So Long!!!!

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Cherie

I am officially signing off for good. It has been an awesome four years blogging for all of our readers out there but, its time to go!! I am happy to say that I have a job now, in the “real world” as the professors at ERAU like to call it.

As some of you know from my previous blogs I got my job through AFROTC, which I was involved in over the last 4 years at Riddle. It is a great program and if you are willing to give it a shot you can learn a lot about yourself while securing a future position in the Air Force. Not everyone makes it through but, boy does it feel good if you are one of the lucky ones who does!

With that said, Thanks again to everyone who read my blog, and to the amazing staff who help us bloggers post our stuff online! Now I get to go somewhere cool to do something fun!!!!! Bye 🙂 🙂

AFROTC – Answers to Your Questions

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Cherie

Hey there everyone per request I am dedicating this post to answering some important questions about AFROTC at Embry-Riddle Prescott!

This is a major question: How do I join ROTC?

There are a few ways to join. You can apply for a scholarship at the AFROTC website and if you get the scholarship you will bring that here to Embry-Riddle OR you can simply sign up! I recommend signing up with the detachment well before you arrive on campus. However, if you are not sure about it until the last minute or even part way through a semester you can probably still join.
When you join I highly encourage you to attend “zero week” it starts a few days before the “normal” students arrive on campus. Being at “zero week” allows you to get an edge on all the other cadets as you receive uniforms, basic training on marching/customs/courtesies, and you can get all your in processing paper work done. It saves you a lot of time and stress later.

2. Is everyone who joins guaranteed a scholarship?

Unfortunately, no. If you do not come in with a scholarship you compete against your classmates to receive one. So keep in mind that you must perform well during your first semester, this includes keeping your GPA up! With that said Detachment 028 is well known for getting tons of scholarships and awards so this is definitely the best detachment to join!

3. How should I prepare?

The best way to prepare is to exercise!!!!!!!!!!! We take a physical fitness assessment known as the PFA. It consists of a 1.5 mi run 1 minute of pushups and 1 minute of situps. If you can’t pass a PFA you can’t stay in the Detachment so please come prepared! We want to help you succeed as a cadet and fitness is the one factor that you have ABSOLUTE control of.
If you can join a JROTC unit to prepare then you will already have a basic knowledge of AF drill, customs, and courtesies. If not, don’t worry about it. We will teach you when you arrive 🙂

If you have additional questions please feel free to ask them below or give us a call at 928-777-6600 you will directed to the AFROTC office where you can get all the info you need!!!! Thanks for reading!

One Month Left!

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Cherie

Classes are finished on April 29th and as it stands we are a month away from Summer break!!! We are all really excited to be finishing up this semester but, I wanted to give y’all a brief update on what I’ve been doing this past few months.

The major project I’ve been working on this semester is the Detail Design of the aircraft that my team conceptualized last semester. The detail work began with building a 1/48 scale model of the full size aircraft and testing it in the closed circuit wind tunnel in the Tracy Dorlyand Wind Tunnel Lab. Testing was not only super fun but, informative too. We tested parametric variations of the model to determine the maximum and minimum aerodynamic loads it would receive. Our test results came out just as we had expected and we are happily feeding them back into the design right now to see what improvements to the original design we can make.

The 3D Printers used for making our model parts!

Once we finish that we will be working on our final presentation which will take place on April 29! If you are visiting the University on that day make sure to have a look at all the interesting Senior Capstone Presentations. If you are looking into engineering you may be working on a similar project in the future 🙂

Other than that I have just been doing regular school work, AFROTC, Space Grant Research, and volunteering. It has been a fun, crazy, and somewhat relaxed semester all at the same time. If you have any questions about what the average day in the life of a senior at ERAU is like feel free to ask! Thanks for reading everyone!

Engineering Detail Design Course – Hard Work and Very Rewarding

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Cherie

A major part of your student career at Embry-Riddle is the capstone course. For engineers the capstone course is comprised of two semesters/courses known as Preliminary and Detail Design. As a student in my freshman year I knew nothing about these two courses and towards the end of my junior year I began hearing quite abit about them. I wish I had known what the two courses entailed much earlier as I would have definitely restructured my game plan as far as fundamental courses go.

Team Daedalus on the last day of the Preliminary Design Course

The Preliminary Design course essentially forces you to use all of the resources you have learned in the past three years at college. You will work crazy hours, get frustrated but you will fall in love with what you are doing. The course teaches you how to be a leader and a member of a team, how to face problems and fix them, but, most important it teaches pride in your work. At the end of the semester you should have an outstanding product and an increased knowledge of professional engineering.

When you move into the Detail Design course you are verifying the information that you presented at the conclusion of the Preliminary Design semester. There are many options to verify assertions. The primary one is wind tunnel testing but, often students choose to fabricate a working prototype of their concept in order to prove that it works. No matter what your team chooses to do the process is extremely rewarding as you get to see how your intuition created a viable product.

I would highly recommend that every student entering these courses attempts to be a program manager or design team lead. As a PM or DTL you are the face of the team, responsible for the schedule, budget, and work produced by the team. I have been a PM for the last two semesters and although it has been very hard it has been extremely rewarding. For those ladies out there, don’t be intimidated, you are just as qualified to lead a team as any other member in your class. In my section of Preliminary and Detail Design I am the only female and I am one of two Program Managers. As long as you are a good manager you will do well but, don’t worry mistakes happen. No one is born a perfect manager and it takes alot of mistakes to figure out your management style. Just hang in there, do good work, take care of your people, and admit when you make a mistake. That’s really all it takes 🙂

I hope this information is helpful to our incoming students as well as our up and coming leaders in the Capstone courses! Thanks for reading!

Fall 2015. Senior Year. Capstone. Yes!

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Cherie

Hey there fellow students/potential students here’s an update on how my first month back has been! So, as you know, I am a senior in Aerospace Engineering and this semester I am working on the Preliminary Aircraft Design course of my Capstone Project. It has been pretty fun so far but is definitely hard. The courses you take prior to the capstone do help out a lot in your preparation for designing an entire aircraft from scratch. But really how cool is that — an entire aircraft from scratch!

I am also continuing to pursue the research I was working on over the summer. Hopefully, the data processing will allow us to write a paper on the research. If we are able to write it then I am hoping that the project will help me in my professional career in the Air Force.

Yes, I am in ROTC here and it rocks!! I am in my fourth year and I have the position of female cadet retention in the detachment. It is super fun because I get to meet cool female cadets, encourage, advise, and PT with them!

That’s pretty much all that I’ve been up to this semester so far, keep checking my blog for more updates, fun, facts, and useful info! If you have any questions for me please feel free to comment below 🙂

AFROTC Commissioning

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Cherie

The Air Force ROTC Det 028 commissioned 21 brand new 2nd Lt.s this afternoon! It was a very exciting ceremony that showed once more how excellent the detachment here at Embry-Riddle in Prescott, AZ is. Two distinguished graduates were named at the event and awarded as their proud families stood by. As a cadet here at Embry-Riddle commissioning is one of the most important events in your career, it is the day that you become an officer. After 4 to 5 years of long, hard work, you have achieved the end goal. For this reason it is very inspiring for cadets who are not yet at the point of graduation to attend as well. Watching a commissioning is motivating as you get to see your friends enter a new and exciting stage in their careers.

If you are a cadet here or at another University I strongly encourage you to attend a commissioning ceremony. For those of our potential students who may be reading this, when you are thinking about your future do not loose sight of the end goal. Ensure that you choose a University that has a reputation for excellence in your chosen field. If it is AFROTC and engineering that you decide on then Embry-Riddle’s Prescott campus is the place to be! We look forward to seeing you here in the future. 🙂

Semester Finale

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Cherie

This is the last week of the semester and it has been crazy! Last homework assignments are due, projects are due, and presentations are due too! Thankfully, we have all been keeping our heads above the water and getting everything done.

I am looking forward to the close of the semester! To stay motivated it helps to think about what I have planned for the summer months.

I will be making money and hanging out. I plan on doing tons of crafts, going hiking, working out, and learning how to make healthy meals on a budget 🙂 What are your plans for summer??

If you are a potential freshman with no summer plans then come on by and check us out! It will be a fun way to break up your summer 🙂

ERAU AFROTC Advantage

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Cherie

Here at Embry-Riddle in Prescott, AZ our Det 028 Air Force ROTC has the privilege of getting to hear from amazing guest speakers who come to share their life experiences in the Active Duty Air Force. Most recently, several quest speakers shared inspiring stories of their military careers and good advice to current cadets who want to commission as officers in the Air Force. They spent their entire day getting to know cadets and answering questions about life in the Air Force. Last night one of the guests even did a low altitude fly over at Prescott’s Love Field, it was amazing!

Our detachment is very lucky to be well known in the Air Force community due to the ties that the world wide campus has with the military and as we produce slightly fewer pilot candidates from our campus than the Air Force Academy. So why not come and join us here as a cadet?

If you are interested in coming out to tour our beautiful campus and checking out DET 028 please contact us! As a cadet and a student here you too can meet some really amazing people who will inspire and cultivate your career goals!

Three Trophies to Air Force ROTC at SCIDM

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Cherie

The Air Force ROTC Honor Corps of Det 028 at Embry Riddle Prescott Az has proudly returned from the Southern Invitational Drill meet with three trophies!!!!! Our teams performed excellently this year and we are more than happy to be returning victorious.

For some who may not know what SCIDM is, it is a drill competition for both senior and junior level ROTC detachments in the nation. The competition celebrated its 50th year on Feb 28th with competition teams as far away as Washington and Utah. From Prescott, AZ it takes about 7 hours to make the trip into Redondo Beach and compete but, it is well worth it. The teams, Rifle, Sabre, and Honor Guard, spend about 10 hours a week perfecting each performance. We are known as one of best Corps in Northern Arizona and we are very proud of it as we put in large amounts of work every week.

If you are interested in joining AFROTC please consider joining a team on the Honor Corps. If you have any questions please let me know I am more than capable of answering them.

College Decisions

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Cherie

When it comes time to make those college decisions it can be pretty scary and intimidating. The best way to do it is to get all the facts. Find a college that has the major you want and if you change your mind about your major ensure that the college has something else your interested in doing. Also, check out there area you will be living in. Do you like the weather there? The city or a rural area? What is the culture like in that area? Make sure you also research stuff you can do in the area. This is something I did not do before I came here, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are a lot of interesting things to do (provided you have the $$) withing a 3 hour radius of Prescott.

Also, look into the living costs of the area. Check out the on campus housing and local housing in the area. When you choose to move off campus you will need to know how much it will cost and if you can afford it. You should also look into the job market in the area. Many college students pick up a job to get some extra cash or to help work there way through school.

The last thing you should check out is students feedback on the university. This blog is a great source of feedback and many universities have similar resources available for potential students to use. I personally, am glad that I chose Embry-Riddle. It is the best place for me academically and for my AFROTC career as well. If I had to make the choice over again I definitely would. 🙂 If you have any questions or requests please let me know!