Tag Archives: commissioning

Graduation & Commissioning

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Happy May everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida – for the last time! I have spent the past five years at ERAU-Daytona Beach working towards a Bachelors of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering on an Aeronautics track and I’ve finally reached the finish line! The feeling of submitting your final undergraduate course level assignments and finishing your last final exam is exhilarating and SO motivating! Thinking back to my freshman year, I never could have imagined the experiences, opportunities, lessons, and all the incredible people I’ve met during my college experience.

My final Academic Advising Report though the Campus Solutions Student Homepage on Ernie!

I finished out my final semester with all As, and an overall Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.552 which I am so proud of! Additionally, I am graduating with Minors in Arabic Studies and Military Science, and will be commissioning into the U.S. Air Force post-grad! I spent the past 5 years not only as a student, but as an Air Force ROTC cadet. Truthfully my time in AFROTC was one of my favorite aspects of my collegiate experience overall! AFROTC introduced me to some of my lifelong best friends, my (hopefully lifelong) love of working out, and helped me find out that I am passionate about languages through my participation in Project Global Officer (Arabic in particular)! My Air Force family is one that I will truly never forget and the leadership, time management, and organization skills I’ve learned as a result of completing 5 years in the program are invaluable.

Post-Beach PT with one of my best friends I met through AFROTC!

Upon graduation I will be pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in Operations Research from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio. I hope to be able to further integrate my love of aviation and Arabic into my career in the future. As they say – if there’s a will, there’s a way! While I do not know where my life or my military career will take me, I do know that while everyone may feel a bit exhilarated at graduation, I feel extremely prepared (and VERY excited) to take on the ‘real world’!

Throughout my time at ERAU one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a tip for success was utilizing my resources! There are so many different offices on campus with the sole purpose to help students. For example, the Office of Prestigious Awards and Fellowships, Office of Undergraduate Advising, Career Services, the Fitness Center, Health and Wellness Services, ERNIE Central, the Academic Advancement Center (A^2) and so many others! If you are dedicated enough to success, reach out to your professors for help, and study, Study, STUDY… anything is possible! Thank you to all the amazing professors, faculty, staff, friends, and family that have helped and supported me along the way. I am so grateful and so excited for my future. Keep on keeping on folks – signing off!

Finals & Graduation Season

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Happy almost Finals week everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach, Florida, the Spring 2022 semester is coming to a close, and we’re so close to finishing up! My life lately has mostly consisted of homework, projects, class, studying, working out, and ROTC. With only one week of school left, two weeks until my commissioning PT test, and three weeks until graduation and commissioning… life is moving so fast! Towards the end of the semester I’ve found I am usually the busiest, most stressed, and running on the most caffeine (with less and less sleep). However, I am looking forward to graduation and catching up on rest and relaxation so soon!

Final push until the end of the semester! Post-workout at the ERAU Fitness Center!

I’ve been reminiscing on the past years a lot lately. Will I miss college life? What does the real world look like? Am I prepared for what comes next? My time at ERAU has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I’ve taken part in thus far. Looking back at myself from freshman year to now, I’m a completely different person! I’ve grown so much, become so much more confident, and have learned so much not only academically, but about myself as a person too.

College gives you the freedom to make your own schedule, study, eat, and sleep whenever you want! College also gives you the opportunity to learn the importance of balance, time management, and self care – especially during particularly stressful or busy portions of the semester (shoutout Finals Week). Nonetheless, I am so grateful for everything I’ve had the chance to experience in my time as a Resident Advisor, Orientation Team Ambassador, on SGA Student Court, as a University 101 Peer Mentor, working on campus as a Undergraduate Student Researcher at the Eagle Flight Research Center, and in Air Force ROTC.

One of the (many) early mornings before sunrise on the way to ROTC training!

Advice I was given as a freshman was – try everything! Then cut back as you figure out what you like the most and prioritize what you can make time for. Going into my final semester, I’ve cut back the most on almost all extracurricular involvement to focus primarily on academics and ROTC – aka graduation and commissioning. I’ve learned there will never be enough time in the day to accomplish everything, but it’s extremely important to learn yourself well enough to know when you need sleep over staying up to finish a homework assignment. My ERAU experience has been academically rigorous, stressful, busy, and at the same time fun, I’ve made some life long friends and memories I will never forget, and I am a stronger and better person than I was when I started. I look forward to concluding finals in the beginning of May and will be signing out with one more blog post to follow! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!

GRE & 15A

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Happy February everyone! I’m currently blogging from Daytona Beach and my weekend has been eventful! I am very much looking forward to Spring Break in March.

My weekend involved taking the GRE – General Graduate Record Examination test, prerequisite of applying to graduate school! That’s right folks, I’m considering getting my Masters degree! While I am still waiting on details of my post graduation plans once I commission, I thought applying to graduate school to keep my options open would be interesting. While some classes offer incentives for taking the GRE, like counting it as an extra credit assignment, I took this test for a slightly different reason.

Recently, I found out my future career field in the Air Force for when I commission. My AFSC (Air Force Speciality Code) career assignment is 15A, meaning I will become an Operations Research Analyst. While typical pathways after graduating college and ROTC with a bachelors degree include IST (Initial Skills Training), my future career field is slightly different.

Non-Rated Job Drop finding out my AFSC career assignment!

IST for Operations Research Analysts involves attaining a Masters of Science Degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) in Dayton, Ohio. Usually, the 1.5 year masters degree schooling starts in the summer or fall after commissioning in the spring semester. Upon graduating with a Master degree, IST would be complete and you would be stationed at your first duty assignment. There is a second option for IST for Operations Research Analysts however, that allows newly commissioned officers to head to their base directly upon completing their bachelors degree, and taking approximately the first third of AFIT masters courses towards your higher level education degree online, while working your job at your base assignment.

While I haven’t officially decided which path I am going to take, I am very excited to graduate, commission, and start my life on Active Duty. 

In other news, I passed my first exam of the semester! I also have been keeping up with my gym schedule three days a week, and have found a love/hate relationship with the StairMaster machine.

Post-StairMaster workout at the Eagle Fitness Center!

I realized that I can climb the StairMaster while listening to music, podcasts, and my most recent discovery – watching moves! I am about 75% through Luca on Disney+ from multiple sessions on the stair climber. Watching movies helps pass the time while exercising, and also makes it feel more like a break from my rigorous daily work/school schedule. I hope everyone is finding time to relax during their busy schedules by exercising, or movie watching, or both! Keep on keeping on folks, will report back soon!