Tag Archives: admissions

On The Road Again: Regional Admissions Presentations

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Texas is bigger than I expected.

Last week was fall break, but on the weekend before fall break, I went to my first RAP- also known as a Regional Admissions Presentation- in Dallas, followed by my second one in Houston. They’re different than the accepted student receptions in the fall (I attended five: three in March and two in April), but they’re still engaging and fun!

To get the weekend started, I headed down to the Orlando airport (MCO) around 1:30 with one of our admissions employees. If I fly out of Daytona, or DAB, I’m usually responsible for getting a ride to and from the airport (it’s literally walking distance from campus) but Orlando is much farther away. I can definitely say that Orlando’s airport is much more chaotic than Daytona’s, considering that it has many more airlines and gates. We flew Southwest Airlines on a direct flight to Dallas Love Field, which is the smaller airport in the area. On the way, we did stop over at the New Orleans airport (MSY), which was my first airline stopover in all my years of travel.

Orlando’s security lines are no joke. I was glad that we got there with plenty of time to spare since the line took me nearly an hour to get through. After that, I took the train to our terminal and arrived at the gate. I was still an hour and a half early, so I mostly watched aircraft taxi around the ramp. We boarded the aircraft and it was a short flight to New Orleans, where most of the passengers got off. Since everyone who was stopping over could stay on the plane, we were also free to switch seats, so I picked a window seat in the exit row for extra legroom.

Sunset in New Orleans.

It was a pretty view. I got to watch the sun set over New Orleans and watch aircraft come and go at the gate next to us. I took the picture of this 737 MAX as we were pushing back from the gate. The flight from New Orleans to Dallas was also pretty short, but I still managed to do some homework. While I get to travel, I don’t get extensions on my homework, so I have to be proactive when I know I have a trip coming up.

We arrived in Dallas at a decent hour, heading from the airport to the rental car place and then to the hotel. Once we dropped our things off at the hotel, we ended up going out to Burger King for dinner, since we hadn’t had anything to eat since leaving Daytona. We took it back to our hotel room, and I finished up some homework before heading to bed.

The next morning I got to sleep in. The presentation was around 1, which meant we left at 11:15 since the guest hotel was right down the street. I also got to meet our Prescott counterparts- there were two Prescott admissions representatives and a student from Prescott. She also happened to be from Kentucky, which was pretty cool!

Since I hadn’t been to a regional presentation before, I looked through the slides and was told where I would be speaking. Since I had internship experience, I could speak to that, and I also talked about my experience on campus. It was definitely a different format since information about both residential campuses as well as the Worldwide campus were presented. The application process was also discussed since it’s still early in application season and people may not have applied yet.

After that, we stuck around to answer questions and I ended up talking to a lot of people. Talking to people is my favorite part. I love meeting new people and sharing my experiences. There were about a hundred or so people in total, and a good handful stuck around to talk to all of us.

Once the reception was over, we packed up our things and it was on to Houston! I honestly didn’t realize how big Texas was. I thought Dallas and Houston were maybe two hours apart, but they were FOUR hours apart. And of course, we stopped at a Buc-ees on the way out.

Buc-ees!!

We actually ended up stopping at a second Buc-ees to get gas, and then we drove the final stretch to Houston. After arriving in Houston, we checked into our hotel and set our stuff down before going to dinner as a group. We picked a place with a lot of options. It had lots of different international food options, and I chose ramen noodles for dinner. They were amazing!

After that, we headed back to the hotel to get another night’s rest, since there was another admissions presentation the next day. I did a little more homework in the evening, got a good night’s rest, and then did more homework in the morning. I had a few assignments due that day and that week since it was right before fall break, so it was a pretty stressful time.

The presentation in Houston was hosted in a larger room, which I thought was a lot fancier. The presentation was the same as the one in Dallas, and I got the same opportunities to speak to the group and then individually to families. Once the Dallas presentation was over and everyone had left, it was time to head back to the airport.

We were flying Southwest back, and flew out of the smaller airport, Houston Hobby. I liked it a lot- it was open, used natural light, and the security lines were quick. There was an abundance of flights going in and out, so I had plenty to look at while I waited. There was also a nice food court, so I grabbed dinner before the two-hour (ish) flight to Orlando. I also spotted the Freedom One aircraft, which is painted like the US flag.

We landed in Orlando around 11 PM, and I had school (and the counselor had work) the next day on Monday so we were in a hurry to leave. After grabbing our luggage, we headed to the car and made the hour-long drive back to Daytona. I was glad to be back home, but traveling is super fun. I don’t have any more regional admissions presentations to attend, but Open House is coming up. Hopefully, I’ll see you there, and if not, in the next post!

A Week in the West

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A couple of weeks ago I had the ability to travel on my last Admissions trip. I traveled to Denver, Seattle, and Los Angeles with the ERAU Admissions team. I was excited to be able to go to Seattle again, since it is where I’m from. These trips are always something I look forward to because we have a lot of fun, while working, of course!

Our first stop was Denver, Colorado. We actually headed out there a day early to take some vacation time in the Centennial State. I had been there once before, but only for about half a day. We were able to spend some time sightseeing in downtown Denver, trying some of the best restaurants, and driving up the mountainside to a lookout. I think we all really appreciated the scenic mountain views, and enjoyed being in a cooler climate for a few days.

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View of downtown Denver from our hotel room

 

Famous bear peaking into the Convention Center

Famous bear peaking into the Convention Center

View from Lookout-overlooking Golden, CO

View from Lookout-overlooking Golden, CO

Little Man Ice Cream (SO good!)

Little Man Ice Cream (SO good!)

After our event in Denver, we headed out to my home state, Washington. We were grateful to have two days in Seattle to explore. I was also able to visit with my parents for a bit, which was really nice.

Our group loves coffee, so we went to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Capitol Hill. It is one of the places in Seattle I had never been before, so it was fun to have a new experience in my home city. After tasting a flight of different coffees, I was ready to get back to my favorite order at Starbucks, an Iced Vanilla Latte. Although, it was pretty cool to learn a lot more about the coffee roasting process.

Seattle, WA

Seattle, WA

Starbucks Roastery

Starbucks Roastery and Tasting Room

The next day, we were lucky and we got to see some sunshine in Seattle, which is rare in the winter! We took advantage of the nice weather after our event and went out to Olympic Park, which is about 30 minutes outside of Seattle. It’s a beautiful park with tons of evergreen trees, mountain views, and Puget Sound beachfront. We also went to Kerry Park, which boasts the best views of the Seattle skyline, in my opinion.

Kerry Park in Seattle

Kerry Park in Seattle

We took an evening flight out of Seattle and arrived in Los Angeles around 11pm. Once we arrived in LA, we ended up taking an Uber to our hotel downtown. Let me tell you, there is never a dull moment with the Admissions team… We had some issues getting an Uber driver, and ended up laughing about the whole fiasco the rest of the trip.

We had a short time in LA, so we woke up and hosted the lunch event at a steakhouse downtown. As always, it was a great event! After the event, we quickly changed and headed out to Venice Beach. It is definitely a different vibe in Venice Beach versus Daytona Beach, but we walked around the eclectic beach town and all along the beach during sunset. We ended up going back to the hotel a few hours before our red-eye flight, and watched the planes land and takeoff at LAX while eating some appetizers in the lounge. We had a competition of who could name the type of aircraft the fastest, just like typical Riddle students.

Pablo and I presenting in Los Angeles

Pablo and I presenting in Los Angeles

Pablo and I on bikes in Venice Beach

Pablo and I on bikes in Venice Beach

At last, my final Admissions trip had come to an end. These trips were one of my favorite parts of being a Riddle student because I was able to interact with prospective students, and share my passion for ERAU with them and their families. I will definitely look back on these trips with great memories.

Until next time,

Lindsey

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

Why Riddle?

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It is during peak College Admissions time, and this time two years ago I was trying to decide which university to attend. I know what you are going through, so I thought, why not write about why I chose to come to ERAU? It is a question I get asked a lot. Many people ask, “You’re a business student, why did you come to ERAU?”. Well, let me tell you…

First of all, I have been interested in air travel my entire life. I always loved going to the airport, getting on a plane, and in a few hours, I would be across the country. It was always amazing to me how many people are transported via air travel each day. This is why I pursued aviation. People say, “once you catch the aviation bug, it will never leave you”, and I have found this to be very true. No matter what, I know that I love aviation and I love to travel, so I morphed that love into a career path.

You’re thinking, ‘why business’? Well, I wasn’t exactly sure why at first. I loved Calculus in high school, so I decided, ‘well, I’ll be an engineer’. All of my teachers in high school told me to pursue engineering, since I was good at math. Up until about a few months before I had to apply for colleges, I was committed to being an engineer. However, I had a moment of realization when I attended a presentation by another university. They discussed all of their lab equipment, science classes, and the technology they had. I simply thought to myself, this does not interest me. Many people look at engineering as a high-paying job that is in high-demand, which is true, but they don’t realize all of the dedication you have to have to your studies and career. At least, I didn’t. I am so thankful that in that moment I realized that I did not have a  passion for engineering and science. Because of that, I discovered I loved business. I realized I loved the power in decision-making business has. I wanted to be able to analyze revenues, costs, customer satisfaction, etc. and make a smart business decision. Then, I thought, ‘wait, I love aviation and I love business, why not do both?’. That is how I decided my future career path.

Now as to why I chose Riddle. It is pretty self-explanatory. ERAU is top in the nation for aviation, so why settle for anything less? I visited campus in Daytona Beach and fell in love. I liked the smaller size, the friendly atmosphere, and the proximity to the beach and central Florida. After I visited, my mind was made up. I knew ERAU was where I belonged. Don’t get me wrong, I was still VERY nervous to attend a university that was 3,300 miles away from my home in Seattle, WA. However, I knew I needed to get out of my comfort zone, and I thought college was the perfect way to do it. I also got a chance to look at all of the student organizations on the ERAU website, and I knew I wanted to get involved. I saw so many options for clubs and organizations that were interesting to me, so I felt like I would fit in and be able to contribute to something other than my academics.

So, here I am. Attending the most prestigious aviation school in the country, studying Aviation Business Administration, and writing to prospective students. What could be better? I truly love Embry-Riddle and am passionate about sharing my experience here, as well as why Riddle is an amazing place to be. As I finish up this post, I want to leave you (prospective students) with some advice…

  1. Take time to think about what your passions are, and how you can apply them to a career.
  2. Make your own decision about where you want to attend university. After all, you are the one who is going to be attending, not your friends or parents.
  3. Do not stress about finances just yet. Apply where you want to apply, and everything will work itself out.
  4. Visit campus. This is so important in getting a feel for what life is actually like at the university!
  5. Don’t stress. I know the college application process is very frightening, but I promise you, you will end up where you are supposed to be.

Trust the process. I am so grateful that I trusted myself and made my own decision to attend ERAU. It has been the most beneficial choice I have made, and I am so thankful for everything Riddle has done for me already. If you are like me, scared to leave home and pursue your passion, take the jump! I promise you it will be such a rewarding experience. I hope to see you here soon!

Until next time,

Lindsey