Mid-Semester Update

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Hello!

We are a bit more than halfway through the semester, but since we missed about a week of classes due to Hurricane Irma last month, most of our classes just had mid-terms last week and earlier this week.

The semester seems to just be cruising right along. We had our

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Fall Break just last weekend in which I returned to Houston to continue the re-building efforts post-Hurricane Harvey. Now at the time of writing this, it is about 53 days until graduation, and there are even less days of class left! Boy, time sure does fly!

Being a graduating senior is quite nice; it has been fun looking for and interviewing for full-time positions as well as enjoying my last few months of being a college student before I enter into the “real-world.” There is also a lot to juggle being a graduating senior due to the job searching, interviews, school work, working, and just being a college student!

There is not a whole lot left this semester, and I have no doubt the last part of it will fly by.

Stay tuned…

Fall 2017 Industry/Career Expo

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Hi All,

The Embry-Riddle Career Services Team just wrapped up its Fall 2017 Industry/Career Expo, and once again, it was another great success.

More than 2,500 students, alumni, and guests attended the Expo; 99 companies were at the Expo including American Airlines, Boeing, Gulfstream, HondaJet, Lockheed Martin Corporation, SpaceX, and Textron. The ICI center was packed with people; hundreds and hundreds of resumes were being put into the hands of recruiters; and many employers started inviting students to participate in interview day (for those companies that opt to stay to conduct interviews the day after the Expo).

There is so much planning and coordination that is involved in putting one of these Expos on, and I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to help put on these events. Sure, I am a student too, but helping put these on is such a cool experience. Now, by saying how “cool” these events are just understates how cool it is to have so many different employers on campus recruiting my fellow classmates and hearing about all of the different internship and job opportunities arise from the Expo.

When growing up, I heard the saying that “the aviation industry is all about who you know.” Thanks to these Expos, I truly understood what that meant, but I would argue that that this saying can be applied to any industry. It has been great to see some of the same recruiters and company representatives come back each Expo year after year because it makes starting up a conversation so much easier. Plus, getting to speak with different alumni and learn how they got to where they are today is very fun and informative.

Whether you are a first year student or alumni of Embry-Riddle (or any university for that matter), I highly encourage you to attend the Industry/Career Expo. Sure, it is daunting handing over your resume to a perspective employer as you start doubting that your resume is free of errors or worrying that you are potentially not qualified for a position, but it is amazing what can come out of just a little networking at these events.

Blue skies,

Jack

Visiting NASA 747SP Aircraft

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Hello everyone!

I hope you’re doing well and your semester is going great! I’ve had a couple of events happen, and they have been so much fun! On September 27th, I got to attend Shaesta Waiz’s arrival celebration. She is the first female certified civilian pilot from Afghanistan and is the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single engine aircraft. She is also the founder of Women’s Ambassador Program at Embry Riddle, for which I am currently a coordinator.

I also got a great opportunity to meet Nicole Stott, a NASA astronaut. She was a Flight Engineer on ISS Expedition 20 and Expedition 21. She was also a Mission Specialist on STS-128 and STS-133. Ms. Stott was a mentor to one of the Brookies from the Brooke Owen Fellowship that I was a part of this summer.

Last week (October 4th), Brent and I got to visit the NASA’s SOFIA 747SP aircraft. It is a Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) modified aircraft that carries a 2.5 meter, 17-ton telescope. The purpose of it’s mission is to observe Triton, Neptune’s largest moon.

 

The Career Expo is in 2 days!!! It will be on October 12th from 9 am to 4 pm. Please don’t forget to bring your Eagle Card and also dress professionally. I would highly recommend downloading the Embry Riddle Career Fair+ App. It has really cool features like complete company listing, interactive floor plan, event details and many more! I am an Ambassador for Career Services, so if you have any questions about career-related topics, please don’t hesitate to stop by our office. It is located in the Student Center on the second floor in Room 250.

I will also be travelling this weekend to Chicago and D.C. to talk about the Women’s Ambassador Program at Riddle. Stay tuned for more details in my next blog! Good luck in internship/ job hunting!

Until next time,

Maryam

SOFIA

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What? SOFIA is NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy – a modified 747SP aircraft that carries a 2.5-meter, 17-ton infrared telescope.

Where? Florida’s Daytona Beach International Airport and the adjacent Embry-Riddle campus, as part of SOFIA’s first scientific mission to be flown over the Atlantic Ocean.

Why? The purpose of the SOFIA mission will be to observe Triton – the largest moon of Neptune – as it passes by and conceals or “occults” a star called UCAC4 410-143659. This type of event is best captured by a mobile research facility such as SOFIA, high above the clouds.

Who? Tours offered exclusively to Embry-Riddle students, faculty and staff.

When? SOFIA arrived October 2, tours took place October 4, observation missions took place the night of October 6. Read more about the mission here.

 

My First Launch!

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If there is anything to love about Daytona Beach, it’s how amazingly close it is to the Space Coast! You can faintly see the launches from campus, but if you really want the best view, the hour’s drive to Cape Canaveral makes launch viewing even better. Despite how close it is, I have never taken the opportunity to drive down for a front row seat. Thanks to Space Tango, I didn’t have choice – and I was completely okay with it!

I’m interning remotely from the Lexington, KY-based company as their marketing and public relations specialist, so it was only befitting to make sure I was there for the launch of SpaceX CRS-12. This launch carried not only 12 customer research payloads, but an additional TangoLab facility to double available research capacity for Space Tango Customers.

The launch was scheduled for August 14th at approximately 12:31 PM EDT on launchpad 39A, historically know for being used for the first Saturn V launch (Apollo 4) and other Apollo missions including Apollo 11. Needless to say, I was excited. Not only was it my first launch, but I was working. There’s nothing more fulfilling than doing what you love for a living!

I was also fortunate enough to have my family and friends join me for the VIP viewing at Banana Creek, which is also home to the Apollo-Saturn V Center.

I spent a solid 3 hours waiting for launch inside the center, but I was so busy exploring all the exhibits that I almost forgot about the launch! As time neared, my family, friends, and I made our way to the launch seats. Although it was scorching hot outside, it was worth every second of the countdown. I’ve NEVER seen a launch, and the moment I saw plumes of exhaust, my skin was covered with goosebumps.

We were all in awe. In almost no time at all, stage 1 and 2 had separated and Space Tango Payloads were en route to the International Space Station. I took photos, published a press release, and just like that –  my first launch was over and I’m counting down until the next one. While I started my own countdown to the next launch I’d be attending, we enjoyed our access passes to the Kennedy Space Center. That in itself was amazing and well-worth the time (there’s a limited supply, but students and faculty can purchase discounted tickets for KSC).

There are many more photos that I can share and more stories to tell about my first trip to KSC, but I’ll leave that up to you to explore and discover.

⋆ Dani

 

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

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Hello there!

We are at week number five of classes, but it feels like way earlier in the semester!

About three weeks ago, classes were cancelled for about a week due to Hurricane Irma impacting practically the entire state of Florida. Now, it feels like the semester is moving at twice the normal speed as we all continue to get back on track.

Beginning final approach into Houston

Luckily, campus sustained very minimal damage as well as most of the Daytona Beach area. There was some minor flooding along the Halifax River, but in the end, everything is a-okay. Most people (including myself) traveled back home which worked out great for me as I could continue helping with the clean-up and re-building efforts in Houston due in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The Fall 2017 Industry/Career Expo is just 16 days away so final preparations in the Career Services Office are well underway. We are looking forward to another great expo in which 101 employers will be on campus!

Stay tuned…a lot more to come!

Jack

Back to School

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Hello everyone!

I hope you had a great start to the Fall semester and are settling back. I am currently back to starting classes, and let me tell you, it’s not really easy getting back into my school routine after doing 9 months of internships!!! I also got my private pilot license during the summer right before classes started.

I am currently taking 15 credits, training for my instrument, and have leadership roles in multiple organizations. It’s not super easy getting back, but I do like a little challenge. It is also very nice to get back since I have a great support system from my professors, colleagues and friends!

After getting into two weeks of classes, I can’t believe we got a whole week off due to Hurricane Irma. My boyfriend and I drove to my house in Bradenton to stay with my family. We didn’t evacuate from Florida, but hunkered down and stayed through it. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. We lost power for about 8 hours, but we slept through it since it was in the middle of the night. There wasn’t much damage to our house, except for trees that fell all over the place. We took down the storm shutters after it was all over and cleaned our place up. There were some trees outside our complex that were uprooted.

I hope everyone was safe during this period and have made it back safely to Daytona. Remember that if you need any help, please reach out to your professors and let them know.

Until next time,

Maryam

Trip to Houston in the Aftermath of Harvey

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I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Even though I consider Daytona my “home” since I spend most of my time here (due to school), Houston will always be home. Now, going to school far away from home has its pros and cons, but when emergencies strike, there are so many more cons of being away from home.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in south Texas over a week ago and then proceeded to stall over Houston for several days in which it caused massive flooding. In fact, several news agencies have pointed out that there was enough rain in Houston during Harvey to run Niagara Falls for almost two weeks.

Last week, my house took on several feet of water. It was tough not being there with my family as they dealt with the significant flooding. I felt useless and helpless, but thankfully, I was able to take a trip home to help my parents and friends with the clean up over Labor Day weekend. It was pretty surreal walking around my neighborhood and home, but I am very glad that I was able to be there with them. I am extremely thankful that my family is safe and that I got to spend some time with them.

Regardless if you are going to school 2 miles away from home or more than a thousand miles, communicating with your professors when family emergencies strike goes a long way as they will be understanding and willing to assist in whatever way they can.

 

First Week of School

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My last “First Day of School” as seen from Daytona at the top and Hurricane Harvey impacting Houston on the bottom.

Monday was my last “first day of school,” or at least the last one of my undergraduate career. I can’t believe that my final semester at Embry-Riddle is already here!

While it is an exciting week, it has also been a tough week as my family and all of Houston (where I grew up) continues to be impacted by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. Unfortunately, the city of Houston and the surrounding areas have taken a beating from the storm. At times like these, it can very hard to be away from home as I cannot be there to help family and friends as Houston deals with the storm.

So far, all of my classes seem very interesting. In my capstone class (Strategic Management), we will be spending the entire semester working in teams completing a business simulation. This will allow us to apply what we have learned throughout our time in the business program, and we will have different responsibilities for the business such as marketing, finance, product development, etc. While I have heard that it can be easy or hard sometimes, it is set up in a very unique way.

I am also taking a Marketing Research class which will be the first time ERAU has offered this class on the Daytona Beach campus. More to come on this, but so far, it sounds like a very interesting class.

Since it is the fall, I am back to being a Peer Mentor (TA) for a University 101 class. It has been very fun meeting the new first year students and answering their questions. The Career Services Office (where I am a student assistant) is as busy as ever! We are already deep into plans for the 2017 Fall Industry/Career Expo on October 12! So far, we have more than 90 companies registered to attend!

Buckle up, it’s going to be a busy semester!

Jack

Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals Convention and Career Expo

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Embry-Riddle is home to a series of prestigious organizations that salute the advancement of minorities within the Aviation and Aerospace industry. I, myself, have recently joined the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals. Not only is our advisor the esteemed Dr. Nancy Lawrence, an Associate Professor of Aerospace and Occupational Safety, but our alumni are leaders in the industry. As a member of OBAP, I was invited to attend the 41st Annual Convention hosted in Orlando, Florida at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort.

I was in the presence of professional aviators, captains, air traffic control specialists, and even marketing professionals from the aerospace industry. The weekend consisted of collegiate series, receptions, a job fair, and a gala for the finale. Unlike the ISS Research & Design Conference I attended earlier this year, this convention was catered primarily to the students.

The first night informal and beyond welcoming. For many attendees, it was a lot like a family reunion. Minorities make up a relatively small portion of the demographic; despite these small numbers, OBAP provides an incredibly close-knit community that thrives on encouraging one another’s successes. Within in that night alone, I found myself making jokes with historically influential captains that are paving the way for young Black pilots today.

Of course, I myself am not a pilot or enrolled in an aerospace-specific program, but I was pleased to see that there was still a distinct need and appreciation for communication majors. Although I did make a few connections regarding public relations and marketing, this is an event that greatly benefits aeronautical engineers, air traffic controllers, aerospace and occupational safety, and (of course) aeronautical science majors.

Companies in attendance were FedEx, Southwest, Mesa Airlines, JetBlue, and many more. Embry-Riddle was also one of very few colleges with their own booth. Our OBAP chapter members and executive board shared with attendees information on programs and certifications offered at all available degree levels for Prescott, Daytona, and Worldwide.

 

As a senior, this is event was truly beneficial for networking, but more so perspective. This convention is cleverly crafted to make you an active individual with the aerospace industry. It was a dose of reality. The people I met that weekend are the people I hope will be working with in the future. That in itself is a huge honor – stand alongside men and women that strive for not only themselves, but the people that look up to them.

If you’re looking for more information, be sure to check out the official Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals website and DEFINITELY reach out to our school’s local chapter at obap.erau@gmail.com. You can find us at the activities fair as well on September 7th!

⋆ Dani