Every year, we welcome a new freshman class to our campus. Their first impression of campus life has to be good, and our peers who run the Orientation Team make sure of that. In addition to O-Team running orientation, the SGA and Housing & Res. Life assist in the events during that fun week. Something new for this year that I have the pleasure of working on is the big welcome video that the freshmen will see at the Welcome Ceremony. I had a blast filming and editing it. I had some assistance from ERAU Marketing (thank you!). It’s been a blast working on videos for the SGA and SESU departments on campus and I hope to make many more in the future! I hope to see all you new freshmen at the Welcome!
Happy July everyone! Also happy summer! I’m currently blogging from Tucson, Arizona with the temperatures in the 100+ everyday, typically around 108 and the intense sunshine and low humidity that accompanies the desert.
The first semester of my third year level Arabic class has concluded with me obtaining a final grade of an A. I took a small vacation during fourth of July weekend to San Diego, California with some friends who also speak arabic, which was a great break.
I’d never been to California before so this spontaneous road trip that began with my friends and I renting a car for the long weekend, stopping for snacks and coffee, then setting off, was so much fun. The drive from Arizona to California is only about five hours, for some that might feel like a lot, but the scenery of the desert, the mountains, and eventually the ocean, plus great music and four friends who had only met a month before was truly a wonderful adventure.
A mountain side view of the Pacific Ocean in San Diego.
We only had a few days to explore the city so we spent them at about three different beaches, Coronado, Pacific, and Imperial, watched fireworks seaside on the night of the fourth, and visited many 24 hour Mexican food places. We also briefly hiked along some coastal mountains and I thrived in all the vegan food options that San Diego had to offer. For the record, my love of chips and salsa has only increased. My favorite beach foods are now veggie pizza, apples, and chili powder covered mangoes. I commend California for satisfying my morning brunch and coffee shop needs as well.
Sunset at the San Diego Harbor!
We also spent time in downtown San Diego exploring the harbor and all the restaurants and shops in Little Italy. Not to mention we had some quite entertaining encounters with Birds, the motorized scooters, not actual birds. They are an extremely popular form of transportation there and while they are an effective way to get around they are also so fun to play with when you’re with a group of friends. I highly encourage you to try them for the experience, if you have not.
In other news, I have just completed my first week in my second semester of third year Arabic at the University of Arizona and I have less than a month left here. My first semester flew by and while I am enjoying the nice break from studying engineering, the classes here are rigorous but definitely not as stressful, or perhaps I’ve just gotten better at managing stressful situations? Will comment more on this when school starts back up in the fall and my normal engineering and AFROTC schedule is back in full swing again.
Side note: I added some new stickers to my laptop case, a small Arizona one in the shape of the state and an Arabic one.
My laptop case featuring two new stickers… I need to get some Riddle stickers to add to it when I get back to Florida.
The Arabic sticker says: ان مع العسر يسرا which means with every hardship comes ease.
Keep on keeping on folks and enjoy the summer, stay cool! Will report back soon!
Happy June everyone! I’m currently blogging from Tucson, Arizona where the weather forecast is 100+ for as far ahead as predictable, and clouds are still a rarity, despite it being monsoon season.
A small sample of the abundance of cacti that call Tucson home on the University of Arizona’s campus.
I am currently blogging from a shaded outdoor patio on a lovely Sunday morning at a local coffee shop. My Spotify playlist as of recently consists of Arabic music, coffeehouse study tunes, and meditation beats.
I am a week away from finishing my first month here in Arizona, aka one semester of an intensive language program. This coming week I have class two days before my final exam and then a short break for the 4th of July.
I have found myself spending a lot of time in cafes and coffee, tea, or expresso houses as of recently, and while this is a recurring theme no matter what city I’m in, upon reflection of this I have begin to learn a bit more about myself, which leads me to my next topic (essential to college students): under the topic of time management falls the balance of prioritizing your responsibilities and effectively managing your free time.
Weekday mornings with my wing buddy typically consist of alternating places to grab coffee and breakfast.
While in Tucson studying intensely my schedule had been pretty full, but I’ve found while it’s absolutely glorious to take time to relax and unwind, I thrive in the chaos of a busy lifestyle. I find myself being most attracted to filling up my days and weeks with plans in the calendar on my phone, making daily to do lists, and even when I study or do homework I feel most productive in areas that are calm where I can buzz away at my work and get in the zone.
Here’s a peaceful view from the pool I took the other day as the sunset over the mountains and reflected beautifully on the water.
When I’m at Riddle during the Fall and Spring semesters my favorite places to study are in my room with music, in study rooms, or in Starbucks outside. There is just something fundamentally appealing about working outside in the sunshine with technology. As I currently soak up the juxtaposition of working on my computer with the sound of cicadas in the background and the familiar universal chatter of coffee shop conversations, I find a productive home in the atmosphere that I am attracted to in every city.
It’s so important to know yourself and find out under what circumstances you do your best work in. While this may take some time to figure out, and definitely some trial and error, the process of learning more about yourself and how to initiate prime productivity conditions is 100% worth it.
For example, certain subjects in school I prefer to study in groups, while others I prefer to work alone on. If you put a little time and effort into figuring out what atmospheres you prefer to do work in before classes get chaotic with exams and projects, it is extremely advantageous in preparation for your future self under stress during crunch time.
I wish everyone a continually relaxing and productive summer. Will report back soon. Have a happy 4th y’all!
Happy June everyone! I’m currently blogging from Tucson, Arizona, where the air is hot and dry, I drink an unfathomable amount of water every day, and I study Arabic all of 7/7 days in a week.
Before I begin here’s a photo with my flight from Field Training on graduation day at the Propeller and Wings statue on Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.
Now that I’ve reminisced on my conclusion of AFROTC for the summer, when I arrived in Tucson at the beginning of June, Ramadan had a few more days left. Allow me to provide a small backstory:
A HUGE aspect of learning a new language is studying the culture of the language, the people who speak it, and the places where it’s spoken. Culture is a dynamic part of a society that can be experienced through food, clothing, religion, dialects, music, stories, and much more.
While the best way to gain exposure to a language is to study abroad and immerse yourself in all the country has to offer, in my case I am in Arizona, so I relish in my limited but still essential exposure to the Arab culture.
Religion plays a large part in the Arabic language and culture from certain phrases within the languages, to religious holidays celebrated widespread in countries throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. Disclaimer: while not ALL Arabs practice Islam, and not ALL muslims speak Arabic, there is a large overlap.
Which brings me to my first topic of being in Arizona for the conclusion of the month of Ramadan, where muslims fast from sunrise to sunset with no food, water, chewing gum, or smoking. At the end of every day during this month long period the fast is typically broken by eating dates and having a large well balanced meal surrounded by family and friends. Now, at the conclusion of the entire month of Ramadan called Eid al-Fitr, Muslims gather in prayer and celebration, in which some of my classmates and I were welcomed with open arms to celebrate with the community in a huge outdoor park starting with prayer, then amazing food, and ending with great conversation.
Another student and I at the Eid al-Fitr celebration!
Aside from being able to celebrate Eid with so many wonderful people, in Project GO we also gain valuable knowledge and exposure to culture throughout weekly Dardasha events in which thus far we’ve had the pleasure of attending a performance from a Syrian violinist, meeting the Jordanian Ambassador to the United States of America, watching an Egyptian film, attending a Saudi cultural event, and talking with people from Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia about their countries and the role that language and culture play in everyday life.
I look forward to participating in many more cultural events this summer, continuing my Arabic studies, and hopefully some rain falling from the sky, as monsoon season thus far has been a dry one. Will report back soon, keep on keeping on folks!
Happy June everyone! I’m currently blogging from Tucson, Arizona, where I lay comfortably in the shade around 6am on a Sunday morning.
A few fun differences in Tucson from Daytona Beach include the high elevation, the extremely dry heat, the seemingly more intense sun, lots of cacti, and Tucson is surrounded by mountains on three sides, which makes for some pretty amazing views. Whenever I introduce myself to people here and tell them I go to Riddle their first impression is the I attend Prescott because it’s only a few hours away, but truth be told I’m an ocean soul and I attend Daytona Beach, which makes for an even more interesting conversation.
I am currently just finishing up two weeks in AZ which means I’m about half way through my first semester of Arabic 405 which is Advanced Arabic I at the University of Arizona where I have tests every Friday and I have already taken my midterm examination.
Arabic 405 is an intensive course in which Monday-Friday I have four hours of classroom time every day, followed by an hour break for lunch, office hours (which are essentially an extension of class) with the professor for two hours, followed by an hour of tutoring, a break for dinner, then two hours of language partner time, in addition to homework, projects, and additional studying I do on my own. My schedule is definitely busy, but typically it always is, and learning Arabic while challenging, is extremely fun.
I got some more photos from my time at Field Training during the Max 1 session! Behold Alpha Flight at the Assault Course Finish line.
While I’m attending UA for summer courses with Project Global Officer there are students from all over the country here with me from the Army and Navy ROTC programs. My class consists of a total of five people, two of which are from Project GO. That being said, there are no extra “ROTC obligations” over the summer. Although naturally it’s encouraged to workout, we don’t have scheduled PT sessions or wear uniforms, and our primary job right now is to learn Arabic. I highly recommend studying over the summer because it makes it so much easier to give maximum effort when you don’t have any other classes to worry about.
Here’s a flashback from Dining Out this past Spring 2019 semester! Currently missing my AFROTC family.
Aside from this my acclimating to AZ has been a moderately rocky one, pun intended. My body was not used to the dry air or intense heat as I grew up on the coast and Riddle is by the beach too. But I’ve been running in the mornings or in the late evenings to escape the heat… even though the difference between 108 and 98 seems negligible, and I typically spend the weekends exploring Tucson’s coffee shops, restaurants, or going hiking or to the pool. Stay tuned for pictures of cacti and coffee to come. Will report back soon, stay cool folks. P.S. it’s monsoon season in Tucson and I’ve still yet to see any rain.
Embry-Riddle’s Network for Information Exchange or “ERNIE”
is the system ERAU students, faculty, staff and applicants use to manage
university business.
It’s no doubt that ERNIE will become your best friend throughout your college career. With ERNIE, you can stay organized, know when specific events take place, keep track of your funds, find textbook requirements, register for classes, contact professors, and so much more. I never quite realized how important ERNIE is for the students and professors here at Embry-Riddle. I’m going to give a tour of sorts on how to navigate ERNIE and explain some of the functions.
Using my ERNIE for some example screenshots, let’s review the 7 icons in the right-hand corner. This is where you will access your school email, and your OneDrive account, as well as find help, go into your settings, and see your “favorites”.
Speaking of “favorites,” let’s review the “tools” and “favorites” area located on your ERNIE homepage:
Some of your tools will be pre-populated, like Canvas and your Campus Solutions Student Homepage. You can quickly access Canvas (the learning management system used on campus to submit assignments, share documents, and access grades) in your Tools area. You can easily add more tools, like ALEKS the math placement and learning tool, RAVE, the emergency notification system, and many others. Simply click on the gear in the upper right corner to view more tools and add them to your dashboard.
Moving on to the menu that helps navigate information inside ERNIE, you’ll see some pretty self-explanatory categories: Departments, People, Forms, Training and Services. Of these options, perhaps the most useful to new students is Training. The training tab shows you how to do something in ERNIE. For example navigating to the Hunt Library, or learning to register for classes.
If you’re looking for information on tutoring, campus solutions, student employment information, or access your eagle card, you will find it under the services tab.
Your dashboard (sample pictured below) will help you to navigate to your class schedule, specific actions you need to take, and is an alternative way to access your Campus Solutions Student Homepage.
Campus Solutions Student Homepage
The student home page (pictured above) is probably the most important part of ERNIE for students. This is where you can check your funds and financial aid, view tuition due, see your graduation status, register for classes, access your academic advisor information and view your progress towards completion of your degree program. To access this page all you have to do is click the highlighted “Go To Student Homepage” link that is located in the Tools area, or the area where all your classes are shown. NOTE: applicants who have not yet enrolled will see an “Applicant Homepage” before they are assigned a “Student Homepage.”
There’s a lot to college, but ERNIE really helps minimize some of the stress by making it easier to manage business. It really just organizes everything and makes finding things easy for you, giving you one less thing to worry about. Hope this brief introduction helps introduce you to all ERNIE can do for you.
Happy June everyone! I’m currently blogging from Dallas, Texas, where I will be in the airport the next few hours waiting for my flight to Arizona.
Firstly, May FLEW by. Going from finals, to moving back from Daytona Beach to Virginia, then going from Virginia to Georgia, then to Alabama for Field Training, then back to Georgia, then to Virginia, now to Texas, then to Arizona, where I will reside until the beginning of August. Aside from training lasting two exhausting weeks in the Alabama heat, traveling (inclusive of packing and unpacking, then repacking and unpacking again) is also very exhausting.
I successfully got through spring semester with the highest term GPA I’ve had since starting at Riddle, and I credit that mostly to the hours I spent studying and not going to the beach, despite popular belief when I tell people I go to college in Florida.
In preparation for Field Training I cut out caffeine beforehand, which was gruesome, but you truly don’t realize how dependent you are until you pass through the withdrawals and realize that a good amount of sleep is a good substitution for a cup of coffee or tea. Nevertheless, upon completion of Field Training, despite getting 8 hours of rest every night, I was absolutely exhausted and my airport Starbucks run was very much appreciated.
My favorite part of Field Training was hands down the people. I was in a flight of twenty people that hailed from all over the country and I most certainly underestimated how quickly you can become attached to strangers in two weeks. The transition from individuals to a team to a family is literally awe-inspiring. In a nutshell, Field Training was an experience that will stay with my for the rest of my life and definitely fit the stereotype of “the most fun you never want to have again”.
The Alphacados with our amazing FTO and CTA, FT MAX 1 Summer 2019
Now that I am almost to the end of hopping around the country in such a short period of time, I am excited to go forth with my Arabic studies at the University of Arizona through Project GO, get back into a routine of class and working out, and of course explore all Tucson’s coffee shops while soaking up the sunshine & becoming aquatinted with some of the infamous saguaro cacti. Will report back soon, stay cool folks.
Greetings and salutations folks. I am currently blogging from my hotel room and it’s my last night in Daytona Beach for a while, or at least until August. Tomorrow I’m road tripping back to my home in Virginia and about a week later I’ll be heading to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama for 14 days of Field Training at the first session for summer 2019. Upon completion of training, I have about a day to catch my breath before I head to Arizona for Project GO, round two furthering my Arabic studies.
Out of my entire sophomore year, and quite frankly my time at Riddle thus far, this past month has been the absolute best. Now I say best with the full disclosure that I had still had homework, quizzes, presentations, group projects, tests, and final exams, but I honestly had a great time because one: my mindset, and two: the people I surrounded myself with.
My grades this semester were the best they’ve ever been in college so far and nothing monumental changed in priorities. I’ve always put school first, but this semester I put myself first in a lot of situations too. I made genuine connections with friends that helped me to de-stress so much. I took time for myself to do yoga and meditate and workout. I wish I could tell you I got a ton of sleep this semester, but I didn’t, truthfully I had very many late nights and very stressful nights trying to grasp concepts while studying. My classes this semester weren’t easy, but somehow my outlook changed and I went from overwhelming myself with concern over grades to going with the flow and putting more focus on learning material, and also unwinding. My work/life balance this semester was something that definitely improved from freshman year. Even in studying for finals, I strategized by putting in a few solid hours of studying and practice problems, taking a break, then getting back into it. Rest is SO important, especially for your brain.
Now that the semester is over, I am spending my short break before I go off to training by reading, working out, and hopefully sleeping a lot more. Books that I’ve dove into recently are The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. I have also recently discovered my new favorite poet too, her name is Morgan Harper Nichols and her art is immensely insightful, powerful, and healing.
In other news, before leaving Daytona Beach, I had the privilege of going to brunch with some of my favorite gal pals, and I got to attend my good friend’s commissioning ceremony, where he officially became a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
Brunch with one of my best friends before we part ways for the summer.Post commissioning ceremony with this newly sworn in Air Force Officer.
Now as I prepare for my journey back home, Field Training, and a summer of Arizona heat studying Arabic, I would like to leave you with this: every ending is an opportunity for beginnings. Will report back soon. Keep on keeping on!
My first year here at Riddle is coming to an end. Although I will be continuing to take classes during the Summer B semester, I’m still super-excited about the fact that I am about to be a sophomore, officially! To commemorate, I wanted to do a throw-back of sorts and showcase some of my favorite photos, old and new. Starting with the old:
And now the new! The Yuri’s Night event featured space activities, music, snacks and celestial viewing through the telescopes in the College of Arts & Sciences.
This time of year is always so bittersweet. While summer is literally right around the corner, there are still a few large obstacles to get through before the sand is in between my toes.
Finals are coming up sooner than we probably would like but for me personally, I cannot wait to just take them and be done. You could say senioritis is in full swing.
After I graduate in two weeks (that sounds crazy to say), I am catching a flight to Hawaii. We are going to see my sister graduate from University of Hawaii and have a little vacation. Then we are going to Disneyland for a day before heading back to Colorado for me to begin working!
When my family comes, we plan to eat lots of yummy food, hang out at the beach, and go to Disney World. I’m so excited but I never realized how much goes into graduating. There are meetings to attend and celebrations and having your family fly out… It’s a lot!
As all my organizations wrap up, I’m genuinely surprised how reluctant I am to say goodbye. While in the moment for the past three years I may have complained about the silly things we have to do or the “pointless” meetings, I’m now kind of already missing them. It’s not that I think they won’t succeed without me, but rather that they gave me a fulfilling sense of purpose that lit up my life! Now, I will find new things, but I will always be grateful for the people I have met, helped, or learned from.
I went to the College of Business awards ceremony last week and won the John P. Eberle award, which is essentially an outstanding senior recognition. I was so honored to win but also just sitting at the banquet and telling my professors my future plans seemed surreal. I remember being a scared freshman in their class like it was yesterday. Am I really not coming back to see them next semester?! I remember being a freshman at the same awards ceremony and being jealous of the seniors saying goodbye… Now I’m jealous of the freshman who get to stay!
Freshman Year College of Business Banquet Senior Year College of Business Banquet
These banquets and goodbye dinners have been so sad but I do have to say I am very blessed to have such great things ahead to look forward to. I have always been the person to look forward and be more excited for the future than the past. Still, every thing I do I can’t help but make a mental note that it may be my last. I submitted a paper last week… my last college essay. Then I did a presentation… my last college presentation. On the positive side of this, it’s very motivating knowing you only have ‘x’ amount of work left. It really makes you work harder to get it done!
From the Student Government Association Banquet – Student Court
That being said, I plan to continue to write at least one more blog. I hope these have been helpful and fun to read. Maybe the top ten things I learned in college? Hmmm, I’ll to think on that. It has been so exciting to meet the readers as they come to campus and say that my blog has helped them. One reader has even joined many of the organizations I am in! I cannot explain the joy it brings me knowing I have eased some minds and inspired others to become involved. If there is one takeaway I want ALL of you to get from reading these blogs – if I can do it, so can you!
