Halfway There

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Jack

We are right in the middle of the semester! As much as I love school, I’m about ready for the summer! It’ll be nice to go back to working full time and to spend time with friends and family.

As you probably expect, things have been quite busy lately. I’ve had tests in all of my classes this week or will next week, and so far, everything has gone well. Sometimes these weeks can be difficult, but if one uses their time wisely and doesn’t wait to study the night before, things will go well.

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The front entrance into The Lodge at JetBlue University

I’ve also been adjusting to my new job in Career Services. The more time I spend there, the more I learn about the department, and when you come to campus, it is one department that I highly recommend you start building a relationship with. The advisors as well as the office have so many resources, advice, and experience to provide, and it’ll definitely come in handy when applying for internships.

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Jack Harty and former JetBlue CEO David Barger

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to go to the grand opening of The Lodge as JetBlue’s Orlando Support Center (where they conduct training and orientation for more than 7,000 people every year). The Lodge is a hotel for the employees that come to Orlando for long periods of time in the middle of training. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the employees at JetBlue!

Now, I’m off to Aruba on Friday to fly on Southwest’s first international flight into Houston Hobby Airport. There will definitely be a full report coming soon! (It’s quite fun to still work as a journalist part time 🙂 ).

Blue skies,

Jack

More fun!

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Billy

At the expense of my procrastination, I bring to you all another blog post. With 2 weeks passed, let’s reflect on the many things that happened since February 4th.

I love name tags. Makes a you feel official.

My day was made when someone handed me a flower as I played piano while on break.

I was gonna be like “Woah, I can’t believe I got hired by the IT Department bro,” but then I realized I said that last week; so I won’t. I will, however, discuss the aspects of my job, and hopefully not bore you all to tears in the process.

In addition to golf cart driving privileges (finally) and fancy name tags, I’m a part of a 30+ person strong team that, well, fixes computers. Originally, I had the intention of wanting to work for ResNet, which is the Geek Squad equivalent of tech support for students here at Embry-Riddle, but I wound up being placed in desktop support. I really like the job, granted I work weekends and Thursdays. I mostly look at tickets that have been placed in our system and check to see which ones I can handle with my 4 hour shift on Thursday. Once the weekend comes, I’m off with a 2-3 person team that inventories, replaces, and recycles computers. It’s not a bad gig, and I’ve meet some really cool people through the job. I can’t wait to see where this job takes me.

With Spring Break rapidly approaching (4 weeks and counting) I booked my airline tickets for NJ. Normally I would fly out of Orlando to Newark, but after talking it over with my father, we both agreed that flying out of Daytona would be better. And you know what? With my last class on the 13th ending at 11:30AM with a 2:00PM flight putting me in NJ at 7PM, you can’t beat it! (Well I guess you can, if you fly out of Orlando with the 2.5 hour flight but I digress.) Anyway, I’m so excited to come home. I started making plans with old friends and will be looking forward to some R&R.

I don’t talk about it a lot, but I am a part of Embry-Riddle’s Solar Decathlon team. The Solar Decathlon is a contest set-forth by the United State Department of Energy (DoE), and it challenges schools from around the world to design and build a solar-efficient home. In years past, schools like Stevens Institute of Technology and Arizona State have competed along with schools from Italy and China. If I remember correctly, and I tend to be wrong often, this is Embry-Riddle’s first year competing so there’s a lot on the line. I’m on the architecture team and we believe that we have a design that may work. At this point, all we need to do is to finalize all of the details and submit it to the DoE by October; plenty of time right? Once that’s done, we start building the home and ship it to California in 2017 which is where and when we’ll be participating.

I flew my quadcopter again today and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it flew. I feel like if I practice just a few more times, I can start mounting cameras to it. Speaking of, as we speak, I set up my GoPro to shoot a time-lapse so I might as well go check on it. So on that bombshell, not really, I’ll see you all later!

Sigma Sigma Sigma

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Kealey

Hey Friends!

It’s that time of the year again! Recruitment for all of the Greek organizations here on campus! It was a year ago that I went through the recruitment process and it was one of the best decisions I have made since being here at school! Throughout the recruitment process we are able to meet lots of new girls around the Embry-Riddle community and express to them what being a part of Sigma Sigma Sigma is all about.

There are many different stereotypes affiliated with fraternities and sororities. Many people think that a sorority is just about “paying for your friends, partying, and hazing” but these things are far from the truth. For my sisters and I, being a part of Tri-Sigma, is about being a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Sisterhood: I have a group of women that push me to be a better version of myself. No matter where I am, I can reach out to any one of my sisters and I know that they will be there for me. We all joined Tri-Sigma for many different reasons but we stayed because we all found something that we loved in the organization and in each other.

Myself, my sisters Maddy, and Melanie, and our newest members Rachel and Lindsey!

Philanthropy: One of the most important aspects of our organization is how we give back. We host many different events on campus that give back to our philanthropy, The Sigma Sigma Sigma Foundation and the Robbie Page Memorial Fund. We also support our local philanthropy the Domestic Abuse Council, which is very near and dear to my heart. Not only do we serve the community but we serve each and every one of our sisters, by making them more outstanding members of this community.

Jordan, myself, and Alissa at our first recruitment event!

Academics: Currently we have the highest sorority GPA on campus which we are all very proud of! We understand that being a part of Sigma is important, but we also understand that above all we are here for our education, and that is the most important thing. Without education, we can not uphold the values that we stand for as Tri-Sigma women.

First Class family at Bid Day!

Fun: Lastly, Sigma Sigma Sigma has provided me with the most fun that I have had while being at college. I have met so many different people in and outside of the Greek community because of Sigma. We also are much more active in on campus events, and participate in different events like greek week! (a competition between all the different greek organizations)

My fellow Women’s Ambassador Lindsey and I at bid day! Welcome to the sisterhood 🙂

Sigmas having fun at yoga together!!

Recruitment every semester is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on why I joined the organization as well as share my experiences with other women around the Embry-Riddle community. Two of my fellow Women’s Ambassadors made the decision to come out for recruitment this semester and are now two of the newest members of Sigma! I couldn’t be happier to welcome these amazing women into our organizations and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

Ambassadors Kalina, myself and Lindsey at our first recruitment event!

While juggling all of the organizations that am involved in as well as my three jobs on campus and school, things can definitely get overwhelming! It important to remember first why we are all here at school.. its for school! My involvement with the Women’s Ambassador Program, and Sigma Sigma Sigma would not be possible without first making my academics a priority! We are just about half way through this semester and that means that classes are definitely beginning to pick up! It’s time to start cracking down and making sure that my work does not begin to suffer! I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get involved on campus. For me, these organizations give me a lot of the motivation and support that I need to get through the stressful times of school! I’ll make sure to keep you updated on all the exciting experiences I have with everything I’m involved in while being down here at Embry-Riddle!

Until Next Time!

-Kealey

A Quick Update

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Jack

It’s been a busy but very exciting (and cold!) few weeks here at Embry-Riddle!

At the beginning of the month, a group of friends and I signed our very first apartment lease for next semester at Eagle Landing Apartments. While I do enjoy living on campus, it will be nice to have a place to call “home” for the rest of my time here. (A more in-depth post on what it is like to live on campus and in the dorms will be coming soon!)

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COB Faculty were grilling away for ERAU COB Students and their families during Family Weekend.

A week later, we had Family Weekend. Although my family was not in town for the event, I helped out at the annual ERAU College of Business Hot Dog Cookout and Contest. The faculty divided up into two teams and fought to win the appetites of their students and families. It was a fun event, and now I hope my teachers will surprise us with more food soon!

Earlier this week, I started a new job on campus as a student assistant in Career Services. It has been very fun to learn more about the department, and it is a huge asset to ERAU. From career advice to help with resumes and cover letters, the Career Services Team is ready to help!

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Over President’s Day weekend, my family was in town, and we survived the cold wind to enjoy a little time at Flagler Beach.

Meanwhile, classes have been going great, and they are keeping my busy! Luckily, it has not been too much to handle, but I have a feeling that this will change as we get closer to the end of the semester.

Like most of my friends, I cannot wait until summer starts, and I’m surprised that I have not started a count down yet.

As always, thanks for reading, and blue skies ahead,

Jack

The Flight of a Lifetime!

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Kealey

Anyone who has known me for a long time, knows that I have a mild obsession with blimps. I’m not really sure why but since I was a little girl I have always been fascinated by them. I can remember seeing the MetLife Blimp over southern California and exclaiming “mommy a bimp” So when I received a call last week from Jill Meridith (she oversees all of the Riddle bloggers) asking if I wanted to ride in the Goodyear Blimp, I couldn’t have been more excited!! Dreams really do come true!!! Earlier in the year Embry-Riddle had teamed up with Goodyear and featured an ERAU alumnus and current Blimp pilot based out of Carson, California in different magazines! This partnership opened up the opportunity for a few select members of the Embry-Riddle family to get a once in a lifetime ride on the blimp! I was so lucky to be one of these selected students!

On Presidents Day I was accompanied by 10 fellow Embry-Riddle students as well as a few faculty members to the New Smyrna Airport just south of Daytona Beach. As we all gathered together in the waiting area we couldn’t have been more excited. Two of the pilots walked in and immediately all of our faces lit up! They began with a little bit a small talk and then went into speaking about the current winds and weather conditions, and suddenly it hit us. I got that immediate sinking feeling in my stomach when I realized they had to weather (cancel) the flight due to the unstable winds. You could hear a pin drop in the room! The look in everyones faces was such shock and disappointment. Although we were disappointed, as students, pilots, and professionals in the aviation industry we understood that safety always comes first.

Luckily the day was not all lost, the pilots and maintience crew compensated by taking us over to the landing field for the blimp! We were able to watch the blimp come down for a landing which was scary yet awesome! It was then tethered to a mast and stabilized by distributing sandbags throughout the gondola. We were able to meet three different pilots and speak with them about how the blimp flys and also what it takes to actually become a blimp pilot! We each took turns going inside the gondola and being able to sit in the pilots seat! Even though we were disappointed about the flight being cancelled; just the opportunity to be so close to the blimp and also really get to see and speak with the crew was an unreal experience!

Coming in to attach the nose to the tether!

Hanging out with the chief pilot for Goodyear

The following day I got a call saying that five spots had opened up on the blimp for the following morning, and that the Embry-Riddle students had made such a great impressions of the Goodyear staff that they decided to give the spots to us! I could not have been more thrilled; I now had yet another opportunity of a lifetime!!! We woke up early and headed over to the airport again, this time more nervous than excited! We didn’t want to be let down twice in a row. We get all the way to the blimp and are just about ready to board when the generator fails!! Yet another heart wrenching disappointment!! Except this time the amazing Goodyear crew fixed the problem and replaced the generator. Suddenly I found myself headset on, adrenaline running, sitting in the gondola of the Goodyear blimp ready for takeoff!! Finally!!!

We took off and headed east over Ponce Inlet and New Smyrna Beach!

Beautiful day to fly! And if you look really hard you can see the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pads all the way down the coast!

The coolest shadow I’ve ever seen flying!

We flew up and down the coast for about an hour, the pilot showed us the difference of flying a blimp in a headwind versus a tailwind. In a headwind the blimp practically hovers, making it ideal for shooting events like the Daytona 500! To my surprise the ride was extremely smooth, we were able to move around the gondola and take pictures of the beach, the inlet, the Embry-Riddle campus, and even the speedway!

Special thanks to Deb who made this all possible!

The last few days were definitely a roller coaster of emotions, but it was one of the most exciting and memorable experiences of my life. Not many people get the opportunity to get up so close and personal with the Goodyear blimp, the pilots, and the crew. And even less can say that they have actually taken a flight on one! I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity, and it is all thanks to the amazing reputation and connections that Embry- Riddle has.

ERAU Alumnus William Bayliss and current Goodyear pilot!

Dreams really do come true when you least expect it! Its official I can cross a blimp ride off my bucket list! I can’t wait to see what the future holds, and I can’t thank Embry-Riddle and Goodyear enough for this once in a lifetime opportunity!!

Until next time!

-Kealey

February Update

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Lindsey

It feels like I haven’t posted an update in awhile! The last couple of weeks have been very exciting for me, though. They have been filled with great memories and wonderful news!

I just became a new member of Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority, which I am very excited about! Ever since I got onto campus I knew that I eventually wanted to become a member of the Greek community on campus, and now my time has come. I cannot wait to start my journey in the sisterhood and to become lifelong friends with all of the wonderful women!

Kalina, Kealey, and I at a Recruitment Event

A group of us on Bid Day

Kealey and I on Bid Day

Bid Day with Tri Sigma!

Kalina, Kealey, and I

Tri Sigma at our Chapter Retreat

In other news, I also just received notice that I was accepted into the ERAU Honors Program! The Honors Program offers students so many wonderful opportunities. Students are able to go to Honors Seminars with guest speakers, interact with other Honors Students, as well as conduct research. I am very eager to start my first Honors course next fall!

Over the President’s Day weekend I went to Disney World, yet again! I don’t think I will ever grow tired of it!! I spent Valentine’s Day in Epcot with my boyfriend: we went on all of the rides and walked around all of the countries in the World Showcase. The next day we toured around the Disney Resorts, went shopping at Downtown Disney, played mini golf, and ate beignets (to celebrate Mardi Gras)! It was very nice to take a weekend off to relax and have some fun.

The iconic Epcot ball

Now that I’m back on campus, it’s back to my normal schedule! Homework, meetings, and events take up most of my time. However, I am looking forward to traveling to Savannah, Georgia this weekend with my fellow blogger, Kealey, for the Women’s Ambassador Program! Also, the Daytona 500 is this Sunday, so I am super excited to go to my first NASCAR race! I will tell you all about my weekend in my next post!

Until next time,

Lindsey

Getting Involved

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Kealey

Hey Everyone!!

Sorry it’s been a while things have just been so crazy lately! This semester has really been picking up and I feel like time is really flying by! There are so many opportunities involved with being a part of the Women’s Ambassador Program here on campus, and I am so honored to be a part of such a wonderful group of women. We had the privilege of hosting our fellow ambassadors from the Embry- Riddle Prescott Campus! It was so wonderful meeting these girls and being able to show them our campus as well as around the Daytona Beach area!

Prescott and Daytona Beach Ambassadors at Bahama Breeze!

The ambassadors first night in Daytona was spent at Bahama Breeze, which was loads of fun! We were able to really connect with the other girls and learn about how their lives are different at Prescott!

All the Ambassadors in front of the Flight Line on the Daytona Beach Campus

The following day we were able to give the ambassadors a tour around the Embry-Riddle Campus! They enjoyed seeing all of our different colleges as well as the flight ops and simulation buildings! The next day we all traveled to Universal Studios in Orlando. Because of course, if you come all the way to central Florida you have to go to a theme park! It turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day and I really enjoyed seeing the new Harry Potter World!

Daytona Beach Ambassadors Kalina, Kealey (also a ERAU blogger), and I on the Jurassic Park Ride (Prior to getting soaked)!

Daytona Beach Ambassadors Kalina, myself, and Lindsey (my fellow ERAU blogger) on the Jurassic Park ride!

All of the Ambassadors at Universal Studios-Orlando’s Islands of Adventure Park

After a long but very fun filled weekend, we said goodbye to the Prescott Ambassadors over lunch at Panera! Luckily thanks to the university, the Daytona Beach Ambassadors have the opportunity to travel to Prescott this April! This will be such an amazing experience to see the other campus and I think we are also taking a trip to the Grand Canyon!

Saying goodbye to the Prescott Ambassadors!

Myself and Pia the coordinator for The Women’s Ambassador Program at Universal!

Along with the Women’s Ambassador Program, I am also involved in Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority here on campus! We have just begun our recruitment process for this semester which is always very fun and very busy! I love the opportunity to get to know so many women on campus! We just had “Meet the Greeks” which is an event where all the Fraternities and Sororities put up their tents on the quad and get to know all of the students interested in joining Greek Life. It’s a great opportunity to get to know all of the organizations and see what each one has to offer.

Sigmas at Meet the Greeks!

Holding up our newly painted letters!

One of my favorite parts about greek life here at Embry-Riddle, is how well all the different fraternities and sororities get along. I think because we have a small school we are able to get along much better and it seems like everyone works together as a team to build a strong greek community!

Fellow Women’s Ambassador Dakota and I at Meet the Greeks! No matter what the letters may say we are still best friends!

The Chick Fil’ A cow decided to come say hi to myself and fellow ambassadors Ayanna and Dakota!

Lastly, In other exciting news I received my nick-name on my Tri-Sigma Jersey! This is something that your “big sister” gives you once you have been a member for a while! It’s definitely a monumental moment and I am so excited to finally have it!

So happy to get my nickname!

One of my favorite parts about school down here at Embry-Riddle is all of the amazing organizations that I am involved in. My best advice to any incoming student is to get involved! My first semester here at Riddle I was not involved in too many different things on campus, but once I joined Sigma Sigma Sigma as well as the Women’s Ambassador Program; my college experience changed for the better! I have met so many new people and made so many great friends because of these organizations. Not only is it important to get involved because of the social aspect, but also because of networking! So many of my sisters have gotten internships or jobs through other sisters. And the opportunities and exposure that I am able to get through Women’s Ambassador is unbelievable! Get involved in what you love and I promise that your college experience will become that much greater! Until next time!

-Kealey

Hello world!

Posted on February 5, 2015 by wpengine

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

Taking Flight

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Billy

Has it really been two weeks already? Honestly so much has happened in this week alone that I cannot comprehend it all. In terms of highlights: I got to meet Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, I was hired by the IT department, so I now have two campus jobs (yay?), and my new quadcopter came in the mail.

The Avion strikes again! *Angerly waves fist in the air*

Meeting Fred Haise was absolutely amazing; words cannot describe how nice and genuinely awesome he is. I was fortunate enough to meet him as well as sit-in on two of his Q&A sessions. As I sat in the audience and listened to him speak, you could feel his enthusiasm for space and aviation. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was very honest and open about what he talked about. If any of you ever get the chance to see him, please do yourself a favor and try to. I would like to thank Dr. Kain of the Honors program here at Embry-Riddle for allowing me to meet Fred Haise and my friend Gus Galarnyk for telling me about his session with the honors students.

In addition to applying for a Resident Adviser (RA) position, I also applied to the IT department here at Embry-Riddle. I was extremely nervous because I was never interviewed for a job before and I knew that there were people who were way more qualified than me. With that said, I was amazed and excited when I learned I got the job. I start work on Thursday so hopefully I can work out my schedule because I’m terrible with time management. Hopefully I have the same amount of luck for my RA interview (Fingers crossed)!

I don’t know if I learned from the Quadcopter Incident of 2015 because almost immediately afterward, I sprang to get a new quadcopter and returning the old one. In terms of practical use aside from “it looks cool bro,” I really want to get into aerial-imaging (fancy schmancy for footage taken in the sky/air.) With photography and videography under my belt, I need something to challenge myself and since like 5 guys on my floor are RC plane hobbyists, I had no problems getting into the swing of things. One of my suite-mates recently got a new RC plane while the other, who happens to be an RC plane trainer, built one from scratch. Since we all acquired our new gear on Saturday, we all went flying and it was a fun time. RC flying is definitely a hobby I can get into, and since it’s not that big where I grew up, more bragging rights for me when I come back home.

Soccer fields are amazing great places to fly dangerous precision-control aircraft.

I can’t believe we’ve been back in school for 1 month already. What’s even more shocking is that I have friends who didn’t even go back yet! Oh well, just 3 more and I’m back in NJ. On that bombshell, I’ll see you all soon.

If hyper-linking works, he’s an outtake from our RC flying antics: Whoops

Stay Organized, Stay Positive, Stay Focused

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Lindsey

Although second semester has only just begun, I’m definitely starting to feel my course load, my two on-campus jobs, as well as being a member of five organizations on campus, start to bear down on me. Most people advise me to take a step back and prioritize what is most important and then cut back on what is not. However, when you’re passionate about everything you’re involved in, how does one cut back on involvement? The answer for me is: you don’t.

I’ve always been one to be involved in clubs, sports, and extracurriculars; even while I was in high school. Now that I have the freedom to use my time how I want to in college, I am involved even more! If you are like me, you understand that being involved and constantly having to attend meetings, social events, do homework, and even travel across the country (I’m so excited!), is just how you like to live. I’ve realized over my first semester here at ERAU that I love to be on-the-go!

This semester I am juggling my job as a Blogger, my job as a Social Media Assistant for Student Activities, being an Orientation Team Ambassador, being a Women’s Ambassador/Webmaster, as well as being an active member of NBAA, Women in Aviation, and Airport Management Club all on top of my five classes. At this point, my planner is starting to look a little crazy, but that’s just how I like it! I also have the privilege of traveling to Seattle, Washington, Savannah, Georgia, Dallas, Texas, and Murray, Kentucky this semester due to various different conferences, outreach events, and social events. You could say being on-the-go 24/7 is what keeps me on my toes!

I never would be able to manage all of it if it weren’t for these three must-have’s however, so I’ve decided to share them with you…

1. My planner: This handy ERAU Planner is what is now serving as my lifeline. If I lost it, my life would be in shambles! I write down everything in it: meetings, assignments, reminders, flights, social events, etc. You name it, it’s in my planner!

2. Sleep: I cannot stress this enough, sleep is the most important part of my daily routine. I am not one of those people who can run solely off of one hour of sleep and a 32oz Latte! I pride myself on getting at least seven hours of zzz‘s per night: it truly does make a difference in your day!

3. 9-5: I once heard from someone that in order to be able to manage all of the organizations you want to be a part of, you have to commit to your academics like they’re a job. This means working, in my case, from 8am-5pm everyday on homework, academic-related meetings, or on my jobs. Once I have finished my work for the day, then I can go out to my club meetings or go explore Florida. This is the best piece of advice I have ever received!

I know a lot of you are probably like me; working yourself until you have a mental breakdown, but that’s okay! I’m not going to say it’s easy, but it is definitely achievable if you stay organized, stay positive, and stay focused! Whose right is it to tell you that you cannot be involved in all that you want to? I say, go out there and do it!

Until next time,

Lindsey

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Halfway There

More fun!

Sigma Sigma Sigma

A Quick Update

The Flight of a Lifetime!

February Update

Getting Involved

Hello world!

Taking Flight