The Hardest Goodbyes

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Chelsea

Along with graduation, there will come many unwanted and unavoidable goodbyes.

The first will be that one professor. That one professor that has gone out of his or her way to help you too many times to count. That professor that you wouldn’t dare skipping their class because you respect them too much. You have no way of thanking them or telling them how much you appreciated their efforts to assist you through your undergrad. You look up to them, you’ll miss them.

Second will be your squad. Yes, your squad. You know, that group of people that you met freshman year that have seen you at your worst and best. The group of people that know waaaay too much about each other. You can go to them for literally anything. This might arguably be the hardest goodbye. No longer will you be neighbors, a walk away, and there is no way you could ever explain to someone how close you all became.

Third, the best friend. The person who you could never thank enough for putting up with you and your weird tendencies. You admire this person and you’ve spent the better part of your undergrad laughing at whatever life throws at you by their side. Their family is just an extension of your own. When its time to say goodbye, it’ll hard to imagine life without them their to embarrass you…all the time.

And lastly, Prescott and your old self. Time to move on to bigger and better things. Time for a new adventure. You’ve ultimately grown into yourself in this town and whether you want to admit it or not, you love it and saying goodbye won’t be easy.

Still can’t believe how fast four years went by! I consider myself lucky that I have such hard goodbyes to make. ERAU has truly become a home for me and I know we will meet again.

Blue Eagles Skydiving Team!

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Chelsea

ERAU has tons of clubs to join, as seen in Colton’s Vlog awhile ago, but one of the cooler ones (in my opinion) is our skydiving team. Now let me start off by saying I have never skydived, nor do I have the desire to. BUT I am a little biased because my best friend and roommate, Jen, is a part of the team as their outreach chair. Blue Eagles Skydiving team aims to make skydiving accessible and affordable to all students, alumni, and faculty at here at ERAU and they are successful in doing so!

Jen was able to receive her A license from Skydive Phoenix, located in Maricopa, AZ, in just a few months! jen a license Other members on the team are aiming to do the same. The team consists of first timers, experienced divers, and professors. They make trips down to the drop zone together and even have done some vertical wind tunnel training.

This team is such a hit at ERAU because you get both the flying and adrenaline aspects which appeal to most of the students here. As a diver, you start out by doing tandems with a qualified instructor. After that you are free to jump alongside said instructor. Once you get your A license (25 jumps), that allows you to jump at any drop zone! If you are an incoming student and interested in joining, go ahead and like their Facebook page. They have a lot more videos and pictures that I haven’t included that I’m sure will get you hooked. I can’t stress this enough, joining clubs or teams is the best thing you can do here! You can meet tons of people that have the same interests as you. Look for dates for the Activity Fair at the beginning of every semester!

Graduating HS Senior To Do List

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Chelsea

Is your high school graduation quickly approaching? Are you nervous that you are going to forget something before you go off to college? Here is a short checklist that I compiled to help you out.

Get all your paper work done for Embry-Riddle early: Whether it is submitting your final transcripts, making sure your financial aid is sorted out, completing health forms, get it done!
Take control of your courses: First year courses can be a pain, but there are usually more than one of the lower level classes. Look them up! One may be be less painful than the other for you.
Talk to your roommate: Get to know your roommate beforehand, even if its just a Facebook message. Sort out who is bringing what, because next thing you know you have four coffee pots and no room for them.
Hug people: Chances are you didn’t get to where you are on your own, thank the people that got you there, friends, family, your favorite teacher.
Try doing “adult-y” things: Make sure you know how to do your laundry, wake up on your own, make a budget, start eating healthy now! There is nothing worse than being the freshman who isn’t prepared!
Appreciate where you’re coming from: In just a few months, the place you called home will no longer be a daily occurrence. Appreciate the views, the smells, the experiences you’ve had.

Make your own checklist and make sure you don’t forget anything! There are several Facebook groups, admissions counselors, and current students that are here to help. Ask questions if you need!

Spring Break Recap

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Chelsea

Ah, the infamous college spring break. One of the most anticipated breaks of the year. Gather an easy-going group of people, jump in a car, and hit the road.

If you’re a baseball fan, man are you in luck. And even if you aren’t, Phoenix is the hub for spring training and it is pretty awesome. You can go to endless games for a decent price at any of the teams’ stadiums. My friends and I snagged tickets for an Oakland A’s/Anaheim Angels game. Nothing was better than Arizona heat, laying in the lawn, and watching America’s favorite past time.

After Phoenix, we drove back to Prescott for a day or so. But the weather was perfect and I was able to hike Granite Mountain, which is one of the things I will miss the most when I leave this place. Just look at this view.

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I am fortunate enough to have pretty much the most laid back group of friends in existence so we kind of just packed up, and drove to Malibu and camped on the beach at Point Mugu. It was too rad. We were swimming with seals and dolphins just past the wave break. For me, nothing is better than a campfire, roasting marshmallows, card games, the sound of waves, and of course that night sky.

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Next up was Santa Barbara. We hiked through some mountains that had more variety of vegetation than any mountain I have ever seen. At the top, it over looked the city of Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands. The next few days, we were just living the beach bum life off the harbor and ate enough fish to last us a year.

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Finally, we were in Tucson getting even more sun! Don’t ask how it happened, I told you we were spontaneous.

The best part, getting back to Prescott and realizing the school year is almost over! Final stretch. Overall a very fulfilling senior year spring break. Hope yours was equally as great!

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From ERAU to OSU for Graduate School in Medical Physics

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Chelsea

I am so incredibly ecstatic to announce that you are looking at the newest member of the joint Medical Physics program between Oregon State University and Oregon Health and Science University. Upon graduation in May, I will be moving to Portland, OR to start my graduate school career that ERAU has so greatly prepared me for!

It is not uncommon for students in physics to continue their education after earning their bachelors degree. My professors were a huge help in this process by giving me advice, writing me letters of recommendation, and telling me about their experiences in graduate school.

Embry-Riddle offers a select few Master’s degrees and PhD programs which can be explored here, http://prescott.erau.edu/degrees/index.html. I apologize for the short post, I just wanted to share my excitement!!

Must Have Apps for College

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Chelsea

It is a little uncommon these days to see someone using a physical planner around campus. Most people use their phones, tablets, or laptops to stay organized and productive. Me being curious, I went around asking people what their favorite productivity and resource applications were. Here were the top five results with a little info I found on them after researching.

dropbox_logo Dropbox lets you bring all your photos, documents, and videos anywhere and share them easily. Access any file you save to your Dropbox from all your computers, iPhone, iPad, and the web. It’s great for saving large files and group projects.

bjqYUx_0XoQfRcNDh0POeBEo0a4pHprm-xd8zcA-94j-MjJHvj4eu9KqcQ__2C94IQ=w300 Any.do is used for organizing your day. Manage all your tasks, work projects and personal to-dos in one place and collaborate with others to be more productive. If you really want to get stuff done, whether its chores around the house or a critical team project, use Any.do to get it done faster.

images_noticias_6de0fff8bb4f7e5df138b4215b326c51 Remember the Star Trek computer? It’s finally happening–with Wolfram Alpha. Building on 25 years of development led by Stephen Wolfram, it has rapidly become the world’s definitive source for instant expert knowledge and computation. I highly encourage anyone with technical degree to download this!

Evernote

Evernote is where you do the work to achieve it. You can take notes in a clean workspace, get organized in designated notebooks, share ides, keep up with to-dos, manage expenses, plan travel, the possibilities are endless. You can also access this anywhere which makes it even better!

myHomework

myHomework is the best student planner for beauty, simplicity, and reliability. It has a modern design and simple interface making it easy for anyone to use. The app fill their role as a planner without network connectivity.

Another thing, all these apps are accessible for iOS and Android! Check them out!! And let me know what you think!

A Lesson From Newton…

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Chelsea

…and no I don’t mean Sir Issac. I’m talking about the cross-eyed siamese cat that resides in my apartment. If there is anything I’ve learned from Newton, its that sunshine is the best form of therapy. Vitamin D from exposure of our Sun is proven to show an increase in brain function and mood.

School will get stressful and it’ll be easy to get lost in your work but make sure you take the time to keep yourself happy and healthy. Our sunshine activities from this past President’s Day weekend included rock climbing, kayaking, and a lot of lounging.

How cool is it that we live in a place that where its warm enough in February (sorry east cost) to go outside for a whole weekend? Don’t cheat yourself by by skipping a walk on a nice day just because you’re a little busy. Speaking of weather, did you know we have a meteorology here at ERAU? Check out this link to some weather resources! http://meteo.pr.erau.edu/

Science Speaker Series!

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Chelsea

When you are creating your schedule for the upcoming semester, make sure to leave an open block of time at noon on Tuesdays. Why? The Science Speaker Series of course! Every Tuesday in one of the AC1 lecture halls, a guest speaker with give an hour long seminar. These presentations started a few years ago and are quite the hit amongst students and faculty (maybe its the free pizza, I don’t know).

Just last week, Dr. Richard Holdaway from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL Space) in the UK, gave an interesting talk about how countries approach science and technology policies. He also spoke about an ongoing project they are working on called, Lunar Mission One. This is an unmanned lunar landing where they will be retrieving samples that we have never been able to study before. They will also be embedding a “time capsule” of sorts that has documentation of humankind. If you would like to learn more about this mission, (or even send something of your own in the time capsule!!) you can check out the website http://launch.lunarmissionone.com/.

This week we had the pleasure of learning from a local professor from Yavapai College, Dr. Jeb Bevers. He focused on explaining the research he has been conducting while on sabbatical which entails paleontology in Milk Creek. Obviously the speeches can vary pretty drastically between weeks but that is what keeps it interesting! Here is the scheduled speakers for the rest of the semester. Enjoy!

A Weekend Exploring Zion National Park

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Chelsea

We’ve posted a lot on here about outdoor activities in Prescott but what about surrounding Prescott? I can think of seven National Parks off the top of my head that are all within ~7 hours or less from good ol’ PRC. This weekend, we planned a last minute trip to Zion. It seems like Zion Canyon is always overshadowed by The Grand Canyon, but there is no reason for it to be.

“Zion is located along the edge of a region called the Colorado Plateau. Uplift, tilting, and
erosion of rock layers formed a feature called the Grand Staircase, a series of colorful
cliffs stretching between Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. The bottom layer of rock
at Bryce Canyon is the top layer at Zion, and the bottom layer at Zion is the top layer at
the Grand Canyon.”

My friends and I made the trip up to Utah (only took about 5 hours!) to see the underrated National Park. I loved every part of it.

The first day, we hiked Angels Landing which is apart of the West Rim of the Canyon. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Angels Landing is an extremely narrow ridge that comes out in the middle of the Zion Canyon sitting at about 5,790 ft. There are chains securely placed in the rock so that you can pull your self across some of the larger gaps. This hike was not to be taken lightly, there have been six deaths. It was pretty exhilarating to say the least. Here is a quick time lapse of our journey taken with a GoPro.

And then all of a sudden, we had reached the end of the ridge. Winds were fairly strong and the temperature dropped a couple degrees but we still spent some time to take it all in.

Of course, we had to do some yoga and handstands at the top just to test our luck..

The following day, we tackled the East Rim of the Canyon and trekked to Observation Point. The East Rim was much more difficult but Observation Point sits at about 7,000 ft, almost 1,200 ft higher than we were the previous day. It was also a lot less crowded. We stopped in Hidden Canyon and Echo Canyon on the way to the summit.

We spent quite sometime on the edge of the ridge. Partially because it was unbelievably beautiful and partially because we were pooped.

But hey, see that extremely narrow ridge in the middle that look crazy scary to hike? That would be Angels Landing!

Things I Wish I Knew Going Into College

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Chelsea

As a graduating senior, I am looking back on some of the most transformative lessons I’ve learned during the greatest four years of my life. I probably was told these things prior to stepping foot on the ERAU Prescott campus, but it’s kind of one of those learn for yourself type deals. Here’s what I came up with:

Be a yes man (or woman)

In high school I would’ve considered myself judgmental and a cynic. It wasn’t long after I moved into my first room in our Mingus dorm complex that I realized my cynicism was embedded in fear. I became a much better person with a more convincing idea of who I am once I committedly opened up to new experiences and new people. College is the easiest time to make new friends because suddenly you are introduced to hundreds of new faces and most of them probably have similar interests to you. So say yes to joining clubs at the activity fair, going campus events put on by BCA, and eating lunch in the Union because before you know it, your college friends are your family. They will be there for you. They will take that lower-level general ed class with you. They will be there for the late nights and early mornings. They will agree to last minute coffee dates and even last minute road trips. So say yes because at worst, you’ll have a new story to tell.

Don’t forget where you came from

The friendships that you develop in college are wavelengths different than the ones you made growing up. You and your friends from high school share a bond that you won’t find with anyone else because you survived a nightmare together. They are the ones that knew you when you had braces and coordinated rubber band color to the upcoming holiday. They knew you when you dated that jerk but he just looked so cute playing that blue guitar. They knew you when you had a terrible sense of fashion and bleached your hair. They knew all these things about you and they still liked you, so they are worth keeping around. And trust me, when you go home for the holidays, you aren’t going to want to hang out with your family the whole time. In today’s modern world, there is no excuse not to stay in touch with someone. The friends you meet in college are going to be amazing and radical and filled with innovation ideas but your past made you who you are, don’t lose sight of the important people from it.

Your undergraduate love life is not a romantic comedy

Bradley Cooper is not going to spend hours a day practicing a dance routine with you and Anna Kendrick probably won’t make out with you after her stunning a Capella performance, and that is just the reality of it. Here me out, you do not need a counterpart in college. We can sit and agonize over the fact that our latest crush hasn’t texted us back and our best friends will sit there and say things like, “I’m sure his phone is dead” or “He’s probably swamped in homework” and all of these are better than realizing that he is not texting you because he doesn’t want to. But your reliable friend will keep feeding you these excuses because most likely, it has happened to her at some point as well. And by the way, sending him a text at midnight of a kissing emoji won’t suddenly remind him of how much he is in to you. The only thing that will do that is his own desire to do so.

There are no exceptions to this. And that goes for you too gentlemen. Stop bombarding that cute, outspoken girl in your English class with texts and Facebook messages. More often times than not, she’s not reciprocating because she doesn’t want to, not because she’s a “bad texter.” Don’t get hung up on one person if you can help it because there are thousands more dying to meet you! (Cliché, but it’s the truth I swear). College is the time to find the simple joys in being alone. It is when you stop searching and become comfortable with the idea of independence that the right person will come along.