Almost The End

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To those of you who would like to know what freshman year is like at Embry-Riddle Prescott, all summed up in a couple paragraphs, well today is your lucky day. It is almost the end of my freshmen year so i will be writing about, the best parts of getting through it, a few tips, and a few of my experiences.

If you have been keeping up with my blogs, I have already talked about the big move away from home. No body really talks about that part, but it can be tough. The best part about being away from home though in a new environment is the freedom that comes with it. It can be a good thing and help you or it could hurt you if you don’t treat it with respect. From my experiences as being a freshmen getting adjusted, keeping yourself busy helps you learn to manage your time wisely and keeps you on the right track to success. I have seen great success because if it and tragic failures.

The next big thing that can make a difference your freshmen year, is continuing to do things that you enjoy, keeping you hobbies or developing new ones is a great way to relieve stress from the school work. Yes it does get stressful. There are many clubs at campus, Embry-Riddle makes it easy for students to be involved with the campus. We have clubs that range from, Rock Climbing to Dance and even Martial Arts. If you are in ROTC, you will have plenty of options to get involved, the more you get involved the more friends you will make, it is easy to meet new people especially at Embry-Riddle, most people here staff included are very outgoing and very approachable. In fact one of the great things about the staff here is how approachable they are. some teachers even host events such as taking a group of people down to phoenix to watch a baseball or hockey game. its a great way to get to know the professors and hear some of their great stories or projects they are working on.

The first year is tough but some of the best parts about getting through it are the unexpected. You never know whats coming around the corner but that is the best part. You will meet a lot of great new people that have common interests and degrees. You will have great memories and a lot of laughs, but knowing you finished your freshmen year successfully is a great accomplishment and great way to start your career.

In this blog i went over a good way to deal with your free time, and a great way to keep yourself on the right track to success. I gave you a few personal insights, and a good way to get involved on campus.

Thank you for reading, I hope this was informative. If there is anything else you would like to know specifically. Feel free to let me know.

Update on My Second Semester

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Hey everybody so as you know this is my second semester at Embry Riddle Prescott and its time for my update on how everything is going 🙂

Right now I am taking Digital Circuits and the lab, Engineering Economics, Calculus 2, Physics 2, and ROTC courses. They all seem to be going really well but, I think my most favorite course is Digital Circuits Lab because here is where you get to implement what you learn in the class and it is a ton of fun. Pretty much all you do is wire circuits, program circuits with VHDL, create state diagrams, and verify circuit functions with oscilloscopes. It sounds tough but in reality it sooooo easy and you will come to love it once you get a good lab partner and a system for accomplishing the lab.

The class that I enjoy the least is Engineering Economics because it kinda seems pointless to me. I took Micro/macro economics in high school and passed the AP exam but, I had to take this course as an elective as I got credit for all the other electives except this one. All in all I have really low motivation to show up to class but, I motivate myself by thinking that its an easy A that will boost my GPA  and give me a “cushion” just i case I don’t do so well in one of my other courses. Even with this logic behind my motivation it is still very difficult to make myself care about the course. This is the second time I have encountered this in my college career and I’m sure it will become a persistent problem for me and perhaps any other students who are coming into college. The best advice I can give you is to know yourself, know what courses you like and which ones you don’t but, treat them equally as you study and do your homework.

The best way to do this is to follow the tips below:

1. Do the homework you don’t enjoy before doing the homework that you do enjoy, for example, I do my economics homework before doing my digital circuits homework that way I know I will complete it and do it well.

2. Give yourself incentives. Watch a movie or go hang out when your done with homework and continually remind yourself that the work you put into your “pointless class” is really inflating your GPA all to your benefit.

3. Always show motivation in class. This will catch your professors attention and when you need help they will be more willing to help you out as they know that you are taking their course seriously. TIP: Also, they are more likely to round  up your grade if you are on the border line of a higher letter grade and you consistently show motivation in class.

4. Finally, talk about it with others. Tell them you are having trouble caring about the class, they might have the same issue and maybe you both can work through the issue together.

I hope these suggestions will help you if you ever encounter this type of a situation, Thanks for reading!!!!!

Easter at Riddle

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Since we just all finished up our Easter festivities I thought that some of you might be wondering where the tradition of dying eggs originally came from, well if you recall that civilization we all studied in World History sophomore year of high school then you will remember the Mesopotamians. These people originally carved and died Ostrich eggs in celebration of the rebirth and fertility that the spring season brings. Of course this caught on in other regions as a result of world trade and different peoples across the world incorporated this art into their own traditions.

It is for this reason that most people as kids got to decorate eggs and hunt them each spring. We all have our own variations on the tradition, for example my family always hides the candy filled eggs, but we eat the dyed hardboiled ones at brunch after a contest to see who has the toughest egg. I only won this contest once lol, but there have been quite a few attempts on my part to win in the past.

At Embry Riddle the tradition is that the campus comes together as a community and has a massive Easter egg hunt. There are your standard candy eggs and if you’re lucky enough, you will get one of the special eggs which have cash inside or tokens for other sweet prices like Ipads or giant stuffed bunnies. No matter what you get the hunt is always a fun time to bond with other students and build up morale in the few weeks left before spring finals.

Whatever your tradition is always enjoy it and be ready to accept new takes on this spectacular holiday 🙂 We hope that your Easter was awesome and that some day you will join us here at Embry Riddle Prescott for an Easter Egg hunt in the future!!

A New Way to Sell Seats on Commercial Airlines?

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Hello everyone today I thought Id talk about a rather interesting topic related to aviation, it is…drumroll please…..the use of attractive female flight attendants to increase ticket sales. If you would rather form your own opinion before reading mine then please feel free to check out the link below and read the story. If not please continue reading and I’ll outline the three major reasons I disagree with this new approach.

  1. Conformity and “Type Casting”
  2. Prevents qualified women from getting good jobs
  3. Attempts  to corner a market in a way that will not really affect demand

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/20/travel/asia-flight-attendants/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

  1. The biggest issue that I have with this tactic is that it teaches women that beauty is more important than brains. In our modern society we have been actively combatting this mentality so why are we still trying to instill this notion in young women? This is definitely counterproductive as it limits women to roles that require little thought and will stunt their professional progress. Think of it this way, there are many actors in Hollywood right? How many actors do you now that have been “type cast” into specific roles (meaning they only play one type of character and we don’t get to see the full range of their talents). Almost every actor has been thrown into a skill set, take for instance Tom Cruise, he is very famous and everyone should know of him, he always plays the action man. Because of his early action film roles he has been stuck in action film acting for years, he deviates very little from this skill set and this limits the range of his talents as an actor. This is exactly what I mean in relation to women, a woman who is told to get the job she wants she must be pretty and good at serving people limits her possibilities by conforming to a role that she cannot fulfill happily. She might have other dreams to reach but, by telling her she is only good for being pretty and serving people she will slowly forget her dreams and become just that, a service girl for the rest of her life. She will never be happy and will always regret that she did not follow her wishes, so please do not force a job like this onto anyone, actors or women, it is not morally correct.
  2. Another situation arises in my mind that I am sure has been encountered before in the industry is that this approach to hiring prevents well qualified women who may not be as “pretty” as others from getting the job. Who is to judge whether a woman is pretty or not, we are all beautiful people in our own ways as there is more to beauty than pure outward looks. Beauty in definition encompasses one’s personality more so than it does outward appearance. Since beauty is such a difficult aspect to judge upon your first encounter with an individual why then would you attempt to hire on the basis of aesthetic qualities? It makes absolutely no sense, what ever happened to the good old resume and diploma? If you are qualified via experience and training to hold a job then you should be hired for it, this concept falls under the equal opportunity laws that are now being introduced into other countries besides America. Basically these laws state that every individual, no matter how they appear on the outside should be given equal consideration in the hiring process, and that the individual hired should be selected based on their qualifications to perform the job. So let’s follow the common sense way of hiring and stop baring good workers from their jobs!!!
  3. Finally, the demand for air travel will only increase with population growth so why is there a sudden need to earn more cash with this type of a hiring process. No matter what the average commuter will pick the lowest cost option for flying, they don’t really care too much about the in flight service. So by attempting to earn more money by hiring attractive female flight attendants corporations are only hurting themselves as they spend countless dollars trying to determine who the prettiest girl is and how they can make her even prettier. Not only that but, they spend even more money on advertisements like those mentioned in the article to depict attractive women, thinking that this will somehow increase their revenues? The simple economic rule is that the ticket buyer will pay only the cheapest price they can get and the airlines that offer these attractive flight attendants are not the cheapest in regards to tickets. So, again supply and demand states that their approach is not going to get them very far at all, in fact in may put them in the other direction…towards bankruptcy perhaps?

Only time will tell what the end result is I hope you enjoyed reading my opinion on this matter and again I encourage you to do your research and form your own. The link to the article is above, please check it out and let me know what you think.

Bataan Memorial March

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Happy Easter followers. I hope you are enjoying my blog so far, today i am going to talk about my ways to keep yourself busy, how community service is beneficial and mainly experience at the Bataan Memorial Death March this past month.

One of the ways I keep myself busy and on track with school is by getting involved, and challenging myself to new heights, attainable goals that is. Not only does keeping yourself busy help your grades but you will have better experiences and memories.  Not just getting involved in the school but the community as well by doing community service. It is proven that a student who has a well balanced schedule will have better grades then a student who does no or little extra activities.

So the last community service act i participated in was the Bataan Memorial Death March, in White Sands, New Mexico. Participating in this event with a few members from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University AFROTC Detachment.

It wasn’t just any community service though, it was a weekend long experience that i will never forget. The Bataan Memorial Death March is a 26.2 mile hike/run that raises money for the Wounded Warrior Project, it really is an experience seeing different kinds of people from all over the world, not only the states but from 7 plus countries come to support and challenge them selves in this event.

HINT: Community Service looks great on RESUMES. Even if you are in ROTC this       (and other Community service) looks good on your part towards the cadre and your peers especially if you need a pilot slot or field training position.

Taking me ten and a half hours to complete with a ruck, I will definitely be back for the next several years to participate, whether you do it alone or with a buddy i would suggest checking it out online.

For more information, visit www.bataanmarch.com

Not only are you receiving community service for events like this and supporting the troops in a big way but getting a great experience. And if you like challenges then this is something yo wont want to miss.

Events like this are also a great way to motivate yourself in life, especially if your a college student and want to take a little break and have a great time while being productive at the same time.

Thank you for reading, i certainly hope you enjoyed this topic. For more information or a specific blog feel free to let me know.

Away From Home

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Hello there followers, i am writing this blog today to give more of an insight to those incoming freshman that are looking forward to college but don’t really know what to think about the move away from home. As i am a current freshman at Embry-Riddle, Prescott campus i have a few tips and insights for you. The main things i felt that should be addressed is dealing with the freedom you gain,getting over home sickness and getting help when you need it.

As you may have heard, Freshman year is said to be the toughest by many people. It is tough, not because of the work load but because you do not know what to expect and your away from home, the normal life.  The biggest problem i faced first semester was the freedom, you have to be able to handle it and keep yourself in line because there is no one here to do that for you. No parents, a car, money and no curfew really determines weather you can handle it or not in just a couple of months. so keep yourself busy, join clubs, sports, go to the gym, watch movies, and do some volunteer work.

The next thing you will most likely face is being home sick, and the emotional side of making a big change in your life. It will happen unless of course you live down the road but yes. The thing i miss most was home cooked food, and just the presence of your family. The best way i have found to coup with that is to use your cell phone! just by calling home. And if you need advice your parents most likely have a good answer.But keep in contact and stay busy, do things that relax you and get your mind off things, because although school is very important staying pleasantly happy will affect your grades.

Last but not least, getting help when you need it. As a freshman you will most likely need the tutoring,insight of a senior or help from a teacher to get through. I felt weird having to go to tutoring because i have never needed it before but it was the best thing for me next to using the instructors office hours. Especially the free tutoring on campus, and the instructors office hours. Going to your instructor could be the best thing if you are struggling in class or want to get ahead, they are there and they, they are very approachable ,especially at Embry-Riddle, and they are helpful. So do not be afraid to get the help when you need it, the earlier the better.

Well thank you for reading, i hope i have been informative and helpful. If you have any further questions or would like me to go in depth about some things let me know.

Thank you.

Embry-Riddle Prescott Preview Day 2013: Now Boarding

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If you haven’t heard yet, we are now boarding for your next stop along your college journey: Preview Day 2013. Every year, the Prescott campus invites accepted students and their families to come check out every inch of this amazing campus.

How much do you get to explore? As much as you want! With our doors wide open, we encourage you to look at our classrooms, dorms, demonstrations, and our flight line. You even have the opportunity to go up in one of our state-of-the-art aircraft and observe a current student and their instructor! Our hope is that when you come visit the Embry-Riddle Prescott campus, you feel that this is your college destination; your home away from home. On Saturday, April 13th, you have the opportunity to meet your future professors, talk with current students, and meet other accepted students!

Also during Preview Day, there will be meetings for you to learn more about classes, professors, and other information about your major. You get to receive your Eagle card/student ID and register for fall classes! When you arrive in the morning, we offer a delicious continental breakfast before the welcome address. In the afternoon, we invite you to our dining hall for a complementary lunch with other accepted students in your college and an opportunity to talk with current students while you eat.

If all that wasn’t enough, as part of our thank you for coming to Preview Day, we will give you our Embry-Riddle Travel Grant that will be added to your student account that will become a credit towards your first year! The amount depends on how far you traveled from home to our campus. If you have already visited our campus before, then you have already received this grant.

All we ask of you is that you please RSVP to http://prescott.erau.edu/admissions/preview/ so we can prepare materials for you. We will provide you with a schedule of the days events and other information.

I will be working on Preview Day for Admissions, so I hope to see you here on April 13th!

What are Your Hobbies?

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Hello there, I was just wanting to get to know a little bit more about our readers, so I was curious what your hobbies are and if you would like to know a little more about me.

I have several hobbies, some of which are weird but, hey I am an engineer and a cadet so I’m bound to be pretty strange anyways right. So things that I enjoy doing are separated in three categories they are my Air Force hobbies, my personal hobbies, and my engineering hobbies.

My Air Force hobbies are shoe shining, ironing my uniform, making up workouts for PT (because I am one of the Physical Fitness Officer’s assistants), and hanging out in the DMZ (our lounge for cadets) with my Honor Guard team/family. If you choose to join any military organization you will soon find yourself enjoying these hobbies, and seriously you will enjoy them. Shining and ironing are actually quite relaxing and they give you a sense of pride in wearing the uniform as your appearance will be excellent as a result of your own skills. It can also be really fun to help others with their uniform because you get to contribute to someones uniform knowledge and support their appreciation of the uniform that we wear.

My personal hobbies are bike riding, fixing bikes, playing pool, swimming, hiking, running, making bracelets, writing blogs (obviously!!), taking walks, and cleaning. The last one is a little weird but, I like to clean things, it is the greatest feeling to know that a dirty place is now spotless because of your work. The same goes with fixing bikes, the bike I brought to college with me is one that I spent countless hours fixing until it was in a condition better than brand new. In whatever I do I love the thrill of watching something transform into a better state as a result of the work I put into it. I enjoy the other hobbies I have because I love to be outside just to look at and enjoy the parts of life that nature itself transformed into the land formations that we see everyday.

So finally my engineering hobbies are calculus, building/programming circuits, researching engineering topics, and avoiding English classes as best as I can. As an engineer calculus is the building block to everything, all engineers must take three calculus courses and learn to love the topic to its very core. Personally, I could integrate things for eternity that’s how much I adore calculus lol. Building and programming circuits is something you will either love or hate as an engineer as all engineering majors must take a class called Digital Circuits, this is paired with a lab class in which you will construct and eventually program functions to verify logic that you will learn in the class. This is a ton of fun but, if you do not take it seriously and really work hard at it then you will not enjoy the class or receive exceptional scores. Researching topics is motivating to me as I see what others have done with their degrees and what I could possibly accomplish with mine. Lastly, avoiding English classes is a great past time, try to get these all out of the way in high school they are a waste of your time and money in college. That’s it, plain and simple. You are here for your degree, not to learn English, you should already know it at this point, except for those who come from other countries these classes might be necessary but, for those of us who spent all our previous school years in an English class there is no point in continuing that in college. The best way to not take English in college is to take and pass the AP English exams, they are pretty easy and the credits you get from these will exempt you from college English courses so avoid them if you can!!!!

Well that’s about it for my hobbies, I’d like to hear some of yours so please comment below. I look forward to hearing from you!!

Staying for Summer?

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When you think about whether or not you should stay and take summer courses there are a few things to consider. These are: money, internships/summer jobs, and continuity.

Firstly, do you have the money to stay for summer? Summer tuition is typically discounted at 10% the regular cost for credits. For flight some classes are rumored to be free over the summer. However, you will then need to live either on campus or in the local area as well as paying for a meal plan or buying your own groceries. This can be costly for summer tuition, but pair this with a job or any leftover loan money and your summer tuition should be a breeze to pay.

The second possibility that you must consider is if you will receive a full time summer job or internship. I highly encourage you to go out for internships even as a freshman, several freshman that I know were accepted for internships this year so you could be next!! Internships will provide you with a wage or salary and many also fund your room and board with allowances each month whereas a job serves only as a source of income and often will not provide these monthly allowances. If you are taking courses over the summer a job is great but only part time. If you are hired for a full time job it is advisable that you find a cheap place to live or perhaps save money by staying with friends or family, you can contribute with grocery money or odd jobs around the house rather than paying the rent. The money you earn from either of these options can go straight into your tuition for next year, and if used in this manner it can also be deducted from your taxes as going toward your education.

The last and in my opinion one of the most important aspects you must consider when choosing whether or not you should stay over summer is continuity. This is basically continuing your education and studies so that you do not loose any of your skills or knowledge over your time away. All the courses you take are building up your knowledge and skill set so that you can continue on into your career with a wide range of facts that you can utilize to succeed. Putting off your education for a semester or even for a summer can set you far back in your knowledge base and you might have to relearn critical elements of courses you took in the last semester you attended school so that you can continue in your course work. This can be very detrimental to your GPA as most students do not look back on their previous courses until the problem is almost unsolvable and they achieve a far lower score than they desired in the course. Furthermore, it can be highly beneficial to take courses in order to reduce the time in which you graduate and to save money on what you would pay for regular tuition as well. However, if you do choose to take a semester off or you are forced to for financial issues there are two things that you absolutely must do:

1. Get a job to help pay the bills, or maybe even two, many college students do this.

2. Continue in your studies, review past material that you covered and prepare for the courses that you will be taking when you return to school.

I hope that these 3 things to consider have got you thinking about your summer plans, it’s not too late to make a decision so don’t let time catch you by surprise. This is your career it is solely in your hands, Good Luck!!

Recreation at Riddle

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If you are the athletic or outdoorsy type you will love the Prescott campus of Embry-Riddle!!

We have some great facilities for recreation, hanging out, and club/organization use, these I will list and explain in the following portion of my blog but, first I would like to have you note that Prescott is also full of fun things to do. If you like to bowl, see a movie, go to the mall, well we have all of that and more!! There are also local shooting ranges, camp sites, hiking areas etc etc etc. So on the weekends after you finish up homework go out and explore this beautiful area, if you can’t get a ride off campus bring a bike, it’s a fun way to see the sites and to get some fresh air. If you don’t have a bike then check out what our campus has to offer you:

Swimming pool: Open seasonally, the pool is equipped with pool toys, diving boards, and safety personal so no fear dive right in and cool off from the summer heat. Just don’t forget the sunscreen!!

Activities gym: There are two of these, one is the larger gym that is used for the universities teams and organizations and the smaller gym which is almost always open for anyone. You can check out a basketball from the athletic gym (weightlifting, running, etc. gym) and start up a game or you can scale the climbing wall located in the smaller gym which is opened in the spring and summer semesters.

Athletic gym: For all the people who want to get in some serious shape or want to study while they workout then this is the place for you. The gym includes equipment to work every muscle in your body and can be used at your leisure.

Fields: Embry-Riddle Prescott has three fields one for softball, one for soccer, and one for general use. There is also a track circling around the soccer field. These are always open to anyone to use at any time.

Outdoor Basketball: There are two outdoor basketball courts on campus, one is located outside the smaller gym and the other is  between Academic Complex 1 and the lower parts of campus.

Indoor Activities: The Student Union’s Lower Hanger hosts pool tables, shuffle board, video games, computers for 24 hour use, and a fire side lounge for all students to use at their leisure.

This is only a small list of what Embry Riddle Prescott has to offer, I strongly encourage you to schedule a visit today and check us out!! Thank you!!