Homework, classes, clubs, repeat.
Well, if you’ve been following the blog it seems like I’m always doing something exciting. ERAU does have a lot of excitement going around but sometimes nothing special happens. So here’s what my life looks like on an average, uneventful week.
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, AND FRIDAY CLASSES: I have three Monday/Wednesday/Friday classes and one Wednesday-only class. These classes are 50 minutes long each day and classes start on the hour with a 10-minute break in between. I have Aerospace Structures 1 (AE 318) at 10 AM, Space Propulsion (AE 414) at 1 PM and Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics (AE 426) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then Experimental Aerodynamics (AE 314) on Wednesdays at 3 PM.
TUESDAY AND THURSDAY CLASSES: I have one Tuesday/Thursday class that I’m enrolled in, one I’m a TA for, and one Thursday laboratory class. Standard Tuesday/Thursday classes are an hour and 15 minutes long and have a 15-minute break between classes. I have Aerospace Engineering Materials (AE 316) at 5:15 PM, TA for the mechanical engineering Introduction to Engineering (EGR 101) class, and Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory (AE 315) on Thursdays from 2:15 to 5 PM. The laboratory classes are much longer than the standard classes to ensure enough time to perform assigned experiments.
When do I eat lunch? Really, it’s whenever I want to. On Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I have two 2-hour gaps and usually eat around 12 PM. On Tuesday/Thursday it’s typically the same. Sometimes I’ll bring my own lunch and sometimes I’ll buy lunch on campus or get it with a friend. It depends on my day- sometimes I’m swamped with work, and other days I have time to relax.
Aside from my classes, I have several activities that I’m involved in. On Tuesday nights from 7-8, I have an Aerospace Engineering Student Advisory Board (AESAB) meeting. I’m currently the public relations officer, but I was elected President for the next academic year (Fall 2023 and Spring 2024). The AESAB is the official liaison between the AE department and the student body, and we try to host semesterly events like Cookies and Comments and the AE Town Hall for students.
On Wednesday nights at 6:30, I attend meetings for the Society of Women Engineers. The meeting on 4/12 I went to was the Town Hall and election results meeting, where I found out I was elected as the next Professional Development Chair! While that means I won’t be on the IGEW committee anymore, I’m excited to begin working as the Professional Development Chair and helping other SWE members achieve their professional goals.
And finally, on Friday nights, I am in charge of the Women’s Ambassadors call session. I’m one of the two Co-Coordinators of the program, which is similar to a manager position. I chose to host call sessions on Friday nights, and that’s when the Women’s Ambassadors reach out to accepted students to be a friendly face on campus before they even start. Sometimes instead of a call session we have a general meeting (once per month) where we talk about updates and news.
So clearly, there are still gaps in my schedule- what do I do?
Well, that really depends. Sometimes I’ll do homework if the period is longer than 30 minutes to an hour, and other times I’ll take a break to relax or do quick work. And by “quick work” I mean things like sending emails (or replying to emails!!) or sending people information about a club/organization I’m in. It also depends on where I am in the academic year- if it’s a time that’s a little more stressful, I’ll probably be doing more quick work and less relaxing, but once those periods pass it’s more relaxing and less quick work.
Being involved, at least for me, depends on time management. If you’ve got good time management and good study habits I see no reason why you can’t be involved in a lot of things, even as an engineering major. Maybe I’ll see you at some future club meetings, and if not, I’ll see you in the next post!
