Exploring the West

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As my last adventure of the Spring semester, I had the privilege of traveling out west with the Admissions team. Our itinerary included Denver, Los Angeles, and Seattle during the course of five days. Needless to say, it was a lot of time spent in an airplane.

The beginning of our trip didn’t start out as planned, since our flight out of Daytona to Atlanta was delayed for three hours. After rebooking our flight twice, we finally made it to Denver with just a few hours to spare before the event. As an ERAU student, naturally I was excited to go to Denver International Airport, since there are so many conspiracies surrounding it. I was surprised when we landed to see that there was still snow on the ground! After admiring the snow and the Rocky Mountains, we got to the restaurant where we were going to be hosting our dinner event. A lot of families showed up, and I was able to talk with them about ERAU Daytona Beach Campus.

After a successful event in Denver, it was off to Los Angeles! We woke up very early in the morning to catch a flight to Salt Lake City, where we would be making our connection. I had never flown into SLC during the daylight hours, so I enjoyed the views of the mountains, and the lake.

Approach into SLC at sunrise

Once we made it to LA, we hit the ground running. After all, what else are you supposed to do when you have an entire free day in Los Angeles? First stop: In-N-Out Burger. A California classic. This restaurant was conveniently located at the end of one of the runways at LAX. So, we enjoyed plane-spotting while drinking our milkshakes. You could definitely tell we were from Embry-Riddle, since we oohed and ahhed when the 777s and 787s came in for landing. Once we got our burger fix, we headed out to explore the city, after a quick check-in to our hotel, of course.

Our first tourist destination was the Hollywood Sign. We drove up into the hills and took pictures of it in the distance from the Griffith Observatory. Somehow, we also managed to get into the Griffith Observatory to look around for a bit. We didn’t have much time to spare though, since our next stop was a tour at the Warner Brothers Studios. I had been to Los Angeles a couple times before, but had never done the tour before, so I was quite excited! Once we arrived at the Studios in Burbank, we were greeted with the bustling of television production. The tour lasted a couple hours, and we got to see Harry Potter costumes, sound stages where Pretty Little Liars, Friends, and the Big Bang Theory were filmed, as well as many other awesome things! Once the tour was over, we drove out to Santa Monica to visit the famous pier. Little did we know that there were severe wind advisories for that area! We were freezing! However, a little wind didn’t stop us. We ate at a restaurant on the pier and watched the sunset. It was the perfect end to a busy day, or so we thought. On the way back towards our hotel in downtown, we decided that we couldn’t leave LA without driving down Hollywood Boulevard. We got to see the stars on the sidewalks, the famous theaters, and Jimmy Kimmel Live’s studio!

View of the Hollywood Sign from the Griffith Observatory

Sitting on the Friends couch

Santa Monica Pier

Obviously, we maximized our free time in Los Angeles. The next day, we walked to the restaurant where we were hosting the luncheon. Our hotel was across from the Staples Center, so we also got to take some pictures of it while we were passing through. The event was very successful, and once again, I got to speak with many families about Embry-Riddle! It has turned into one of my passions. I love to see the excitement on students’ faces when they talk about attending ERAU.

Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles

After LA, we headed to our final destination, which was Seattle! I was excited to be back in my hometown, even if it was just for a day. Our hotel was in Pioneer Square, which is one of the most historic districts of Seattle. We were hungry after a long evening of travel, so we found the oldest bar in Seattle. However, we had to sit outside to eat, since I am not yet 21. The burgers were to die for, and our server was hilarious. It was around 50 degrees while we were eating, but it was definitely worth it. The next day, the event in Seattle was another luncheon. It was a smaller crowd, and it was special to me since my family was in attendance. My younger sister is going to be attending Embry-Riddle in August!

Once the event was over, my family joined us, and we all went to Pike Place Market and the Gum Wall. Thankfully it stopped raining just in time! We bought flowers, went to Beecher’s, and bought salmon from the famous Pike Place Fish Market. After a nice lunch on the pier, the ERAU Admissions team went to explore Seattle. We visited the Space Needle, of course. I also took them to see a lesser known tourist attraction: the Fremont Troll. It is a big troll that was sculpted underneath the bridge between Seattle and Fremont.

Approach into SEA over downtown

My sister and I at the Gum Wall

By that time, we were all exhausted just in time for our red eye flight back to Daytona! The entire trip was filled with laughter and good conversations. I enjoyed meeting some members of the ERAU Class of 2020! Now that the trip is over, I am looking forward to the next West Coast trip next year!

Until next time,

Lindsey

We’ve Made It!

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Well, this is the last post for the semester which means that this is the end of my second year here at Riddle. Looking back at when I started as a freshmen, I definitely changed a lot since I checked into my room in Wood hall four semesters ago.

A lot has happened since my last post: Touch ‘n’ Go had their annual big show with American Authors, The Avion Newspaper had it’s annual incentive, and I got to go to an airshow!

Because I missed out on a lot, and I don’t want to make you guys read like a 16 page paper about my life, here are some photos to look at instead:

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At this point really, all I have left are finals: Three, not including my take home final for humanities. After that, I drive my car to Sanford, ride the Autotrain to Virginia and then drive to New Jersey.

Good luck to everyone on your finals and to all of the new incoming freshmen, adventure awaits you in the Fall.

It’s Almost Summer!

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Last Thursday was the final day of classes of the Spring 2016 semester. Friday is a study day before the first day of exams starts. The Hunt Library is providing donuts and other snacks to students in the evening in an event called “Cram With Cookies.” I have no idea why “cookies” is mentioned because they mainly serve donuts…strange.

Finals will begin on Saturday and continue from Monday to Wednesday evening. I was lucky this semester to be exempted from a few final exams. In my Airport Management class (BA 310), we did not have any quizzes nor exams throughout the semester which was fun. Instead, the professor gave us four assignments related to the airport industry, such as airport security. At the end of the semester we were assigned a large group project and a take home final exam consisting of four short essays which were quite similar to the assignments.

In my Airline-Operations class, we had a total of two exams during the semester, excluding the final. The professor would drop the lowest grade of the three exams so you didn’t have to take the final if you were satisfied with your current grade in the course.

This semester I have to take three finals: International Aviation Management (BA 426), Corporate Finance I (BA 332), and Managerial Accounting (BA 312). Like my colleague Jack mentioned in his latest story, most of the finals in the College of Business are just a regular test and are not cumulative. My only cumulative exam is in my Finance class where I will have to refresh my mind with the material we studied back in January.

This weekend, I plan to study for finals obviously and enjoy my last days in the beautiful sunny and warm weather of Florida before heading back home for the summer. On Monday, I am taking a study break as I will be flying to Atlanta to be onboard’s Delta’s inaugural passenger flight of the Airbus A321 that was just delivered over a month ago. The airline has ordered a total of 82 airframes. The first flight is scheduled to depart Atlanta (ATL) at 8:55AM and arrive at 10:19AM in Orlando (MCO). Stay tuned for a summary of the flight and some pictures!

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Photo Credits: Delta

In the meantime, I wish all of the students from our Daytona Beach, Prescott, and Worldwide campus good luck on their finals. Go Eagles!

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Finals Are Around The Corner

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Less than a week remains of the Spring 2016 semester, and I am counting down the days, hours, and minutes until I get to go home for a week!

Classes:

All of my projects and papers have been turned in, including the dreaded Technical Report for my COM221 class (Technical Writing). The projects and papers were fun to work on, and it helped that most of the projects and papers required teams to work on them which makes them a little less work intensive.

All that all that’s left are three finals! Although two of my “finals” are just regular tests over the last bit of material we covered during the last month of classes, and only one is a cumulative final over all of the material we have covered this semester.

College finals may seem scary, but overall, they are not too bad. Our professors always try to give us some guidance, and in the end, most of the finals are just regular tests.

Work:

Things in Career Service have been quite busy the last few weeks. One cool thing is that students can earn college credit for going out on a Co-Op or internship! Since there are lots of students going out on internships and co-ops, the office is busy as there is a lot of paperwork that is done through our office.

In the Fall, I will continue working as a Student Assistant in Career Services, but I will also work as a Peer Mentor in University 101 for First Year Programs. I am really looking forward to this opportunity!

Summer plans: Seattle bound

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It’s that time again. Tomorrow is the last day of class for the Spring semester, which means Finals week is right around the corner… I’m in need of a break from studying, so I decided to fill everyone in on what I will be doing this summer!

First of all, it has been my goal all year to get an internship with an airline this summer. I had interviewed with many airlines, but none of the positions I applied for were the right fit for me. Most of them did not incorporate what I was interested in. Needless to say, by March, I was losing hope in getting an internship for the summer, since it seemed like all positions had already been filled. However, I knew I still had one last shot… And it was at my dream company.

I applied for an Alaska Airlines summer internship in the beginning of March, and was contacted for a phone interview a couple weeks later. After I completed the phone interview, I was fortunate enough to move onto the in-person interview. Unfortunately, I was not able to fly out to Alaska Airlines’ headquarters in Seattle, so I was able to do a Skype interview, instead. Thankfully, the Skype interview went well, and I was chosen to be flown out to Seattle.

So, one of the first Sundays in April, I hopped on an Alaska Airlines flight from MCO to SEA. After 5.5 hours, I finally made it to Washington. I was so excited to be in Washington, even if it was just for the day, since Washington is home to me. Monday morning I woke up and went to Alaska Airlines headquarters. I had been to the headquarters last summer, as the Port of Seattle interns had the opportunity to visit and take a tour. Once I got to headquarters, I was ecstatic. I had been dreaming about having an internship with Alaska Airlines for almost two years! I was eager to meet the managers who I had spoken with over Skype a week earlier.

It turns out I picked a pretty good day to visit headquarters, as it was the day that Alaska Airlines announced it was acquiring Virgin America. There were news cameras everywhere, and I got to see the CEO speaking in the press conference through the window. Everyone was buzzing with excitement! There was even an employee rally to discuss the acquisition. The moment I walked into the building and felt the excitement and energy, I knew Alaska Airlines was the company for me. Lucky enough for me, I was offered the internship position after I left headquarters. I cannot even describe how excited I was when I got the call!

I will be starting my summer internship with Alaska Airlines in May. The position I will be in is the Schedule Planning intern. A brief overview of the position is: working with the Alaska and Horizon schedules months in advance before they are published, benchmarking Alaska Airlines against other carriers, and other related tasks. Ever since I took the Airline Management class last semester, I have been fascinated with Schedule and Network Planning for airlines, so I am ecstatic that I will be able to gain some experience this summer!

Needless to say, things seem to work out for a reason. I had almost lost all hope in a summer internship, but just when I was about to give up, the opportunity I had been hoping for presented itself. I am humbled and grateful that this opportunity came my way, and I can’t wait to get started on it.

I will definitely keep you updated with how my internship is going! Hopefully I will also get to share some travel pictures from new destinations this summer!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Does your home airport use a common or exclusive use gate system?

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Last Thursday in my Airline-Airport Operations class, we had an interesting debate in whether or not we should favor common-use gates over exclusive leased space gates. There are many advantages and drawbacks in both cases that I will explain briefly below.

Exclusive Leased Space

In an exclusive leased space agreement, an airline will have the right to use the gate and ticket counters space in exchange it has agreed to pay a rent on the area used. For an airline that has only one scheduled flight to that airport, it might not be a plus because it will have to pay for the gate while it only uses it maybe an hour per day.

Large airlines in the United States such has Delta Air Lines might prefer the exclusive leased space even though it is more expensive. They can operate their own gates and not bother about another competitor using their gate. Airlines can also show their brand at the ticket counters, gate area, and inside the jet bridge since they basically “own” the space.

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Common Use Space

At a common-use airport, airlines do not have to pay rent on the space. The airport’s gate schedule coordinator will assign each gate to the airlines. It will collect a per-use fee from the air carriers using the space. Common use airports usually have TV monitors at check-in counters and at the boarding area instead of painted walls with the airline’s brand. They can change the image of an airline in a matter of a second.

Common-use airports can generate more revenue by negotiating contracts with companies who want to show their branding around the airport. The HSBC bank branding is present in various airports worldwide.

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Picture taken at around 5:30AM.

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Picture taken at about 6:45AM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture above on the left was taken in the morning one day last summer when I worked as an intern at the Montreal Airport in Canada. The picture on the right was taken at the same place about an hour after the first one was taken. We can see that the airport operates with common-use space.

There were four United Express’ regional jets at the gates getting ready for their morning flights back to the airline’s hub. About an hour later on that same day, we can see that those planes are gone and replaced with new Air Canada jets.

For airline ground operations, airlines usually have to move their ground vehicles around the airport to the new assigned gate for the next flight. Airports often try assign the gates to the airlines next to each other so it makes it easier for airline operations.

That’s it for this week! In my next story, I will close the 2015-16 school year and share my summer plans.

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

National Student Employee Appreciation Week

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Last week from April 11 to April 15 was the annual Student Employee Appreciation Week. During this week, colleges and universities all over the United States recognize the work of the student workforce on campus.

Working on campus gives students the opportunity to develop skills and to be prepared to enter the job market after graduation. Student employees perform invaluable services with enthusiasm, dedication, and initiative.

I was unaware that Embry-Riddle employs more than 1000 student workers on the Daytona Beach campus. That’s a high number!

Students could enjoy different food options throughout the week. On Monday, the student employment office offered donuts, fruits, and granola bars for breakfast. Meatball subs were available for lunch the next day and Subway subs were offered on Wednesday. On Thursday, the student community could enjoy a slice of pizza. On the last day of the week, ice cream was served in cups.

During the week, student employees were also able to select an item from an “everybody wins gift basket.” Other gifts such as hotel vouchers will be awarded to random winners this week. Student workers, don’t forget to check your email to see if you won a prize!

I have been a student employee for almost a year writing blogs for Admissions and Recruitment. I enjoy sharing some of my life events with you, the ERAU community!

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Let the Final Stretch Begin

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In less than three weeks all of my finals will be over, and I’ll have another semester under my belt. I am very excited for the summer to begin to take some time off and for my internship.

This summer, I will be working as an intern in Network Planning at Delta Air Lines in Atlanta, Georgia! I am very excited for this opportunity, and it has been a long time coming as I have been interviewing since the 2014 Industry/Career Expo.

In the meantime, school has been keeping me busy with lots of projects and papers, and things are starting to slow down. I just have to finish my technical report, study for one last test for the semester, and begin studying for final exams. Thankfully, I just have three this semester!

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the Student Employee of the Year Nominee Dinner as the Career Services Department nominated me. It was very cool attending it and learning about what all of the other 22 student Assistants who attended the dinner did for their departments. Plus, it was crazy to learn that there are more than 1,000 student assistants who work on the Daytona Beach Campus!

SEOTY Nominees gather for a dinner to announce Embry-Riddle's Student Employee of the year

SEOTY Nominees gather for a dinner to announce Embry-Riddle’s Student Employee of the year

Exciting Class Projects

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Summer is only a few weeks away which means that projects and final exams are approaching quickly. I have three aviation-related projects due in the next two weeks. Yes, you saw the words exciting and projects go together in my title. This is probably one of the first time that I’m in school and I’m working on projects that are not boring. If you are a prospective Aviation Business student or you are just interested in the world of airports and airlines, I’m sure you will enjoy this story!

Airline-Airport Operations
The first group project is in my Airline-Airport Operations class. We have to write a report analyzing the relationship between airlines and airports. In our group, we have decided to do it on the effects of an airline merger on a hub airport. More specifically questioning if Delta Air Lines should keep Cincinnati Northern/Kentucky International Airport (CVG) as part of one of its hubs. CVG is located between Atlanta and Detroit, and many of its routes are overlapping with the two cities mentioned. In the past few years, the airline has greatly reduced the number of flights in Cincinnati. When airlines merge, it often happens that at least one of its hubs will close. For example, when Continental merged with United in 2012, Cleveland lost its status of a hub. Cleveland is located right between Newark and Chicago (two of United’s hubs), making it inefficient to operate a hub due to its close distance between the two cities.

Boeing 767-300ER of Delta Air Lines

Boeing 767-300ER of Delta Air Lines

International Aviation Management
In my International Aviation Management class, each team was assigned a different topic related to aviation operations in Europe. We have to identify potential markets for Aegean Airlines to develop. The largest airline of Greece faces competition all over Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Our group focused on European ultra low-cost carriers (ULCCs). We are analyzing the markets that are currently not served by large low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, EasyJet, and Vueling. Our goal is to recommend Aegean new destinations to fly to.

Airport Management
Finally, my last project is for my Airport Management class. For this project, our class needs to determine if San Diego International Airport (Lindberg Field) should stay where it is right now or if the airport should be relocated in an area with more space.

Photo: Google Maps

Photo: Google Maps

As you can see from the image above, the airport is very limited in growth due to its geography. There is the interstate at the east of the airport and water and ports surrounding the south and west of the airfield. Further, there are industrial buildings and a small residential neighborhood at the north of San Diego International Airport. The airport also operates with a single runway system which limits the number of flights the airport can handle in a day. The runway length (9,400ft / 2,865m) is a factor that limits the number of international flights. In hot temperatures, aircraft require more runway length to lift off the ground than usual. With a longer runway, the airport could potentially welcome new airlines and offer more destinations to the San Diego residents.

I hope you enjoyed my brief overview of my aviation projects. Have a great week and keep in mind that summer is almost here.

Until next time!

Nicolas

Contact the author at berniern@my.erau.edu

Greek Week Recap

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The craziest week of any fraternity or sorority member’s life has finally come to a close!

For those of you have no idea what I’m talking about – I’m talking about Greek Week! This week takes place every spring semester and consists of different events that each fraternity and sorority can participate in to show pride for their organization. Think of it like a mini version of the Olympics! So all of the sororities go against each other in the events, and the winners of each event get points so they can become Greek Week Champions. This was a crazy year for my sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma, because we were defending our title.

Day #1: Tug-of-War

The first event of Greek Week was the classic game of Tug-of-War. Each fraternity and sorority created a team of five of their strongest members to go against other teams. Each team stands on opposite sides of the same rope, and as you would expect, they pull until the loser’s flag passes the pole. Tri Sigma’s team lost the first round to Theta Phi Alpha, but won the second round against Alpha Xi Delta, so we ended up placing second in Tug-of-War!IMG_1584

Day #2: Bubble Soccer

Bubble Soccer was the one event I was supposed to participate in! Bubble Soccer is just like regular soccer, except each person has to wear a giant bubble suit. This is entertaining because if people get too close, they start bouncing off one another! Unfortunately for us, the weather on this day wasn’t very permitting, so Bubble Soccer ended up being canceled.

Day #3: Boat Race

My favorite event in Greek Week has to be the Boat Race because it requires athletic skill and creativity. Each team has to construct a boat that they will be able to paddle across the pool without it falling apart. The team with the fastest time out of two attempts wins first place! My roommate Sierra was the one who made our boat, and she was also one of people to ride in it, along with Clare, one of our new members. During their first attempt, the boat capsized. Luckily, we had the chance at a second attempt! Sierra decided to go in the boat alone this time, which was good because it meant less weight, but it also meant less power. Somehow she was able to use both of her arms to paddle and she KILLED it! Because of Sierra’s smarts, we won first place in the Boat Race!

Day #4: Chariot Race

The Chariot Race – when the engineers at Embry-Riddle are truly put to the test. This race is very similar to the Boat Race, but instead of a boat, each team has to make a “chariot”. Not only do they have to make a chariot, but they must also have someone ride in it. This was our weakest event by far. Our team’s chariot broke on our first attempt, so we ended up placing in third.IMG_1579

Day #5: Softball Game, Dime & Rice Wars

The last day of Greek Week consisted of the Women’s Softball Game, which also celebrated Alpha Xi Delta’s Light It Up Blue week! In order for each organization to get points for their team, they need a certain percentage of their members to attend the game. Although we had a great turn out from our sorority, it wasn’t enough to make us the Greek Week champions and we ended up placing in second. But although we weren’t the overall winners for Greek Week this year, we did win in other aspects, which brings me to the Dime and Rice Wars…

Rice Wars was put on by one of the fraternities, Lambda Chi Alpha. Because their philanthropy is Feeding America, they decided to award points to the fraternity and sorority that brought in the most pounds of rice, so that it could be donated to a local food bank. Tri Sigma went rice crazy and we donated over 800 pounds of rice! It felt great knowing that our contributions would be feeding hungry families.IMG_5573IMG_1503

Dime Wars is when each organization has a bucket and earns points for every dime that is put in. The catch is that anything that isn’t a dime subtracts points. This was the craziest part of the week, because people were bringing in hundreds of dollars in dimes. The best thing about Dime Wars was that the money in each bucket went to that organizations philanthropy. At the end of the week, Sigma Sigma Sigma raised $680 for our philanthropy, the Robbie Page Memorial Fund, which supports play therapy for children in hospitals.

So although Sigma Sigma Sigma got second place in Greek Week overall, we definitely killed it when it came to supporting not only our own philanthropy, but others as well! Can’t wait for next year!

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It’s great to be a Tri Sigma!