Traveling Interviews

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Hello again!!

I have had a whirlwind 36 hours. Yesterday I spent the day traveling to and from an interview with Southwest in Dallas, Texas. I’ve flown all over Texas, but I’ve never actually been to Dallas; I was really excited! It turned out to be great fun!

I got up bright and early and drove out to Orlando for my first flight on Southwest and on a 737. It was instantly impressed with the level of professionalism and the ease of the boarding processes. We had hysterical flight attendants and a great flight crew. They asked me if I was a pilot and we struck up a great conversation.

The airport was beautiful; nothing like Atlanta or Chicago (which is a good thing). Very simple decorations and lots and lots of Boeing 737s. Even BBJs (Boeing Business Jets – it’s a private Boeing jet). The drive from the airport to Southwest headquarters was quick and easy, with once again lovely staff members.

I arrived about 3 hours early, which I know sounds awful, but I tried to look on the bright side. I filled out all of the paperwork and was fingerprinted very quickly. There were a few people in the waiting room with me, but I managed to find a great spot and started to work on my homework and classwork (that I missed because I was at this interview). So I worked and worked until my interview came. I was running questions through my head and practicing answers and thinking of worst case scenarios.

The interviewer took me back right when the interview was about to start. He gave me fair warning that there were about 7 people in the room and to prepare myself. My heart started pounding, but then, once I sat down and started answering questions, the interview zoomed by. I couldn’t believe that my 30 minutes was up so quickly. It was actually closer to 45, but it still zoomed by.

The next thing I knew I was sitting on the floor of the gate, studying for my exams, getting ready for school the next day. Then I hopped on a plane and made it home, very very late, but I made it home.

The next morning I drove my boyfriend back to the same airport I arrived at 4 hours prior for his first trip as a First Officer for a Regional airline.

Needless to say, it’s been an absolutely chaotic 36 hours, but I still have the rest of the week to handle and another in-person interview in Missouri!

Here’s to the next 12 days.

Until next time – blue skies!

~ Emmy

Fall Break

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Well, Fall Break is now behind us which means that there’s about six to seven more weeks left of the fall semester. I’m amazed at how fast we’ve gotten to this point and everything that’s happened since the beginning of the semester until now.

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Tennessee is so beautiful.

For Fall Break, I went home with my roommate to Tennessee, and needless to say, I was really excited since I’ve never been to to Tennessee before. We left Port Orange at 5 a.m. and embarked on a 10-hour road trip north. We encountered scenic roads, strange billboards, and interesting individuals: All the hallmarks of a great road trip.

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The architecture is beautiful as well.

When traveling through the country, I-95 is typically the only interstate I used, so traveling on I-75 was different for me. I saw things that I normally wouldn’t see on I-95, got to pass through cities I’ve never visited before, and got a better understanding of the United States geographically.

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I also visited Nashville International Airport.

Once we made it through Georgia, I was greeted by the large, looming mountains of Tennessee. Coming from a place like New Jersey, where the land is constantly flat with no major land changes, this was a real treat: I’ve never seen mountain formations like this before, and with fall rapidly approaching, the browning of the trees made me feel like I was in New England. Coincidentally, the homes in the area where my roommate lived were modeled after New England homes. I guess if I had to compare, Tennessee has a rural Pennsylvania vibe to it.

My Canon 5D Mark III died, so I had to use my roommate's Nikon D7000 for the day.

My Canon 5D Mark III died, so I had to use my roommate’s Nikon D7000 for the day.

The next two days involved sight-seeing around town and Nashville. While I’m not a huge fan of country music, Nashville wasn’t too bad. Then again, I really only spent time around the state capital building and the bicentennial park so I didn’t really get to see Nashville in its entirety. It’s kind of like trying to see all of New York City in one day: It’s impossible. I do plan on coming back to Tennessee though. There’s so much I want to do, and now that I have an idea of what the state is like, it’ll be easier to budget my time.

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So. Many. Mountains.

Sunday morning, we left my roommate’s house at 5 a.m. but this time took the scenic route home instead of the direct way we took there. The scenic route involved heading east into the mountains by North Carolina, southwest to Georgia, and then south back to Florida. Even though the route added an extra five hours to our journey, I think it was worth it. Tennessee just has something really unique and beautiful about it which no other state I’ve been to seems to have. Driving on the mountain roads with the morning fog was awe inspiring, and sharing the backroads with bikers was equally breath-taking. Passing through Georgia and Florida was pretty normal with nothing important to report. After driving non-stop, we managed to make it back to our apartment around 10 p.m.

The famous US 129 Harley Davidson store.

The famous US 129 Harley Davidson store.

I think this Fall Break will go down as one of the many highlights of 2016. I got out of my comfort zone, traveled to places I’ve never been to before, and got to see a lot of things that I didn’t know existed. Most importantly, the break gave me time to rethink my life and relax from all of the stress this semester has accumulated. I learned that I need to pace myself and take things one step at a time, which may seem cliché, but is probably something that will save me from breaking down one day.

With that said, I’m going to try hard to finish this semester on a strong note. Until my next blog entry, stay curious and be safe.

Post Hurricane Matthew

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Well Hurricane Matthew was a very interesting experience, but I’m glad that everyone is ok and that campus didn’t get hit too, too hard by the storm. While I did want to experience a hurricane first-hand, once Matthew was projected to be category 3, if not 4, I realized that this wasn’t a joking matter.

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While not on the East Coast of Florida, the waves and wind were super strong in Venice Beach Thursday before Matthew hit.

In the days leading up to Matthew, there was some uncertainty about my travel plans and where I would go in the event campus was evacuated. Thankfully, my friend offered to house me and like nine other people at her house in Venice, FL. While the six hour drive was really long, we tried to avoid going on I-4 Thursday morning, we all managed to make it in one piece. Pro tip: If you’re traveling in a car convoy, walkie talkies definitely make the drive so much better.

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Once we got to Venice, I helped my friend make dinner for everyone and we later did a Wal-Mart run. What made the ride to Wal-Mart amazing was that her dad owned a limousine so rode in it. After he got back to her house, night had fallen so we tuned to Weather Channel to see Matthew slowly make his way to Daytona Beach. I tried to stay up to watch the storm, but I was wiped out from driving so I went to bed. In the morning, I checked Facebook to see if everyone I knew in Daytona was ok. Thankfully they were and the damage wasn’t as bad as originally estimated.

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Siesta Key Beach was so surreal: Everyone just stood on the white sand watching the sunset. There was no yelling, people were well mannered, it was definitely a far cry from the beaches at New Jersey.

The next few days involved driving around, visiting the local beaches, and trying out some local restaurants. All in all, it was a nice mini-vacation under the strangest of circumstances. I even learned how to swim…sort of.

This past week, Embry-Riddle finally got to host their homecoming event.

This past week, Embry-Riddle finally got to host their homecoming event.

After returning to Daytona the following Sunday, I went back to my apartment and was pleased to see no major manage in Port Orange or the surrounding area. My roommates were ok, despite opting to stay in Daytona during the storm, and everyone was slowly returning back to the Daytona Beach area.

I don't know what kind of paperwork was filed to allow this, but I was impressed.

I don’t know what kind of paperwork was filed to allow this, but I was impressed.

With Fall Break coming up, I am not so sure if I need another break. However, I’ll be traveling to Tennessee with my roommate so there’s that to look forward to. Adventure never waits I guess. Until my next update, stay safe, and remember to be curious.

I never got free pizza :(

I never got free pizza 🙁

Interviews Galore

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Hello again, readers!

SO a LOT has happened recently; the hurricane, canceling the career expo, lots of academic calendar changes, etc.

But for me, it’s about career updates. Within the next 2 weeks, I’m flying out to two different states for 2 different companies in the aviation industry. The first one is with Southwest Airlines for a spring internship. This one is particularly exciting for me, because I’ve never been formally introduced to the airline industry and how human factors fits into Part 121 flight operations. Plus the flight benefits wouldn’t be so bad either.

The second interview is with Garmin in a combined aviation systems, human factors, and pilot internship. My interview is incredibly extensive, about 6 hours or so, because of how involved it is within the companies. Lots of different departments to speak with and sights to see. I think a sim may even be on the interview! This is REALLY exciting because it combines absolutely everything I love about what I do, fly and human factors work. This is also great because Garmin is so specific in aviation, dealing with avionics systems, but also other groups. I think it even has a Golfing section! It’ll be interesting to see what Missouri is like on the ground; I’ve only ever flown through it!

Both companies have such fantastic cultures that are so open towards furthering your education within your specialty and being exposed to others. They have been very receptive to my limited expertise and encouraged me to continue with my education and pursue whatever I love most, regardless of which company it may be with.

I’m very excited but a little nervous about these interviews. I’ve never done a formal job/internship position interview in person before, only on the phone. I am looking forward to it though; it’s especially such an honor to be FLOWN out to these companies. They must think very highly of me! I’ve got a lot of interview practice to do…..

Of course, I’ll post more as we go along, but I wanted to update everyone on these exciting events!

Until next time, blue skies!

~ Emmy

One Last Push

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keep-calm-it-s-almost-fall-break-3Next week marks the median of the semester, but I feel like we just came back to ERAU from summer. I know you guys have to go through midterms, tests, quizzes, assignments, homework and/or projects next week. Keep up the good work because Fall Break is around the corner!

Due to Hurricane Matthew, a total of three days of classes were cancelled. During that time, many of the students and faculty did not have power. It was a bit of a challenge to work on some assignments during the hurricane and professors know it. Many of my professors adapted the course schedule since we missed a few days of classes. My Supply Chain Management midterm that was supposed to be this week is pushed to next week. My professor in Technical Report Writing delayed the due date of our assignments by close to two weeks. Instead of rescheduling the quiz in The Joy of Science, the professor just decided to cancel it to the joy of the students. No pun intended.

Professors are here to help, so if you feel you didn’t have time to work on something or you were simply unable to work due to the power outage, just ask your professor. They might give you more days to complete your assignment. I’m taking an online class and I definitely need my computer to work. I emailed my professor to ask if I could get an extension on my homework because of Hurricane Matthew. The instructor totally understood the circumstances and gave me an additional week to turn in the work.

Enjoy your weekend!

Nicolas

First Hurricane Experience

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Hi everyone!

I apologize for the leave of absence from the blog! Life has been very crazy for me; somewhat of a whirlwind. I’m excited to be back blogging!

As you may have seen, there was just a hurricane that hit Florida. Being from Seattle, I had no idea of what experiencing a hurricane was actually like. I was hearing a lot of different things from the news, friends, and native Floridians about what to do. Of course, my parents and friends back home in Seattle were very worried about me, but I managed to make it through!

I evacuated down to Fort Myers, FL, which is an hour south of Tampa. We left on Wednesday night, since classes were cancelled Thursday and Friday. I was concerned about my dorm room in McKay being damaged by winds or rain, so I took my valuables with me. Traffic wasn’t horrible heading down to Fort Myers, since we were traveling in the opposite direction of most people who were evacuating. We certainly had it much easier than some of my friends who were on the road for more than 10 hours!

It is hard to describe the vibe on campus on Wednesday. Students were very worried about what to do and where to go. In addition, the Career Expo was scheduled for Thursday, with Homecoming on the weekend. It was definitely one of the worst weeks for a hurricane to hit, since all of the major events on campus were that week, as well as a lot of midterm exams. It seemed as though most people in the area weren’t taking the hurricane seriously until Wednesday morning. That is when the panic set in. Every conversation you overheard was about the hurricane. People were frantically trying to book hotel rooms, find gas, and purchase sand bags. Once the University announced classes and the Career Expo were cancelled, most students evacuated from Daytona Beach. It actually was quite beautiful to see the campus community come together to help each other out. People were offering up their hotel rooms, homes, and cars to help others find a safe place to evacuate to. I was receiving texts all day from people, some who were just acquaintances, making sure I had a safe place to go.

We were all very blessed that we were able to evacuate safely. Most of us kept our families and friends updated via Facebook. Many of us were worried that we wouldn’t have homes to go back to in Daytona. There was a lot of uncertainty about the force and direction of the storm. Throughout the storm, we all continued to check-in to make sure everyone had electricity, gas, and a roof over their head.

Down in Fort Myers, we did not experience hardly any bad weather. It was windy on Thursday, and there were a few rain bands, although nothing major. We were glued to the Weather Channel all day Thursday and Friday, watching and praying that Matthew wouldn’t completely devastate Daytona Beach.

Our prayers were answered. Daytona Beach was lucky, and did not get directly hit, like was originally projected. Hurricane Matthew was also a Category 3 when it passed Daytona, as compared to the projected Category 4. Of course, a hurricane always causes damage, but we were blessed to not have a lot of severe damage to buildings all over the city. The beachfront and riverfront areas had a lot of flooding and damage, though.

I took a drive down the A1A on Sunday evening, and got very emotional when I saw the damage to the beachfront residences and businesses. In addition, power was out in a lot of places. Traffic lights were not working, street signs were missing, trees were all over, and there was debris all over the road.

We are very thankful for the servicemen and women who helped, and are continuing to help, us to recover from the storm. In addition, Embry-Riddle faculty and staff worked very hard to make sure the students were safe during the storm. Facilities and Maintenance workers have been busy cleaning up trees, restoring power, and fixing buildings, and we are very grateful for that.  Power crews came from all over the United States to help restore power to the area. It is in times like these when you really see a city, community, and country come together to help each other out.

Until next time,

Lindsey

Hurricane Matthew and the Industry/Career Expo

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Greetings!

14448965_979559538837000_6374416581809021170_n-2October was starting off so well, until Hurricane Matthew decided to visit the Florida coast.

On October 1, I traveled up to Atlanta for the day to visit some of my co-workers at Delta that I worked with during my internship this past summer. It was really nice to re-connect with them and hear about what is going on in Network Planning. Plus, there was an airline collectible show going on at the Delta Flight Museum and ran into some old friends at the event.

 

Update on the Industry/Career Expo

Once returning back to school last week, the Career Services office was quite busy as we were finalizing preparations for the annual Industry/Career Expo that was set to take place that Thursday. However Tuesday morning, it became apparent that Daytona Beach and the rest of the Florida coast would be impacted by Hurricane Matthew.

We had to make the decision to postpone the Industry/Career Expo for the safety of the students and employers coming to campus. I spent most of the day in the office on Tuesday, and I do not think I have ever seen our office that busy!

The office is diligently working to re-schedule the Expo for Spring 2017, and we realize that this is a much anticipated event by students and employers. Over the course of the coming weeks, employers are planning to visit campus to host info sessions and to do some recruiting. Details about company events are being sent out via email and are included in our weekly email that is sent out on Sunday afternoons which students can sign up for through Eagle Hire.

Stay tuned for additional details about the Spring Expo coming soon!

Hurricane Matthew

This was not my first category four hurricane to deal with. A few years ago, I was living in Houston when Hurricane Ike made landfall as a category four storm. We were out of school for three weeks and without power for about two-and-a-half weeks. Thankfully, this storm was no where near like that.14469646_983286198464334_5263984979174363447_n-2

Tuesday morning, I was able to find a cheap ticket to fly back to Houston for a long weekend since it appeared that Hurricane Matthew was planning to make a direct hit to Daytona Beach. Luckily, it was just enough offshore that the damage was not as bad as some were predicting. Regardless, it was still scary and some homes are still without power and need repairs.

Starting Wednesday and into Thursday morning, Embry-Riddle evacuated its aircraft to Auburn. It was so crazy to see the flight line empty while departing Daytona Beach Thursday afternoon!

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After an unexpectedly long weekend, classes are resuming today (Tuesday). It is not clear if the three days we had off will impact our semester schedule, but we should find out relatively soon.

Blue skies,

Jack

Hurricane Matthew

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Hello all!

Long time no speak, but for different reasons. Those of us in Daytona have had a crazy past week, dealing with the preparations for Hurricane Matthew.

My week started off great, preparing for the career fair. I had all of my documents ready and printed, all of the companies I wanted to visit, I had my introductory speech, etc. I was ready, probably over prepared for this career fair. I was SO excited. I had several events with Gulfstream throughout the week and I couldn’t wait to be able to help such a fantastic company pick new full-time and intern employees. It’s the least I could do for what the company has already done for me.

We all knew that there was talk of a hurricane over the weekend, but we never really looked into it. It was more like a figment of my imagination rather than a full monster-sized storm. I pushed it out of my head and just hoped for the best. But with just my luck, that hurricane would turn to ruin my career fair and call for an exciting week and weekend.

Wednesday came around, my plan was to just stay in Daytona, no harm, no foul. I had several people telling me several different opinions of my staying in Daytona. Some were begging me to stay, some were begging me to go out of state, and others just wanted me to go west. I was so torn and I ended up just deciding to stay – alleviate some of the pressure of moving so much stuff. I wanted to stay with my friends and at first that was my biggest priority. Then the storm came.

Come Thursday morning, classes were already canceled for the rest of the week and I was pretty content on just hunkering down and handling it all myself, like an adult. I slept in, made breakfast, was watching the news, when all of the sudden the campus was evacuated. I had promised myself that if campus was evacuated, I evacuated. I started to panic, starting looking up local shelters, calling friends and family, asking for ideas. I was a disaster at first. I couldn’t think because all of a sudden, this so-called storm became a total nightmare. I had to pack up my car, grab food, water, and any other necessities. But where was I to go? Do I shelter in Daytona, go to a family friend’s house? I just sat for a few minutes and thought “what in the world do I do?” Luckily my boyfriends family came to the rescue and I swiftly packed up my car and sped off to Tampa (going against several people’s opinions). But in a crisis like I thought I was facing, I had to do what was best for me and take advantage of a thankful opportunity.

The weekend in Tampa was bliss compared to the alternatives. I had homecooked food, a comfy bed, great company, and relaxation. I honestly couldn’t have picked a better option for myself (I just wish I had head out there sooner!).

Now that I’m back in Daytona, it’s heartbreaking to see the damage that our city and county has endured. It’s hard to believe how much damage was created and how much rebuilding is left to do. It’ll surely be a long time before Daytona gets back to its usual self, but I have to get to my usual self by Tuesday, when classes start again.

Power and water is on and I’m doing laundry and homework, pretending that everything is just about normal. I’m anxious to hear about my exams and homework that I was preparing for and what will happen to all of these due dates. I can’t wait for everything to be back to normal! Is it sad that I’ve actually missed school?

Anyway, there’s my week and weekend story. Let’s see what this next week has in store for us!

Pray for those affected by Hurricane Matthew in Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, and the US. Pray for their families that everyone may find peace and restore back to normal quickly!

Until next time, blue skies!

~ Emmy

Unexpected Very Long Weekend

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As many of you know, the ERAU Daytona Beach campus has been closed from Thursday to Saturday morning due to Hurricane Matthew. Embry-Riddle announced on Saturday that classes would resume on Tuesday. This leaves time for students and faculty to return home in the Daytona Beach area. Many have driven away from Daytona heading west and north to places such as Tampa and Atlanta. I know people that even flew away north to escape the hurricane.

Knowing that the storm was approaching the state of Florida and that Volusia County would require evacuation, I left Daytona Beach on Wednesday night after classes and headed to my friend’s house in the Orlando area. On Thursday morning, we went to buy soil bags to protect the house from potential flooding. The store didn’t have any sand bags in stock.

The next morning, we woke up and Hurricane Matthew had already passed and was continuing on its way to the north. Compared to the east coast of Florida, Orlando was not badly hit by the storm. From the location I was, there wasn’t any debris on the ground. I am still in Orlando since my apartment does not have electricity. I will head back to Daytona once the power will be restored, hopefully before classes start on Tuesday.

Due to the gravity of Hurricane Matthew and the damage it made, ERAU students are enjoying a long five day weekend. This weekend is also Thanksgiving weekend back in Canada (Columbus Day in the US). Many will take these extra days off to cleanup debris around their house. Others will try to get some homework done. As of Saturday, many areas of Volusia County were still without power. It might take a few days before 100% of the residents get their lights back on.

Industry/Career Expo Postponed

Embry-Riddle has decided on Wednesday to cancel the annual “Career Fair”  due to the hurricane. The majority of the company information sessions and the interview day on Friday were cancelled as well. Career Services announced that the event will be postponed until the 2017 Spring semester. Keep checking your emails because Career Services will soon announce the new date for the expo!

Until next time!

Nicolas

Here I am Rock You Like a Hurricane

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With Hurricane Matthew rapidly approaching, I really don’t know how I feel. On one hand, I would really like to experience a hurricane, as stupid as it sounds. On the other, I really don’t want to see the devastation that would happen because of Matthew. With the storm only a few days away, it’s too early to tell what will happen.

Sadly, nothing major to report so hopefully I’ll have some really fun hurricane stories and video to share with you all! For now, please be safe, don’t do anything crazy, and I hope to see you all in another two weeks!