Spring 2017 Semester is Complete!

Posted on by
Reply

In what has felt like a sprint to the end, the Spring 2017 semester is now complete, which means that I just have one more semester left of college until I graduate in December! The funny thing is that I will spend about 10 more days working during the summer at Delta than on campus for classes during my Fall semester!

The last two weeks have been very, very busy. From project presentations to essays to exams, there is a lot to juggle, but it is definitely manageable. While exams in college may sound daunting, most of my “exams” have just been a regular third test over the last third of the curriculum we have gone over; basically, they are not cumulative so we don’t have to stress thinking about what we learned at the beginning of the semester.

Last Friday, I traveled to the University of Tampa to present about how Embry-Riddle’s Career Services Department has its “Students Taking Career Development to Infinity and Beyond.” My friend, Fergie, and I presented about how we as Career Services student assistants and ambassadors help our fellow students when it comes to career development. For example, our Career Services Ambassador Program is made up of 12 students who present tips, resources, and what is happening in the office to about two dozen different organizations each semester. It is all aimed to build more awareness about our office, and seriously, once you start at ERAU, you should come by and meet your program manager as they can help you achieve your internships/career goals!

Well, time to go pack for a quick getaway and some R&R now that the semester is over. I’m headed back to Atlanta next week to start my second summer internship in the Network Planning department at Delta Air Lines!

And, yes, we have a 747 that is now on display at the Delta Flight Museum which is right at the Delta headquarters. It is totally worth a trip to check out because there is truly no other exhibit like this.

Blue skies,

Jack

Summer Internship with ALPA

Posted on by
Reply

Hello everyone!

As my internship with Delta Air Lines comes to an end this week, I am very happy to announce that I got selected for another internship with Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) for the summer via the Brooke Owens Fellowship Program! Brooke Owens Fellowship Program is a volunteer-led program awarding internships and senior mentorship to exceptional undergraduate women seeking a career in aviation or space exploration.

Created to honor the legacy of a beloved space industry pioneer and accomplished pilot, Dawn Brooke Owens (1980 – 2016), the program is designed to serve both as an inspiration and as a career boost to capable young women. Each Fellow is placed into a paid summer internship at one of the aviation or space companies. The process was highly competitive and rigorous, and it consisted of multi-phase interviews. All the candidates were evaluated on the basis of their technical excellence, creativity, commitment to service, and career growth potential. The host institution that selected me was Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). I will be working with them in the Engineering and Air Safety Department.

In addition the work experience with ALPA, I have been paired with two hand-picked, senior aerospace professionals who will serve as my mentors. One of my mentors is Paul Shawcross and is the Chief of the Science and Space Branch in the White House’s Office of Management and Budget. He lived in the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Wisconsin and Boston as a child before attending MIT, where he eventually earned three degrees. After college, Paul worked at the National Research Council and at NASA. He is best known for authoring the White House response to a petition calling for the construction of a Death Star. My second mentor is Karen Lacy. She is a first officer for ExpressJet Airlines and an Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association.  Karen is the first female pilot to hold this elected position in the Union’s 86 year history.  She has taken on many other roles in her union and held many positions in the aviation industry including ramp agent for Trans States Airlines, an aeronautical chart maker for a Department of Defense contractor, a revenue management analyst for Continental Airlines, a flight instructor in Sugar Land, Texas, and a first officer for Envoy (formerly American Eagle) Airlines.  She also spent several years as a computer programmer for Rice University. I am super excited to meet them both this summer!

Read the press release here for more about the competition and all the finalists.

Good luck to all those doing internships/ taking summer courses! Hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing summer!

Until next time,

Maryam

Final Stretch

Posted on by
Reply

Hello!

We are in the final stretch of the Spring 2017 semester! All of my classes are done for the semester, and only four tests remain. Plus, I am off to Tampa to present with one of my co-workers on how student assistants and ambassadors spread the word of Career Services.

The last two weeks of every semester are extremely busy, and the lines at Starbucks seem to get longer and longer. Time management is key this time of year! So, I have been constantly juggling a variety of last minute assignments/projects for my classes, and work has been very busy with a lot of people coming into the office to register their internship for credit.

I have had six different presentations over the last nine days, and all of them went very well thankfully. Even though its now final time, all of my tests are just regular third tests as in they are not cumulative.

Now, off to study!

Jack

Have you Thought About Taking Online Classes During the Summer?

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever thought of taking online classes during the summer to increase your chances of graduating early? It is not too late to register for this summer! That’s the path I took for the past two summers while also doing an internship. I have talked about Online vs. Regular Classes previously, but now I have gathered two stories of students who took online classes while also doing an internship or working a full-time position. Overall, they were great and recommended experiences:

“I took International Business during Summer 2016 while on internship with Alaska Airlines. My professor was great, and he posted video lectures online each week, so I would watch his chapter lecture, read the chapter, and do discussion posts. We could do the posts on our own time, as long as they were done by the end of the week. Additionally, we had a group project to do, which was challenging because one of my group members went on vacation and didn’t do her part. I believe we had also two exams, which were obviously open book. Lastly, we had a final paper, in which we had to write a business plan for how we would expand our American company into international markets.

I probably spent 30 min to 1 hour each night doing homework or reading the textbook (3 to 4 hours per week). Towards the end of the class I spent more time on the class, since I had a final paper to write. It was pretty easy to take a class during my internship. I started the online class a week before my internship, so I had a feel for it before I jumped into working full time. I worked 40 hours per week (typically 8am to 5pm) with an additional hour of commute each way. Once I got home I would do some homework for my online class. I spaced out my homework throughout the week so that I wouldn’t have to spend my weekends doing homework (since I had flight benefits and wanted to travel!).

I really liked combining an online class with my internship. I felt like I was being very productive over the summer. My manager at my internship was very impressed that I was able to take classes along with working full time.” – Lindsey Hanbidge, ERAU Daytona 2017 Graduating Senior

“During the summer of 2016, I took a Leadership online class as an elective while working full-time at an airport for a ground handling company. The class was straightforward and included weekly discussions and assignments. We also had a term paper and a final exam. I would say that I spent on average 3-4 hours per week on that class. It was crucial to set a side a time during the week to sit down with no distractions and knock out my class work. If you put it off until Sunday night each week, you will definitely regret it. With all that said, working full-time and taking an online class at the same time is totally feasible and totally recommended!” – Jake Neville, ERAU Daytona Class of 2016

Editor’s note: Current residential campus students must submit appropriate paperwork before enrolling in online courses through the Worldwide Campus. Consult with the Record’s Office, your advisor or program coordinator before deciding whether online courses are right for you. 

End of the Semester Review

Posted on by
Reply

Hello again! I’m so sorry about the long period of radio silence. Things here have been a bit hectic, but I have so many things to talk about so hopefully this might make up for the lack of blog posts. I guess I’ll have to start back way, way back in March right before Spring Break.

DJI_0031-Edit

Shortly before flying back home to New Jersey to start what would be a moderately eventful Spring Break, I bought myself a DJI Mavic Pro! Eagle eyed readers might remember that I bought a drone my freshmen year, and they would be correct. Ultimately I regret to admit that that drone was a waste of money, but the lessons I’ve learned about drone operation and aerial imagery have long stuck with me.

Once I got home to New Jersey, I spent most of my Spring Break helping my parents out at their nail salon, mostly working as a receptionist and interpreter/translator. Whenever I had some down time, I’d fly my drone at the park by my house. It was really fun to get back into the hobby of aerial photography, but I just wish it wasn’t so cold during break.

I love the snow and it was one of the many reasons why I was super excited to fly back home, but I realized that it takes a lot of time, energy, and planning to fly out in the cold. Not to mention, you’re kinda at the mercy of the weather. Thanks to “Winter Storm Stella,” which turned out to be a bust by the way, the weather was pretty lame since it rained and sleeted a lot. Oh well I guess.

_MG_8820

It wasn’t until towards the end of the week that the weather got better so on Friday I spent a day in New York City and spent Saturday packing up my things for my flight back to Orlando on Sunday. And just like that, on that cold Sunday afternoon, I found myself on a train headed back to Newark International Airport so I could start class the next day.

_MG_8883

School for the most part has been pretty challenging as always. I think on the week I came back, or the next week, I had three tests scheduled in a row. Definitely not super ideal, but at this point, this has happened about two times so far this semester so I was kinda used to it. I did ok on one of the tests, while I did a lot better on the other two. However, I didn’t have time to contemplate my test scores because the following Sunday I had to shoot a wedding.

I’ve never done wedding photography before and wedding videography is a whole different animal. I will admit I was super nervous because with weddings, you only get one shot so if you blow it, well you’re out of luck. If I had to do it all over again, I’d definitely hire someone else to shoot video with me because one camera man is definitely not enough to cover everything.

Once I recovered from the wedding, I was handed another project: Completely rebuild the Digital Studio website in four-five days. Thankfully, the time-frame was extended for a total time of about two weeks. Now, before starting this huge undertaking, I was pretty good with WordPress and HTML coding. But, the more time I spent working on the website and trying out different design methods, I felt a lot better about my coding background and attitude towards coding.

A lot of people, like myself, complained that ERG115, the class where you first learn how to code in MATLAB, basically made them hate coding. I totally understand where everyone is coming from, but as I started branching out into other programs and coding languages, I rediscovered my love for coding and problem solving. I guess I needed some time off after doing fprintf(‘Hello world.’); so many times.

_MG_9597-Edit _MG_0837

Somewhere along the way, I was invited by my friend to join him at Sun ‘n’ Fun. For those of you who don’t know, Sun ‘n’ Fun is this huge airshow out in Lakeland, Florida. Many people have compared it to Oshkosh, but I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, it’s much smaller. Regardless though, I had a lot of fun, but I do wish I’d gone earlier. I went on Sunday with my friend which was the last day of the week-long event, and a majority of the static aircraft, mostly military aircraft, and airshow performers had left. That was ok because I got to see the Blue Angels perform for the first time in my life. After seeing the Thunderbirds perform for three years, this was definitely a welcomed change.

_MG_9011

I also got to go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for the first time. I’ve been to Kennedy Space Center and the launch pads, but surprisingly never actually went to the Visitor Complex.

_MG_8915

With my sixth, wow has it really been six?, semester now coming to a close, I’m definitely looking forward to going home for the summer for some R&R. I look forward to taking Thermodynamics at Rutgers and flying my drone a lot more since New Jersey’s airspace isn’t as dense as Daytona Beach’s. I look forward to working either with my family or at a supermarket since I was already offered a job starting when I come home. But, most importantly, I look forward to summer and what it has to offer. Four months is a long time and I look forward to sharing everything when I see you all in August.

For now, good luck, and if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading.

It’s Crunch Time

Posted on by
Reply

Next week is the last week of classes of the 2017 Spring Semester! This also means that “It’s Crunch Time” before we head towards summer. It is time to finish those last semester projects/presentations and study for finals.

On Monday, I have a presentation in my Social Responsibility and Ethics Management class. During the semester, we had to volunteer and do ten hours of community service hours as part of a project called Civil Engagement Project.

The following day, I have a group presentation in my Strategic Management class. We will report on how our company did during the eight rounds simulation. During those rounds, we produced sensors and sold them on the market. We were competing against other groups in our classroom.

Thursday will be my last day of classes at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University!

There are no classes on Friday as this day is dedicated to studying. My professor in my Aviation Labor Relations course will post our final exam on Canvas (online); we will have two days to complete it.

I will have a total of four “real” final exams that will take place during finals week (Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday). My other exams for my other three classes will be taken online.

In just about two weeks on May 8, I will be graduating!

Here are 10 Study Tips to help you prepare for your final exams:

  1. Do not look at the course material for the first time the day before the exam. Most professors mention the dates of assignments, quizzes, and exams during the first week of classes.
  2. Take notes in class and review them on the same day you took them.
  3. Start looking slowly at the material a week or a few days before the test. You will learn and memorize a lot more if you study a little bit every day.
  4. If you created a study guide, try to break it up and study one part at a time. It will be easier if you study it in small chunks instead of reading the whole study guide again and again.
  5. Create a short song or a series of letters when you have to memorize things involving steps or chronology. One time I had to memorize the 6 types of religious conversion. So I just remembered the first letter of each word and it sounded like this IMEARC.
  6. Repeating things loudly or writing them down many times on a sheet of paper will help you to remember the information for the exam.
  7. Quiz yourself or get a friend to ask you some questions. I often use Quizlet to test myself. There is a test option where the website generates a set of questions from the data you have to learn.
  8. Get all the information possible you can from your professor. Sometimes, they will tell you the format of the exam (multiple choices, true or false, short answers, short essays and/or long essays) and the number of questions.
  9. Take a break. Don’t study for hours in one sitting, but take some short breaks and move around.
  10. The night before the test, don’t stay up late at night to study. You should have studied a few days before and be ready. You will do better on the on the exam if you have a good night of sleep.

Good luck on your exams!

Nicolas

Aviation Safety InfoShare 2017

Posted on by
Reply

Hello everyone!

I got to attend the Aviation Safety Infoshare at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania from April 18th– April 20th. Aviation Safety InfoShare is a semi‑annual confidential industry-sponsored meeting attended by government and industry safety professionals who share their safety concerns and best practices in a protected environment. InfoShare offers a unique opportunity to advance aviation safety outside of individual air carriers and bring about improvements for the industry by sharing these experiences.Participants at Aviation Safety InfoShare include representatives from—

  • International, major, regional, and corporate operators
  • Pilot, mechanic, dispatch, cabin, ground operations, and air traffic labor groups
  • Aircraft manufacturers
  • Maintenance repair and overhaul organizations
  • Trade associations
  • University aviation departments
  • Government agencies
18053423_1926774074274175_1700144929_o

Grand Ballroom

Id Badge to enter the InfoShare

Id Badge to enter the InfoShare

The host hotel was Wyndham Grand Pittsburg Downtown. I got to attend it with Delta Air Lines. I traveled on company business, and I had my own room at the hotel with a fantastic river view.

18119979_1928769424074640_1501881183_o 18120247_1928769414074641_2023997498_o

View outside my room

View outside my room

The InfoShare was a great opportunity, and I got to talk to a lot of the other airlines. Attendees can only enter the infoshare if they work for an airline and proved it by showing their respective company ID badge. There were even guards at the door making sure no one who didn’t work for an airline entered! I am so thankful that I got to attend the InfoShare and talk to so many aviation professionals!

Until next time,

Maryam

Two Weeks Left!

Posted on by
Reply

Hi All!

There are just two weeks of classes left!

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to work at Preview Day and talk about Career Services to future students and parents. It was really fun to meet many of the students who will be starting this Fall, and it brought back many memories of when I attended three years ago. If you will be attending ERAU in the future and have the opportunity to attend an open house or Preview Day, I highly recommend it as it helps you get acquainted to campus before you move in!

I have three presentations next week and one other project due. So much to do and so little time it feels like. While it may seem like a lot compared to high school, strong time management skills can help make juggling everything pretty easy while also getting some down time.

Next week, I am presenting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) on San Francisco International Airport in my Airport Management Class; I am also presenting about a lawsuit about airline frequent-flyer programs in my Business Law Class; lastly, I am presenting about the cargo company Atlas Air in my Principles of Transportation Class. Plus, we are starting our sales call project for my Professional Selling Class.

While it is a lot to juggle, all of the presentations are group work which makes it a lot easier when you have a group. Plus, I have a lot of things coming up to look forward to which also helps getting through the crunch time at the end of the semester!

Eight months to graduation…less than a month until I go back to Delta for the summer…and just two weeks of classes left. Boy, time does fly!

Until next time,

Jack

Goodbye, Kentucky and Hello, Florida!

Posted on by
Reply

In two weeks, my Spring internship with Space Tango is over. This was sad news for me. I’ve grown attached the this company and their mission. Like I said though, I was sad. Space Tango has asked me to join them AGAIN in the Summer. Now I can’t stop smiling.

I’ll be working part-time in Florida for Space Tango continuing on as their Communication and Marketing intern, but with a  perk – launches! As the company continues to grow, they will have more customer payloads to launch from Cape Canaveral. So although I’ll be doing most of my work online, I’ll only be an hour away from the Space Coast.

I’m certainly excited about this perk, but as their intern this is extremely ideal. I’ll have more access to Florida sources. I’ll also be present for the more intensive mission preparations prior to launch. They also have a location at the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park which is a great source for new photos and media content to advance their public image as the growing entity they are.

SLSL

My time with Space Tango has been rewarding. I’ve taken a strong liking to this start-up company, and I’m excited to still be a part of their growth in (sometimes) sunny Florida!

⋆ Dani

I Began my Morning with a Little Bit of Gardening

Posted on by
Reply

I’m a Communication major and I hope to be a public relations specialist for the aerospace industry. Somehow though, I’ve gotten into a little bit of hydroponic gardening at Space Tango.

garden1

Each glass cup was filled with mulch pebbles surrounding a pod of seeds. Connecting each cup a tubing system that will cycle the water from one cup to the next until it returns back to the water tank. (That’s my hand by the way, doing science things instead of writing.)

This morning the Space Tango biomedical engineer and her intern asked for a little help with a prototype hydroponic system. I had no idea how to even begin such a system, but with a little guidance I soon found myself placing pebbled mulch, seeds, and burlap. A decent amount of duct tape later and we had a fully-functioning hydroponic system. As water flowed from cup to cup, I couldn’t believe I was “just ” a Communication major. I think our positions are what we make of them, but they aren’t meant to be boundaries.

garden2

To the right you’ll see our water tank accompanied by a small pump. Attached to the pump is one end of the tubing. After cycling through each glass cup, the final tubing flows water back into the tank to begin the process again.

garden3

To help contain the mulch and soon-to-be plants, burlap was taped to the surface of each cup. Believe it or not, this was the hardest part for us.

I spent my time here at Space Tango on a computer working on press releases, networking, websites, and social media. Just for today, I spent it in the lab. I got to get a first-hand try of what I report. It’s just a prototype, but it’s a step in the scientific process. It was exciting to be a part of it! As a writer, it’s great to be able to try the things you only get to write about.

⋆ Dani