Midterm Exams and Carpool Karaoke, Riddle Style!

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Carly

In which the blog takes a musical turn, and we’re the main characters!

So, in the past two weeks, I’ve been studying a lot. I had a statics exam on Friday, October 1, an over-the-weekend calc 3 test from Friday to Sunday (October 1-3), an essay due on Monday, October 4, and a physics exam on Thursday, October 7.

I ended up doing really well on the statics and calc exams, and I’ll be getting the essay grade back soon. I spent a lot of time studying for both, but at the same time, you have to have a study-social balance in college or else you’ll get burnt out. So what did I do when I wasn’t studying?

Carpool karaoke!

Carpool karaoke started as a thing between me and one of my best friends last year. She and I would go drive around anywhere between 10 PM and 2 AM on days that we had only afternoon classes and had made sure that all of our work was done. On weekends, sometimes we’d even be out until 3. Carpool karaoke was also accompanied by a run to the nearest gas station for slushies:

Carpool karaoke eventually ended up adapting to be a group activity after gradual introductions of various people. It really depends on who’s free at what times, and we only go if a decent amount of us are available.

The group has adapted a lot. We’ve ventured out from straight musical songs (with World Burn from Mean Girls being a favorite) to pop and everything in between. It also fluctuates with whoever comes along- we might play more pop music as opposed to musicals if certain people are there, and vice versa.

Depending on who’s driving, we’ll also go to different places. Some people drive north and we hang out on the beach for a bit, other people will drive to DeLand and back, and some will just drive in circles around Daytona. And sometimes we’ll do multiple routes, depending on how long we stay out.

Our group’s been kind of slow with the whole karaoke thing since it’s midterm exam season. However, we got the opportunity to go on Tuesday night! I ended up in the back middle seat while one of my other friends took a turn driving.

Instead of going to the beach, we quickly stopped to get gas at Buc-ee’s. After walking around Buc-ees and getting a few things there, we deicded to go over to Steak ‘n Shake. It was kind of busy, but we didn’t mind waiting for a bit. And of course, we ended up taking a group picture.

*Steak n’ Shake! Featuring the O-Team baseball tee.*

After that, we ended up going over to DeLand and back while hanging out and talking. We ended up staying out from 9 to 11ish, so we could all be responsible and get sleep before classes tomorrow. I know that a few of us have also had (or have!) tests this week, so it was a good mid-week activity to do.

I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully (doing your own version of carpool karaoke?) at Riddle!

Inspiration 4 and Star Trek Trivia!

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Carly

Oh, nothing much, just watching the product of my future career, right? Heck yeah!

It’s been an exciting week here in Daytona!

If you’re following space news, you’d see that the Inspiration 4 launch was a success. If you’re following Embry-Riddle news, you’d see that there are two Embry-Riddle alumni involved with the Inspiration 4 launch.

Being a space enthusiast myself, I decided that I’d like to see the launch up close. While you can see launches from the Embry-Riddle campus (and even hear the slight roar of the rocket!), there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go down since it’s only an hour’s drive or so. My roommate from last year and I ended up hitching a ride with one of our other friends who was going anyway with a few other people.

Five of us piled into one car, and we ended up doing a bit of carpool karaoke on the way down to the launch. We found a spot pretty close to the launch site in a boat launching area. The launch window opened at 8:02 PM, and we made sure to get there early.

There were a lot of bugs outside, but thankfully, we’d brought some bug spray. A few other people had found the same spot we had and many had professional-looking cameras. I’m not super good at photography, but I love looking at other people’s pictures.

When the rocket ignited, the whole sky lit up. (Side note: if you ever get a chance to watch a rocket launch live, do it. If you’re not busy, watch a live stream- a few of my friends and I watched the Firefly Alpha launch a little while back.) Here’s what my phone got:

It took a few moments for the rumble to reach us, and by that time, the rocket was shooting across the sky and through the clouds. A few minutes later, we saw this:

We were lucky enough to be in a spot so that the rocket appeared to curve across the sky. After the rocket disappeared, the five of us got back into the car and went back to Daytona and to our dorms. And that was my Wednesday night: no homework, just rocket science.

Thursday through Sunday was Panhellenic (sorority) recruitment, which was super fun, and I’m excited to see the Panhellenic community grow! Another one of my other favorite events this week was Star Trek trivia, which I’d hosted with one of my favorite professors, Dr. Lear.

I’d made a deal with her that if I showed up in a Star Trek uniform, that she’d get me a pink drink from Starbucks. As I have a slight addiction to Starbucks, I showed up in this:

True to her word, Dr. Lear did end up buying me a Starbucks before trivia started. There were plenty of people there, including several of my friends. The trivia event was during another event called the Skyline Social, which had food and drink for purchase along with activities to do.

Trivia had three rounds, and Dr. Lear and I took turns reading the questions. We did an intermission poster giveaway in between the first and second rounds, and in between the second and third, we had a drawing contest. One of my friends wasn’t playing, so we ended up roping him into judging the drawing contest.

He had up to 20 points that he could distribute as he pleased. He decided to be nice and ended up giving everyone points. The final question was probably a little too hard since nobody got the correct answer, but trivia was really fun.

Riddle hosts Star Wars trivia in the spring, and Dr. Lear thinks that the next trivia event is going to be Harry Potter. I enjoyed co-hosting, so maybe I’ll be able to do it again! Last year, Dr. Lear hosted Star Wars trivia and over 200 people came out to play. (Even though I’m not a Star Wars fan, I was there too since I got extra credit for coming.)

If you’re at Embry-Riddle, I highly suggest going to Skyline Social trivia nights. I’ll see you in the next post, and hopefully at Riddle (and trivia night)!

*From both me and Dr. Lear… Live long and prosper!*

How My First Week of Classes Went

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Carly

At least when I fell off my longboard I was 30 feet away from Health Services…

Well, the first week of classes has officially ended, and we’re getting through the second. I’ve already gotten plenty of assignments to keep me busy.

*Yes, the sign is really that big!* *Mask removed for photo only. Both photographer and I are fully vaccinated.*

On the first (and second!) day, I was lucky enough to find all of my classes and not walk in the wrong direction. Since I was part of the 2021 O-Team, I wore one of our shirts to class on the first day in case anyone had questions. I ran into a few people who did, and I was happy to help.

Activities seemed to resume, for the most part, as normal. Currently, Embry-Riddle expects you to wear a mask indoors, and most activities picked up within the first two weeks. For example, the Society of Women Engineers’ first general meeting is Wednesday, September 8, while the first chapter event of the semester for my sorority was on Monday, August 30- the day school started.

Unfortunately, I had a minor longboard incident on the second day of school. While I’m okay, I accidentally ran over a crack and skinned my knee. Normally, I would’ve called the school’s Emergency Response Team, which provides free medical care on campus from trained students, but I was really close to Health Services and just went there. They took a look and gave me a bunch of bandages and instructed me on how to take care of it.

Thursday was the most eventful day of the week for me. While I only have one class (YES!), the school hosted a free petting zoo.

In the zoo, there were a few other animals including a fennec fox, giant yellow snake, and an elderly spotted cat. I also saw a chinchilla, fancy chickens, a calf, and several goats. It was pretty fun.

That night- September 3- a few of my friends and I decided to watch Firefly Aerospace’s launch of the Firefly Alpha. We reserved one of the student union study room, and one of my friends brought his laptop. We arrived early and hung out for about two hours- an hour before the launch and an hour waiting for the next attempt.

Although the Firefly Alpha didn’t make it to its planned trajectory, it was really fun to hang out with my friends. It was a fun first week, and I did some more hanging-out on Labor Day weekend.

Of course, I’ve also been doing a lot more work than I did last year. As classes get harder, you might have less homework, but it’ll be more time-consuming. I’m glad tutoring is starting up again- the tutors are super helpful, and they’re the reason I got an A in Calculus II last year.

See you in the next post, and hopefully someday at Riddle!

I Participated in O-Week, This Time as an Orientation Ambassador

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Carly

I am once again suggesting that you come to orientation events.

Well, it’s that time of the year again- orientation week for new students! I remember that I was soooooooo excited last year when I moved in. Funnily enough, I moved in last year on August 16, and this year moved in August 17 for Orientation Team, AKA O-Team.

We spent a few days on retreat preparing for orientation week, where we learned the welcome dance, practiced our chants, bonded together, and fine-tuned skills needed for orientation. I had the weekend off, and orientation week began on Monday. In the morning, Merrick (one of the other bloggers!) and I worked at the student union help station answering questions.

Throughout the day, the O-Team attended various events around campus. On Monday, I gave several unofficial tours of the campus and helped bring pep to the ice cream social. There, I high-fived students in the ice cream line while holding the orientation flag- a very high honor! That night was super fun- many people won prizes from the Bingo game that was going on.

On Tuesday, I helped pack s’mores bags for the fireside s’mores activity. Inside were graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows that students could use to make s’mores. Although the event got rained out, we were able to hold part of it outside! We danced to the Wobble, the Cupid Shuffle, and the Cha Cha Slide before we got rained out. In addition, other music was played, and students and O-Teamers formed a large dance circle. I found myself into it and ended up pulling out this move.

On Wednesday we finished the last scheduled big block of move-in time. After helping get people checked in, we went to the student union and socialized with new students. I worked the welcome table again with a different person and then went to check the Eagle to Eagle rooms. The Eagle to Eagle sessions are in a small classroom setting and led by an orientation ambassador (so you can call me Professor Carly McDonald, I guess?) who presents information about the campus.

I made sure that my room was set up, and thankfully, everything was working. My Eagle to Eagle session is for people who live on the fourth floor of New Residence Hall 2, and I’m excited to meet them tomorrow.

One question I get a lot is “How do you have so much energy?” Well, truth be told: it comes from other members of the team. Everyone is here because they want to make new students feel welcome and give them a successful start to their time at Embry-Riddle. When one person is excited, the energy radiates through the team and bounces off of the rest of us, and that’s why you’ll see us chanting in the student union at 8 AM and 8 PM.

I’ve really enjoyed every aspect of O-Week since the O-Team is one big family. It’s great to help out and meet new students, which is what being on the O-Team is all about. You make a lot of friends on the team, too- and they’re just a text away in the future, weather it be during O-Week or finals week.

Hopefully I’ll see you around if you’re currently at Embry-Riddle, and if not… see you in the next blog post!

My Life @ Riddle

Daytona Beach Edition

Tag Archives: 2021-2022