Happy fall!

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Maybe not officially, but to me fall is in full swing. My routine has settled a bit more and you can believe that lots of pumpkin chai (made in the dorm) and Starbucks Caramel Spice Lattes with extra caramel are always in hand. While I do love my afternoon courses, I try to get out of my room and grab a coffee to get some work done before class. All the while I still get to sleep in, so that’s nice.

As we settle into classes, I wanted to shift my blog focus from preparing the incoming freshman and other students to sharing more general information about the university. You may be seeing more about student life, academics, on-campus jobs, and etc. I want to be real with you about my life at Riddle… See what I did there?

To begin this new series, if you will, I want to discuss why I chose Embry-Riddle. I think I can summarize this into a few points to keep this nice and simple. In my opinion, the school really sells itself. I have said this before, but if you can come tour the campus, you will fall in love. It happens to everyone. Especially with our brand new Student Union (pictures and post to come soon)!

1. The Name

The Embry-Riddle name is quite prestigious. It’s easy to forget how widely-known our school is in the aviation industry until you work in it. At my internship with United Airlines, everyone was blown away that I was a Riddle student. Not to mention any time it came up, I typically could find an alum who was happy to come join the conversation and network with me. Aviation is a tight-knit community. Having the name Embry-Riddle attached to you, on the top of your resume holds more weight than we may think.

2. The Campus is Gorgeous

As I mentioned above, we have a new Student Union. More so, we have gorgeous new dorms (with even more being built right now for Fall 2019). There is the shiny COAS (College of Arts and Sciences) which is stunning with its dome encompassing the largest telescope in Florida. Anyways, *closes jaw* the new Student Union is beyond beautiful. Not only does it resemble an airplane/eagle, it has a new walkway surrounded by palm trees. Our tiny school is beginning to have big campus looks with the small feeling we all love. And I almost forgot… the beach is nearby and you literally walk to class watching planes take off from the airport right in front of your face. Enough said. Take a look for yourself on our Instagram.

3. The Professors are Top Notch

This is kind of nerdy, and I never really appreciated it until I was in class here, but the professors are the best in the industry. When you are reading the books written by your professor, really soaking in their years of experience, that is the stuff that helps you grow and become an industry expert too. My professors can bring their years of experience into the classroom and help me understand the ways of the business more than a regular, old PowerPoint ever could. One professor even offered internships at the end of the course since he owned an airport consulting company nearby.

4. I Wanted Something Different

This is more personal to me, but I just wanted change. I love home — do not get me wrong. I just felt everyone all purposely went to the same colleges and I wanted a fresh start. I enjoyed high school, but I wanted a unique college with students who could truly relate to me. Embry-Riddle is just this. When else do you find other young adults who stop walking and gawk at the airplanes in the sky or have a passion for rockets or drones or anything aerospace and aviation related really? This leads me to my next point…

5. It Felt Like Home

When my parents dropped me off, they were very comforted by the faculty, students, and staff repeatedly saying we are a family. This is true. Your professors genuinely care about you and how you are. Your bosses at your on-campus jobs care. Your peers care. Most of us are from areas far away from Daytona since we come for this specialty focus. This means we are all far from home, far from family. So we make our own. Normal state schools have many students who live nearby or at least in-state. Here we lean on each other a little more because in a sense, we all relate to one another.

Also, this point can be used to talk about the sense of community I felt when I walked onto the campus the first time. I felt like I belonged here and I cannot explain it. Every school I compared to Embry-Riddle’s environment. I knew I couldn’t miss out on all its opportunities and its quirkiness.

Until next time,

Maddie