AZ & AFROTC

Happy June everyone! I’m currently blogging from Tucson, Arizona, where I lay comfortably in the shade around 6am on a Sunday morning. 

A few fun differences in Tucson from Daytona Beach include the high elevation, the extremely dry heat, the seemingly more intense sun, lots of cacti, and Tucson is surrounded by mountains on three sides, which makes for some pretty amazing views. Whenever I introduce myself to people here and tell them I go to Riddle their first impression is the I attend Prescott because it’s only a few hours away, but truth be told I’m an ocean soul and I attend Daytona Beach, which makes for an even more interesting conversation.

I am currently just finishing up two weeks in AZ which means I’m about half way through my first semester of Arabic 405 which is Advanced Arabic I at the University of Arizona where I have tests every Friday and I have already taken my midterm examination. 

Arabic 405 is an intensive course in which Monday-Friday I have four hours of classroom time every day, followed by an hour break for lunch, office hours (which are essentially an extension of class) with the professor for two hours, followed by an hour of tutoring, a break for dinner, then two hours of language partner time, in addition to homework, projects, and additional studying I do on my own. My schedule is definitely busy, but typically it always is, and learning Arabic while challenging, is extremely fun.

I got some more photos from my time at Field Training during the Max 1 session!
Behold Alpha Flight at the Assault Course Finish line.

While I’m attending UA for summer courses with Project Global Officer there are students from all over the country here with me from the Army and Navy ROTC programs. My class consists of a total of five people, two of which are from Project GO. That being said, there are no extra “ROTC obligations” over the summer. Although naturally it’s encouraged to workout, we don’t have scheduled PT sessions or wear uniforms, and our primary job right now is to learn Arabic. I highly recommend studying over the summer because it makes it so much easier to give maximum effort when you don’t have any other classes to worry about.

Here’s a flashback from Dining Out this past Spring 2019 semester! Currently missing my AFROTC family.

Aside from this my acclimating to AZ has been a moderately rocky one, pun intended. My body was not used to the dry air or intense heat as I grew up on the coast and Riddle is by the beach too. But I’ve been running in the mornings or in the late evenings to escape the heat… even though the difference between 108 and 98 seems negligible, and I typically spend the weekends exploring Tucson’s coffee shops, restaurants, or going hiking or to the pool. Stay tuned for pictures of cacti and coffee to come. Will report back soon, stay cool folks. P.S. it’s monsoon season in Tucson and I’ve still yet to see any rain.

Daytona Beach Women’s Ambassadors Take on Arizona

Last weekend I had the privilege of going on my last trip of the semester! Myself, and the other Women’s Ambassadors traveled to Prescott (Pres-kit), Arizona to visit the ERAU Prescott Women’s Ambassadors. We met the Prescott Ambassadors back in January, when they came to Daytona Beach, so it was nice to see them again!

We left on a Thursday and traveled all night to Phoenix, Arizona, where we stayed that night. The next day we began our two hour drive to Prescott. Prescott is north of Phoenix, up in the mountains. While the temperature was in the 90’s in
Phoenix, just 5,000 ft above in Prescott, it was a mild 60 degrees all weekend. The drive to Prescott was very interesting. We saw a lot of cacti, rolling hills, and forests. It reminded me of eastern Washington.

On the road to Prescott!

On the road to Prescott!

Daytona Beach Women's Ambassadors

Daytona Beach Women’s Ambassadors

Overlook on the side of the road

Overlook on the side of the road

Some of the Ambassadors at the rest stop on the way to Prescott

Some of the Ambassadors at the rest stop on the way to Prescott

A cactus I found at the rest stop!

A cactus I found at the rest stop!

Once we got to Prescott, we met with the Ambassadors and had lunch with the Chancellor of ERAU Prescott. The lunch was held in a house that overlooks the ERAU campus. It was a beautiful view for lunch, and it was an amazing experience to meet the Chancellor and Dean of Students from Prescott. After lunch we took a tour of the campus. It was cool to see the other ERAU campus and compare and contrast the two. Their campus is surrounded by beautiful terrain and has a great atmosphere.

That night we held a Glow Party for the local Girl Scouts. The party was held at the ERAU gym, and was a lot of fun. We made glow crafts, played games, and ate pizza with the Girl Scouts. They really enjoyed the event, and so did we!

After a long day on Friday, we woke up early Saturday morning and drove to the Grand Canyon! I was so excited because visiting the Grand Canyon was on my bucket list, so I got to check it off, finally! It was about a two hour drive north of Prescott, and once again, it was beautiful. We drove on Route 66 and traveled through Williams, Arizona, which reminded me of the movie “Cars”. It was a town that looked just like the one in the movie.

Route 66 Diner in the "Cars town"

Route 66 Diner in the “Cars town”

We finally made it to the Grand Canyon and once I saw it, I was speechless. I had seen it before in pictures, but pictures do not do it justice. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We took so many pictures (with the selfie stick, of course), that we practically had to be dragged away to go to lunch. We ate lunch in a restaurant on site, and then we hiked down a trail. The trail wasn’t very steep and it was a quick trip down and back up again. I was sad to leave the Grand Canyon, and now I definitely want to make a trip back someday.

Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park

Entrance to Grand Canyon National Park

The Grand Canyon!

The Grand Canyon!

Sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon

Sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon

Dakota, myself, Kealey, and Kalina

Dakota, myself, Kealey, and Kalina

Daytona and Prescott Ambassadors at the Grand Canyon

Daytona and Prescott Ambassadors at the Grand Canyon

Sunday was the last day we were in Prescott. It was also Easter! We had lunch with the Prescott Ambassadors at a Mexican restaurant, and then did a scavenger hunt around the ERAU campus and downtown Prescott. We got to explore the downtown area, which was very historic. Many of the buildings had been there since the Prescott Territory. Once the scavenger hunt was over, we drove back to Phoenix to the airport. Since it was Easter, it’s only right to have an Easter dinner! However, ours was Wendy’s! Our flight took all night, so we arrived back in Daytona at 11AM the next day! The time change and long night of travel definitely took a toll on all of us.

It was an amazing, yet short trip to the other side of the country! I will never forget that Easter weekend. I’m so glad I got to experience it with some of my best friends. I can’t wait to share many more trips with them in the future!

Until next time,

Lindsey

ERAU Women’s Ambassador

Some of you may be wondering, why did I choose Riddle? Well, I’ll tell you about one reason why I did. Everyone wants to feel welcomed and at home when they choose the university they will be attending; and this is exactly what Embry-Riddle made me feel. Before I even enrolled at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I was connecting with a girl who already attended the university through a program called the Women’s Ambassador Program. During the spring of my senior year of high school and continuing on into the summer, I was receiving calls from one of the Women’s Ambassadors. We would talk about what I planned on majoring in, what campus life was like, and the questions I had about Riddle. By talking to this girl, whom I had never met before, but who just began to call me, I felt welcomed. I knew that Embry-Riddle cared if I attended. I wasn’t just another name on a list of applicants, but I was a person who mattered to them.

Once I committed to attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for the Fall 2014 Semester, I knew that I wanted to join the Women’s Ambassador Program. I wanted to be able to welcome other girls on campus, just like my ambassador had, and to encourage girls to pursue education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields. I applied as soon as the applications came out in the fall, and by early January 2015 I found out I was going to be an Ambassador!

 

Prescott and Daytona Beach Ambassadors at Bahama Breeze

Prescott and Daytona Beach Ambassadors at Bahama Breeze

Now that it is January 20, 2015, I have been an Ambassador for about two weeks, and I have already experienced so many amazing things! Last weekend the Ambassadors from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott, Arizona campus came to visit. We started off the getting-to-know-each other process with a dinner at Bahama Breeze on Thursday. It was interesting to hear all about the Arizona campus and the work that the Prescott Ambassadors were doing there.

On Friday, we set out to local schools to do outreach with their students. We talked about what STEM education has to offer and did an activity with the kids which included making a marshmallow-slinging catapult out of a clothes hangar, spoon, and rubber bands. It was a lot of fun to get to talk to children from around the area about what they want to do in the future and why they love STEM.

Kalina and I with our winning catapult team!

Kalina and I with our winning catapult team!

The rest of the weekend was filled with fun activities. Saturday morning we gave a tour of our campus to the Prescott Ambassadors. Next, we went to Universal Studios-Orlando with the Prescott Ambassadors on Sunday and spent the whole day riding roller coasters, getting to know each other, and getting absolutely soaked on the Jurassic Park Ride!

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

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

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

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

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

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

All in all, it was awesome to get to know not only the Prescott Ambassadors, but also my fellow Daytona Beach Ambassadors. In April, the Daytona Beach Women’s Ambassadors will be traveling to the Prescott, AZ campus to do outreach! I can’t wait to experience all the Prescott Campus has to offer! In the meantime, I will be able to make my first phone calls to girls who have applied to ERAU starting next week. I can’t wait to be on the other end of the phone: getting to know the Freshman Girls of the Class of 2019 and building friendships with them!

Until next time,

Lindsey