My Journey to Chicago

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Lindsey

Two weeks ago I was able to travel to Chicago, IL for an interview with United Airlines. I was interviewing for a Network Planning and Scheduling Intern position. The whole process started at the ERAU Career Fair, where I turned in my resume to a recruiter. I was then called for an interview that night. I interviewed at ERAU for about an hour. It was very different from an interview I had done before, which was a challenge. Luckily, I was able to make it to the next round!

I was contacted about a month later, and invited to come for an interview in Chicago! I was ecstatic when I got the call. They scheduled me on a flight from MCO to ORD early on Thursday morning. I went down to Orlando the night before to stay the night. Thursday morning I woke up and headed for the airport at 4AM. Luckily, there was room on the flight, so I got a seat!

Approach into ORD with the Chicago skyline

After about a 2.5 hour flight to Chicago, I made it. The next challenge was to find the train. I had never rode a train before, and I had never had to navigate ORD by myself before, either. It took me awhile to actually find the train, but once I got on, all stress was relieved. It was about an hour train ride to downtown Chicago, so I used the time to prepare for my interview. Once I got off the train downtown, I was greeted with the chill of cold air. I was freezing! I did not come prepared for 30 degree weather, that’s for sure.

Statue right after I got out of the train station

Statue right above the train station

My next task was to walk to Willis Tower, United Airlines’ headquarters. They provided me with a map, however I was not very good at reading it. It took me awhile to even figure out what direction I was facing. I rushed into Starbucks to get warm, and to try and find directions. After a short coffee break, I hit the streets again, frantically trying to find the tower. Thankfully, I had been to Chicago years ago, so I remembered what the street looked like where Willis Tower is located.

After I got to the Tower, I checked in and headed upstairs to United Airlines. There, I was greeted by two fellow ERAU students, who also had interviews that day. We all ate lunch, and then started our interviews. I thought the interview process was wonderful. I really enjoyed my experience at United Airlines, and hope that it all works out for me.

Coincidentally, my dad was on a work trip in Chicago, so he met me after my interview. We rushed to the train station, and got on the train headed to ORD. I only had about an hour until my flight boarded, so I was in a huge rush. Of course, the train had mechanical issues, so we were stalled for an extra ten minutes. However, it was nice to talk to my dad the whole train ride. Once I got to the airport, my flight had already started boarding. The security lines were packed, so I had to beg TSA to let me go to the front of the line. Thankfully, they did! After making it through security, I ran to my gate. Of course, my gate was all the way across the airport. I don’t know how, but I somehow made it just before the door closed. I was so lucky.

I am so thankful for my experience in Chicago. Whether I get the internship or not, I think it was a valuable experience. It was fun traveling alone to a big city. Although, it was a very long day. I will update you on the status of the internship, as I hear back.

Until next time,

Lindsey

The Final Push

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Billy

Hello, hello! Sorry about that weird awkward gap thing that happened. One of my posts got posted a bit latter than expected and it threw off my whole posting cycle.

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Anyway, since the rocket launch, things are starting to pick up since we’re at that point in the semester where everyone’s trying to cram everything into the last few days of class. I can’t believe we’ve come so far since August!

Me: “What’s the most interesting thing that’s happened to you on the job?” Her: “I can’t answer that!”

SPIN.

SMALLPOOLS?

On The Avion front, aside from covering the Atlas V launch that happened last month, I was able to cover another volleyball game, a fantastic Presidential Speaker Series with former CIA agent Valerie Plame, and Embry-Riddle’s annual homecoming carnival.

Embry-Riddle held a candlelight vigil for the victims of the November 13th attacks in Paris.

In terms of school and classes, I have never seen so many group projects and tests crammed into one month. It actually got to the point where I had to deliver two team presentations in one day, one of which had to last for a full 50-minutes, so that was fun.

As usual, Physics II is kicking my butt and so is Calculus II, but I’m slowly gaining traction in both subjects. I guess I’ll be living in the library for the next couple of days so I can study for finals.

I swear Deland’s Amtrak station isn’t a creepy place.

Thanksgiving Break has been really interesting to say the least. For starters, my and my roommate took a 20-hour train ride up the Northeast Corridor via Amtrak. At the time, taking the train was definitely cheap and with my roommate’s destination being Virginia and mine being New Jersey, we were together for a majority of the train ride so it was not too, too bad.

Because of my travel accommodations last year, I missed my high school’s annual Thanksgiving football game against our rival high school. I’m glad I was able to see it this year because it’s been about two years since I’ve been to a high school football game. It was nice to see all my friends and former classmates after so many months of studying. It was also nice to be welcomed back by the cheer team after not being on the team for so long.

Ah, New Jersey. Home of pork roll sandwiches and gas station attendants.

Flash forward a few days later, I’m back on the Amtrak train headed to Florida. It’s always a somber moment whenever I leave home, but thankfully I’ll be back in two weeks time.

Looking back at the beginning of this semester, I definitely noticed that I changed as a person. I was able to overcome a lot of the obstacles thrown my way, and for the ones that I couldn’t conquer, I used those as a learning experience.

With only a few days left in the semester, it’s time to apply what I learned as Finals Week approaches ever so quickly. I feel some-what confident in my self which is a first. So on that bombshell, happy holidays everyone. I look forward to telling you about my winter in the Spring of 2016!

Turkey, Family & The National Dog Show

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Rachel

I am back from Thanksgiving break! I am so thankful for the fact that I was able to get three days off of school so I could go home and spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family and friends. It was definitely a break well-needed.

In classic Thanksgiving fashion, my mother made a turkey and my grandparents came over to my house to visit. While my family was making food, I got to watch The National Dog Show (a personal tradition of mine), and I was so impressed by the winner. The dog that won the “Best in Show” title was a Skye terrier named Good Time Charlie and he was so cute!

My mom and I kissing my 100 year old Grandpa Bob!

After Thanksgiving dinner, my mother and I went early Black Friday shopping and I was able to get new clothes. I also bought a Darth Vader mug (I love Star Wars), but I couldn’t find it when I was packing up for Daytona, so I guess my mom hid it away for Christmas.

Connor and I at Universal Studios

On the day of Black Friday, I decided to stay away from the malls and instead go to Universal Studios with one of my Sigma sisters, Connor! Although I work at Universal, this was really exciting for me because I never get to go there during the holiday season. The best thing about going on Black Friday was that since everyone was out shopping, the park wasn’t too busy and we were able to go on all the rides we wanted to!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break and is ready to tackle finals!

Change is Good!

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Rachel

As the fall semester comes to a close, it is time to start preparing for the spring! You may think it’s crazy that we’re already getting ready for something that is still months down the road, but that’s college for you. The end of the semester is when students start deciding what classes they want to enroll in and what leadership positions they want to take on. After finding out about my classes and my positions, all I can say is that I’m excited for the spring!

One of the things that excites me for the spring is that I will finally be starting my Engineering Science classes for the Aerospace Engineering program! These classes will include Dynamics, Fluids, and Solids, which are the three classes that are the building blocks for all of the engineering fields. These classes are also three of the most difficult classes on campus and when they are taken together they are known on campus as “The Gauntlet”. It is called this because it is the last true test and once you get through “The Gauntlet”, you can get through anything. I’m looking forward to taking this challenge head-on!

Next spring I will also be taking on a leadership position in my sorority, Tri Sigma. I will serve as Eta Tau’s 2016 Vice President of New Member Education, which is one of the most important positions on the Executive Board. This is because I will be responsible for educating all of our new members for the spring and fall semesters about everything Sigma Sigma Sigma! This excites me because I will be able to share my passion and knowledge for Sigma with our new members and hopefully they will love it just as much as I do. The position will also bring me closer to my sisters, which will be great. Kealey and Lindsey, who are other My Life @ Riddle bloggers, will also be serving on the exec board! Kealey will be Vice President of Operations and Lindsey will be Treasurer. I’m looking forward to spending more time with these two, as exec members and sisters!

Another organization I had the honor of being selected for is the Women’s Ambassador Program. This program’s goal is to strengthen the bond between prospective female students, current students, and alumni while also creating a healthier and more diverse University atmosphere. Since Embry-Riddle’s female population makes up about 18 percent of the student population, the program aims to increase female student enrollment and retention. I’m so excited to be a new ambassador because it was something I have wanted to do since coming to the campus, and now I will be able to positively impact the college experiences of young women!

The spring semester will be bringing on many changes, and I couldn’t be more excited! It will be the semester where I will grow as not only an engineering student, but as a leader as well. I guess change really is good!

Change Quote

Thanksgiving Break

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Nicolas

For some, the American Thanksgiving is a time of the year where families and loved ones reunite at a table and have a big meal. For me, it is totally different since my family is not American!

I still go back home for the break which is nice, but we do not celebrate any type of festivities. Our Thanksgiving (Canadian) is actually on the second Monday of October and we only have that Monday as a holiday. For us, Thanksgiving is not as big as in the United States. Our biggest holiday is Christmas and this is the time when we eat turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, pie, and all the good stuff.

During this break I mostly spend time with my family and see my friends from home. I also have free time to do school work since the finals are approaching very quickly. When I come back from the break, I will only have four days of classes left. Then the finals are the following week. I will be busy during the last week of classes. I will have three presentations to deliver and a group project to submit along with other assignments. I was supposed to have three back to back finals but I was lucky that one of my professors changed the schedule and put the exam during regular class time.

After I take my last final, I will fly back home for the long winter break. This year, the holiday will be longer than last year. Embry-Riddle added a week of vacation in January! This is awesome for students but it also mean that we will end the spring semester a week later in May.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nicolas

The Four Year Plan

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Jack

As a first year students, you will have to take University 101, Business 101, or AS101; these classes are designed to help introduce you to being a college student at Embry-Riddle. At times, the class may seem a bit redundant, but it is definitely a worthwhile class.

One of the projects you will work on is to create a four-year plan based on your degree requirements; honestly, I would say this was one of the most beneficial thing that I got out of the class because it is a great guide to help you when it comes to planning classes to ensure you take the right classes and graduate with all of the credits you will need.

Now, your four year plan is not set in stone so you can change it should a class not be able to fit in your schedule.

Earlier this month, I met with my new advisor in the College of Business to go over my four year plan and to get my hold off to register for classes; having the four year plan was a huge help as we were able to look at my credit progress into my degree program as well as to make sure that I am taking all of the prerequisites.

Even before you start your career at Embry-Riddle, I highly recommend that you start talking to your advisor to ensure that you take the right classes, especially your first semester. You definielty do not want to still be taking math classes in senior year if you don’t have to!

Until next time,

Jack

Almost Crunch Time

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Jack

It’s almost crunch time, and as Thanksgiving approaches, I can feel it more than ever. Even though it is a quick two day week since we get Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off, I still have two tests, several homework assignments, work, a speech next week, and other miscellaneous stuff to accomplish before classes are over the next two weeks.

It’s crazy to think that there are only five class days left before finals; luckily, it has been a strong semester so far so I am not quite concerned, but there is definitely a lot going on that has my head spinning as I try to wrap everything up before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, it is cold in Florida! This morning, it was 46 degrees; while to some in the north it might seem that I am exaggerating, both of my roommates who are from the Midwest and Northeast will tell you its cold. Since returning to Florida in August, there have been practically zero days that it has been below 65 so you get use to it almost always t-shirt and shorts weather.

Luckily, I get to head home Tuesday night for Thanksgiving; it’ll be nice to be home for a few days to see my family and see several of my high school friends that I have not seen since we left for the fall semester! Besides being thankful for a hot chocolate from Starbucks this morning that helped me warm up, I am very thankful for the opportunity to attend Embry-Riddle and for all of the people on campus and others in my life that played a role in helping my dream turn into a reality; plus, I am thankful for having the opportunity to blog about my experience as well as the opportunity to work with all of the wonderful people in Career Services.

I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving,

Jack

Weekend Update

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Skye

Hello folks! Hopefully this week was a good work week for all of us. Finally the weekend! Something us college kids look forward too. Yesterday was Friday the 13th so it was apparently was a “must watch scary movie day.” And I am the one that hates scary movies! Hope that Friday wasn’t too creepy for you! This weekend for me so far has been busy busy busy. Since all the clubs and organizations are coming to a close within the next couple of weeks, final meetings and preparations are being made to go out with a bang!

MEERS, The Mobile Extreme Environment Research Station has been moved into a hangar finally! As the Community Outreach Coordinator it is nice to see things are being accomplished with MEERS. The tasks for me this weekend regarding MEERS include finishing up the summary for our sponsors. I decided to get creative with the sponsorship level names… Orion, Mercury, Gemini, and all the other classic space program names. Why not? Space is awesome. Next semester, MEERS should be up and running by January. Or that is the plan at least. I am excited to be working on it full time.

As for my life with Society 4 S.P.A.C.E., things are going really well. Bunnell Blast is taking place today and some of the officers and students are blasting off our homemade rockets! That is super exciting! I can’t wait to see the pictures roll in! The most exciting part about this upcoming week is our final meeting. Today and tomorrow I am making preparations from that. Presentations, activity books, gift bags, baking goods and a whole lot more. I can’t wait to see it all come together on Wednesday.

Besides the organization stuff, school is still coming into play. I finally finished my excel spreadsheet for my MATLAB project. Since I am doing a NASA database, I created an excel sheet with three sub-levels. The first level is all about the Astronauts. Each astronaut is given an ID and within that ID the Astronauts name, date of birth, and education history are stored. The second level consists of the data from space missions. Within the Mission ID the crew, launch and landing date, as well as crew size are recorded. The final level shows the mission and the mission type. It only took me about an hour or so to input all the data. Yeah I have a little (aka BIG) obsession with space. I am excited to finally start the skeleton code for the project. I plan on researching this weekend and re-watching some of the videos so it is fresh in my mind.

Speaking about school and final projects, for my Sensation and Perception class, my group and I are talking about Vestibular system. I get to talk about Space Adaptation Syndrome or SAS. Which basically is space sickness. About half the astronauts who go to space get SAS. I am really excited to do a presentation about that on Thursday.

So far, my life has revolved around school and space. NO complaints. I am happy where I am at. I can’t wait to finish all the planning and organizing. I will be sure to write about it when it is all done!

Have a great Weekend!

What Are You Thankful For?

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Skye

Hello everyone! It’s that time…it is the day before Thanksgiving break! I don’t know about you, but I am so excited! I really need this break.

It has been a crazy week full of tests, quizzes, and final assignments. It seems like everyone is trying to cram everything in before the Thanksgiving break. Luckily for me, a lot of my classes have wrapped up yesterday or today. This allows for a good two weeks of doing nothing but studying for my Calculus final and my final tests/essays for my classes. It worked out perfectly!

Everything has been coming along really well! However, I know I am not the only one begging for this break to come. This semester has been a long one for all of us. It is well needed.

Over this thanksgiving break I am hoping to see my family. Josh and I are having a BBQ tonight with a few friends as a goodbye before break. It will be a nice way to start the celebration. All us Riddle kids have worked our butts off. It is not easy going to college here. It is demanding and you have to put a lot of hard work in. But it is so worth it. I really enjoy going to school. Butttttttttttttt it is time for a break! Haha.

Since we are going on Thanksgiving break, I am going to take a second to reflect back and say what I am thankful for.

Over the past few years, my life has been a crazy rollercoaster. The big crazy rollercoaster has led me to what I am thankful for and it has made me who I am today. For starters, I have a HUGE family. Four sisters and one brother on each of my parents’ side. Unfortunately, I don’t talk to my dad’s side of the family anymore. Due to certain circumstances let’s just say they did some things to try and tear my family apart but it didn’t work. My parents, my sister and I are stronger than ever!

3 and a half years ago, my mom had brain surgery. Turns out she had an aneurysm behind her right eye on her optic nerve. Yeah, it sounds crazy. It was. It was scary seeing my mom with her head cut open and seeing her in pain was probably one of the worst thing I have ever been through. However, all my experiences, good or bad, have made me a stronger person and have made me the person I am today.

I am thankful for my family, my friends, my life, and my future. I am very hopeful to see what the future holds and I am hopeful this will be an amazing Thanksgiving.

Don’t forget to hug your loved ones and be grateful for everything you have.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

NBAA 2015

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Nicolas

LAS VEGAS, NV – Last week, a group composed of about 50 Embry-Riddle students and faculty from the Daytona Beach campus attended the 2015 NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas. This three-day event brought together 26,000 key aviation contacts from all around the globe, including current and prospective business aircraft owners, manufacturers, and customers. This year, the convention welcomed 1,000 exhibitors and more than 100 aircraft on the static display.

View of the many Bombardier Business Aircraft on the static display at Henderson Executive Airport.

Most of our group traveled from Florida to Nevada on Monday, the day before the convention. Since NBAA 2015 is a large event with much to cover, each student made their own schedule. The exhibitors were divided in two concourses at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The static display of aircraft was located at the Henderson Executive Airport which was a 30 minute bus drive from the convention. NBAA also offers many general information sessions, educational sessions for students, and social events.

I did not attend many of the information sessions I planned to go to because I did not have time. I wish I could have attended “Engaging Airport Management on Key Issues” and “The Future of Planes and Flying.” I was an intern at the Montreal Airport last summer so I thought the session would be interesting. Knowing what aviation will look liken the future is intriguing.

I spent most of the time walking between the many exhibitors present. This convention was a great opportunity for students to connect with people of the industry and exchange business cards. My friend and I had the chance to talk with the Manager of Customer Service Communications at Dassault Falcon. We discussed the new Falcon 8X product which is currently in development. We also went over the FalconResponse program, which was launched in May 2015. It is designed to support the AOG (Aircraft on Ground) more rapidly. The manufacturer has 2 Falcon 900 available 24/7 to carry technicians, parts, and tools needed to return an aircraft back in the air.

The province of Quebec (the province where I come from) had a booth which reunited many aerospace companies based in Montreal. I was surprised to learn that that the Government of Quebec had an office in Atlanta, GA.

My favorite general session was during the second day of NBAA. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, known as the hero of the “Miracle on the Hudson,” spoke to the audience about his experience on US Airways flight 1549. It was very interesting to know about how he felt during the eventful flight. Even though the crew was stressed and obviously not calm, he told us that discipline helped him get through the flight. He knew he did not have time to do all the checklists, but he decided to perform very well the items with the highest priorities. At the end of his speech he said that it is important to be professional: “remember why we are doing this: because our passengers deserve it, our colleagues expect it, and our profession demands it.”

Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, hero of the “Miracle on the Hudson” shared his experience with the audience on the Second Day General Session of NBAA.

It was my second time in Las Vegas, but the last time I visited was ten years ago so it has been a long time. The first thing I felt as I exited the aircraft after landing was the cold temperature of the desert. When I made my way to the terminal and to the baggage claim carrousel I noticed that there were slot machines at the boarding area and at the arrivals level. There are casinos almost everywhere you are at the airport!

We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for the week. We did not really have much time to visit because the convention ended late on some days and we were really tired. At around 3:00pm I was already exhausted and wanted to go to bed! During my last night in the Sin City, I went out with some friends to explore the city. We went to the famous Las Vegas Strip where all the action happens. For me, it felt like Times Square on a smaller scale. There were many outdoors screens and lights everywhere. We visited the Paris Las Vegas hotel and it was actually fascinating. Inside, it is like an indoor city with numerous restaurants and boutiques. We ate dinner at BurGR, a restaurant for burger lovers that I recommend you stop by if you plan to visit Las Vegas.

View of the “Las Vegas Strip” from our hotel.

The Bellagio Hotel and Casino and its exceptional front water fountains.

NBAA 2015 was a great experience and I already look forward to NBAA 2016 in Orlando! For now, I need to get back to work since I missed an entire week of school. I have many projects and presentations that are due before and after Thanksgiving break.

Until next time!

Nicolas