I’m So Much More Than a Number at Riddle

Posted on November 26, 2014 by athletics

Being a student at Embry-Riddle has made me realize that what I can achieve in the future is going to be great.

I knew that coming to a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and private school would differ from any other school, but I was unsure how it would be different. After the first week of classes, I realized what the difference was. The main difference was that everyone from admin to professors to staff care about the success of every student. I heard stories in high school from colleagues whom were in college about how they felt as if they were just a number since the university was so large. Here at Riddle I surprisingly enjoy the smaller student population since the classes are more interactive and I feel as if I am not just a number, but also a student who is striving to achieve similar goals as my colleagues.

I know that those who decided to attend here had a certain goal in mind whether it is for engineering or any of the other majors and it makes attending Riddle more enjoyable because fellow peers are going through the same journey together. The small student population indicates a tight-knit community throughout the university and in the close community there are numerous people that share the same love for aviation as I do. What I did not know is that quite a few people also share a common passion for robotics as do I.

I look forward to more great things that will surprise me about being a student at Embry-Riddle!

Kaila Romero, Women’s Softball

Embry’s Biggest Surprise — The Tight-Knit Community

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Colton

Ever since I was a kid, I had a passion for anything aviation. My aunt was in the Navy and my grandpa was a private pilot with a V-Tail Bonanza. I loved to be surrounded by people who shared the same passion as I had. When coming to Embry-Riddle, I knew I would be surrounded by a community of students and faculty who also loved aviation (since it is an aeronautical university), but I had no idea how tight-knit that community would be. Embry-Riddle is just a large family, with all its members having one common passion and drive: aviation. Not only is everyone pursuing a career in a similar field, but many also share the same extracurricular interests. By the third day of orientation, my suitemates and I built an airplane out of a broken printer we found in the dumpster (no we weren’t dumpster diving) and proceeded to launch it off our third story balcony.

Silly as it seems, the building and launching of the ‘printer plane’ started the formation of a strong bond between my suitemates and I, and made life long memories before school had even started! And the adventures aren’t limited to gliders created from old electronics; within two weeks I had built friendships with several other guys who shared my love for remote control aircraft. Since then, we have built combat airplanes, built and flown multirotors such as hexacopters and tricopters, have had plenty of crashes, and have made tons of memories.

It’s that sense of family that surprised me most about Embry-Riddle, and I think it’s a unique community you won’t find at any other university

If you’re interested in seeing the “Printer Pelican 1”, you can watch the video I made at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA1GviCfwlw

High Altitude Balloon Launch

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Cherie

High Altitude gondola image taken by an Embry Riddle Student’s Satellite

Last Tuesday, several teams in the Experimental Space Systems course launched weather balloons to test preliminary designs of Satellites. These Satellites collected data about the upper atmosphere and filmed their journey. The launch was the culmination of an entire semester of research, fabrication, and over 7 hours of testing in Embry-Riddle’s very own Space Systems Laboratory. This lab is a unique state of the art facility housed inside the Aerospace Fabrication and Experimentation Building known as AXFAB. It is complete with two vacuum chambers and what most students call “the chiller” which is a small highly insulated piece of equipment that has the ability to simulate the temperature conditions of the upper atmosphere.

The curvature of the earth and rays of the sun in the upper atmosphere as recorded by the satellite

All of the students were very excited to launch and chase down the satellites as the wind carried them across the upper portion of Northern Arizona. If you happen to be visiting us for a campus tour, stop by and meet the teams. They will be in the Space Systems Laboratory, which is one of the stops on our campus tour 🙂

If you would like more information or have any questions please leave me a comment below and I’ll get back to you ASAP. Thanks for reading everyone!!!

— Do not duplicate. All images are property of Juan Gutierrez, Serafino Bohrer-Padavos, Jenna Humble, Sung Saengpetsiriphan, Joseph Christensen; team members on the high altitude balloon launch project.

Embry Outreach at White River Apache Reservation

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Colton

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Something Embry-Riddle is very good at (one of the many things) is community outreach. This year I had the honor to take part in one the ERAU’s outreach programs, in conjunction with Chi Alpha (a program which I am also highly involved in), Innovation Club (also highly involved in), Rocketry Club, and ERAU Admissions. The event was created for outreach and promotion for Embry-Riddle and the pursuit for higher education in general.

Me and about 14 other people from Chi Alpha, a club on campus that revolves around making life long memories through crazy adventures and pursuing our Creator (check it out here >> http://riddlexa.org/ ), trekked off in two vans to White River Apache reservation. Our adventure would take part over two days. The first night we went to their last high school football game and put on a halftime show. It started with Freshman Lee Morris launching off a high-altitude weather balloon, soaring high into the night sky with flashing LED’s before disappearing forever. Secondly, we launched a scratch-built 5-foot tall rocket that we had built using the Student Innovation Center (Innovation club) and some expertise from the Rocketry Club. It featured a cardboard fuselage, 3d-printed fins and nose cone, and a custom motor to send it to 700 feet. It was quite spectacular, and the crowd loved it.

The next morning, we headed off to the local High school, Middle school, and Elementary school. All day, we taught classes on aviation, college, and pursuing a higher education. We were able to inspire kids to high school, to strive for their dreams and work hard to achieve them.

Watch the story unfold here…

This event was definitely one of the most memorable parts of my freshman year so far. It definitely makes me thankful for what I have been blessed with, and gives me a hunger to help those around me pursue their dreams as I am pursuing mine.

My Favorite Class at Embry-Riddle has been Study Abroad

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Vishra

As a business student, it’s incredibly hard to pick just ONE class that has been my favorite so far. Taking classes in different countries can change one’s view on the subject or even enhance it because of the experience of living and studying in another country, so, by far study aboard classes have been my favorite.

This past summer (July 2014), I was fortunate enough to go to Paris to take BA 425 Trends and Current Problems in Air Transportation and EC 399 Studies of Economic Thought. The classes were full of information and I felt like I gained an extensive amount of knowledge in our multiple field trips, while exploring other cultures and religions. I was never bored in any of my classes and there was endless enthusiasm and I’m eager to learn more and more. Probably the best part is that I’m studying Global Business so I’m making great network connections every time I visit a company with my study abroad class. And of course I’ve gotten to know my fellow students in a way that I’ll always have good memories from. I highly recommend study abroad!

Community Service

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Cherie

This past week Embry-Riddle Prescott’s Air Force ROTC Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings hosted a food drive for the Prescott Homeless Shelter in support of their Thanksgiving Feast. This event is just one of many that AFROTC and other campus organizations host to support our community.

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In total there are over 80 different student organizations on the Prescott campus ranging from inter mural sports, fraternities, sororities, and the list goes on!!

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All of our organizations participate in some service project. For example, one of the sororities on campus supports the nonprofit “Autism Speaks” which helps the families of Autistic children.

Another organization, The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers volunteers to tutor naturalized citizens who are pursuing GED’s. This is just barely scratching the surface of how Embry-Riddle students give back to their community.

If you would like to join us in doing so we would love to welcome you here!! If you are interested in visiting click here and if you are ready to apply our application page can be found here.

Thank you for reading everyone!!!

Planning My Final Semester at Embry-Riddle

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Mike

Hello Everyone! My name is Mike Cruz, and I am excited to be posting my first blog! I am now a senior expecting to graduate in the spring with a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Science and a Minor in Applied Meteorology. Furthermore, I am almost done with my flight training at Embry-Riddle, just finishing up the last bit of CFII (Certified Flight Instructor Instrument). If any of you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help you further understand what it is like to be a student and pilot here at Embry-Riddle. Here goes!

You would think that by the time you become a senior registering for classes is a piece of cake. Well it is and it isn’t. In the beginning, as a freshman, you have this huge grocery list of classes you have to take, and really it is the pick of the litter as they say. However, now as I register for my final semester, each class is a calculated choice that fulfills the final requirements for my degree. Which excitingly are going to be, AS411 (Airline Transport Systems), AS420 (Flight Technique Analysis), and AS408 (Flight Safety). Furthermore in order to get the reduced ATP minimums and have credit for an ATP ground school to that the written exam, I am also taking FA420 (Airline Flight Crew Technique and Procedures). A mouthful I know, and they sound more complex than they really are. The classes listed above are basically very specific classes to help you understand the ins and outs of what it is like being an airline pilot!

The process of registering for classes is really easy. Everything is done online, like shopping on Amazon. You have a “shopping cart” which is were you place the classes you would like to register for. Once in your cart and all you have to click is “enroll.” Very easy system!

Timing is the another factor when registering for classes! You are in the middle of your current class load for the fall semester, — you’re focused, you’re determined, when all of a sudden BAM! You receive the email that it is time to register for spring classes next week. Being a college student really should be called “time management student.” Besides walking out of here with a degree you will become highly skilled in managing your time to the best of your ability. Which is an awesome accolade to have going out into the work force.

With all that being said I have successfully registered for my final semester here at Embry-Riddle on time and very excited. Check out some of the classes I’ve taken and ones that you will take as an Aeronautical Science student here!

Talk to you soon, and stay warm up in the north!

Get Outside! Outdoor Adventure Surrounds You

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Student Spotlights

by Miguel Diaz

Last weekend was really great! On Friday, a good friend who graduated from Embry-Riddle came to visit and we hung out with him for a while. On Saturday, I had my Industrial Hygiene class, and we did our individual topic presentations. After that I was able to finally relax after a long week. But the highlight of the weekend was Sunday, when my friend Alex and I took a few members of the Mountain Club (check out our Facebook page) for a day of rock climbing at a nearby canyon called The Promised Land. The Mountain Club is one of the many student organizations on campus. We are a community of rock climbers and mountain bikers that enjoy one or both of these sports and like connecting with like minded people. As an officer of the club, I love bringing people out on trips and introducing them to the sport of rock climbing. Anyone is welcome regardless of experience or gear ownership. We have taken many beginners and we have plenty of gear that we can loan out to members for use. The only requirement is a sense of adventure!

The canyon is located about 10 miles northeast of Prescott, or directly east of our neighboring town to the north, Chino Valley. There was seven of us going that day. Six students from different majors and even one staff member! Even though the canyon is close in distance, we have to go through some rough dirt roads, so it took us about an hour to get to the climbing area.

We hiked in and started setting up. In rock climbing, each specific path, or line up the rock is called a route, and they vary in difficulty. So we started off by setting up some easy routes up the wall to warm up. Everyone did great and was able to finish them no problem.

We moved on to other routes as everyone was done with the first two. We tried one much harder route that only two of us were able to complete, but the challenge was a lot of fun! We continued on to two others that climbed on some jagged rock leading to a flatter face. Very fun but challenging too! This one seemed particularly enjoyable for most of us, although we were getting a little tired at this point. At this spot I took a picture of one of our members going up the route

And another one of the group as I was descending back down.

After this we moved further down the canyon to do two more routes. One of these routes involved going around a cactus growing out of the wall, and it proved to be quite entertaining to see each other trying to climb up while avoiding it.

At the end, we all had fun throughout the day and everyone enjoyed spending a day outside with beautiful weather in an awesome place with good people. We talked about climbing equipment and gear, about school and classes, joked around with each other, and made plans for future outings. It was a good day and a good weekend for us. And we look forward to more days like these!

Veterans Day Vigil by ROTC!

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Shivam

Veterans Day is a very important day for many students here at Embry-Riddle. Not only does it help students remember sacrifices given by our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, but it also helps many of the veterans on campus reflect back to their time serving our nation. Embry-Riddle has a large Veterans population on campus and has also been named a Top Military-Friendly University for the fifth straight year.

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The Air Force ROTC Honor Corps of Detachment 028 does something special every year for Veterans Day here in Prescott, Arizona. Honor Corps is comprised of three teams; Rifle Drill Team, Sabre Drill Team, and the Honor Guard. These three teams get together 24 hours before the Veterans Day Parade and stand guard at the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs Center in Prescott. Being home to one of the largest VA Centers in the nation, the Northern Arizona Veterans Affairs significantly helps the Air Force ROTC community for Vigil. This 24 hour event is called Vigil. The first picture in this blog was taken by me at around 4:00 am. This goes to show the commitment and the courage of the Cadets that volunteer for this self-less event.

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Being an Alumni of the Sabre Drill Team, this year was no different. I started doing this about three years ago, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Starting at 10 am on Monday, November 10th, our Cadets held one hour shifts to guard the flag pole at the VA Center. The flag was guarded non-stop for 24 straight hours by around 30 cadets, taking multiple 4 man shifts. The Vigil ended at 10 am on Tuesday prior to the Prescott Downtown Veterans Day Parade. By doing this, personally, I have learned quite a bit about myself and what it means to be a future officer in the Air Force. When not on a shift, cadets are usually inside a building, with tons of food, either bonding with each other or spending time getting our homework done. At Embry-Riddle one thing is for sure, as our Colonel always says, “Student First, Cadet Second!”

“Mankind was born on Earth, it was never meant to die here.”

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Chelsea

If you haven’t seen Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar yet and have any idea of what’s best for you, get out there and see it! Don’t worry if you haven’t been fortunate enough to see the movie yet, this post is spoiler free. As a student in our Space Physics program, I had a countdown for the release of the movie and saw it twice in the first 48 hours (no shame). What I was really pleased about was how many people with little physics knowledge still appreciated this amazing work of cinematic art. No seriously, my pilot friends were actually really excited about physics afterwards. That never happens. The movie was scientifically solid with the help of Dr. Kip Thorne and definitely not your typical sci-fi film.

So you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about what-the-Hubble went on in that movie huh? We have amazing professors at ERAU that are here to help. With courses like Relativity, Astrophysics, Space Propulsion, and Particle/Cosmology students are able to explore concepts that were so elegantly displayed in this film and much more. Personally, I felt proud and somewhat accomplished for understanding the entirety of the movie and encourage anyone with the slightest interest in space to get educated! Who knows, with all this information, you might be able to make the next greatest sci-fi movie.

If you’re interested in some of the courses available not just for Physics students but for anyone, check it out here!