in the brand-new residence building of New Hall Phase II which has been an amazing opportunity and I have had the best residence this year. I have enjoyed the difference in experience from last year where I spent my time in the entertaining, but close-knit Doolittle.

My new home for 20-21 year

But after waiting for weeks, the Housing and Residence Life team finally issued our placements for the 20-21 school year. I am happy to announce, I have the honor of being a resident advisor in Stimpson in our student village, and I am looking forward to the new environment and challenges that come with this residence hall. It will be different from the past two years I have been a resident advisor, and it will be the first time I have upperclassmen as residents. I am greatly looking forward to working with a new supervisor and meeting and working with new people next year. As of right now though, I need to continue to focus on my current residents and make sure they make it through their first year of college. Being a resident advisor has helped me come out of my shell and develop new skills for communicating and helping students at Embry Riddle. It is an experience I would not change for anything as the Housing and Residence Life team has become a second family to me. I am excited to help everyone get through the rest of this semester and even more excited to help students continue living at Embry-Riddle next year.

Half Way & Happenings

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Happy February everyone! Back again blogging from Daytona Beach, Speed Week has calmed downed, and we’ve been having some particularly mild weather: a bit cold and rainy, but Florida tends to be wonky before getting to the consistent sunshine with afternoon showers (aka nap time).

Valentine’s Day recently passed and February is flying by! Things around the corner include *drum roll please* Mid-term exams, the Spring PT test… and also, Spring Break! We’re almost half way through Spring semester and I can barely believe it! 

My sister sent me a very positive card, a super cute scrunchie, and some Namaste socks for V-day! I love care packages.

Some notable things I get to do with my position this semester in ROTC as the Mission Support Group, Force Support Squadron, Deputy Commander, aside from assist the Squadron Commander, are plan Dining Out, a yearly event where all cadets and cadre wear Service Dress (the fancy blues), gather for a meal, celebrate notable accomplishments of the Cadet Wing, and announce new Wing Staff for the following semester. I also have the amazing opportunity to team up with an upperclassman cadet and organize an Air Force Retirement Ceremony for a Major in our cadre. I have the privilege of gaining insight to this exciting event at a very young point in my career, which makes this opportunity THAT much cooler.

Another super cool thing I do in my position that I’ve particularly had a lot of fun with in preparation for Dining Out, is collaborating with other Professional Officer Course (POC) cadets to design the logo that will be on the Dining Out gift. I’ve got to work with a particularly talented POC cadet who I also collaborated with to help design the Spring 2020 AFROTC Detachment 157 Semester Patch.

Det 157 Spring 2020 Semester Patch Sketch

Additionally, being an RA has been even more fun lately because I helped to organize a Tye-Dye event that will be happening shortly. I’ve attached the flyer I designed below, but essentially it’s an Area Initiative as a community builder for the residence hall I live in where we invite residents to come de-stress and get creative, and colorful!

Tye Dye Event Flyer

Additionally, I recently solidified my summer plans, which was a huge stress relief and also an opportunity I anticipate to be extremely challenging and fun. I will be participating in Project GO Study Abroad in Morocco working on Arabic Year 4. More details to come on that, and I am very excited to give some future updates on my Arabic learning experience. Keep on keeping on folks. Will report back soon!

Calculating the Future

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These last two weeks have been crazy with research projects and lectures, but a pleasant surprise last week was when a graduate of Embry-Riddle came to visit the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). SIAM is a club I found when I began my industrial math research class. It is an amazing club for Math majors to create networks and find out more about potential math job industries.


Last week a graduate from the Computational Mathematics program at Embry-Riddle came to speak to us. He was very interested to tell us his approach to the job industry with a major that you can do so much with. He has been investing time at a big insurance company called MassMutual, where he focuses on programming and software design. He is working on a graduate certificate that his company is paying for, and is looking at pursuing a graduate degree after that as well. After explaining his job, he spoke about his approach to applying for jobs and choosing a job based on offers. In addition, he had spoken of many things we could be doing in college now that will help us in the job field. He had spoken with us about job portfolios, research projects, internships, and practical experience, pretty much anything that could help us look good to potential employers or grad programs.

SIAM club with Embry-Riddle Graduate(third from left)


This was a great speaker to listen to as I soon will be swimming in all the job and graduate school applications, but I now feel like I have a better understanding of how to get to where I need to get to make the best post-graduating decision I can make.
The next SIAM meeting is on February 26th and I am looking forward to what else we will be doing to set ourselves up for success.