The Sabre Drill Team!

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Shivam

It has been said that the friends you make in College are the ones you will keep forever. I strongly believe in this quote. Here at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I have made many friends that impact me both personally and academically. From spending countless amount of hours together in class to hanging out on weekends, these people make me a better student and a better person.

From being involved in Air Force ROTC, Silver Wings, ASIS International, Eagle Eye, Cyber Eye, to working in Admissions, I have met many people who I will keep in touch with throughout my life. Everyone here at Embry-Riddle is motivated and has the same drive that you do, and that is what makes these friendships unique. One of the most important groups is the Sabre Drill Team.

Being a member of Air Force ROTC, I have also chosen to participate in Honor Corps. Within Honor Corps, I have been the Commander and a successful member of the Sabre Drill Team. The friends I have made while being a part of the Sabre Drill Team, are those types of friends that I will keep forever. With this particular group of people, going on monthly hikes is something we all love to do. Aside from mentoring the underclassman, as an Alumni of the team, I get to hang out with them outside practice and ROTC. Another reason why I will keep these friends forever, is because they have been able to help me academically as well. Sometimes all you need is a study session with your friends to get things going!

Hiking in the Granite Dells near Watson Lake and Willow Lake is perhaps the best way to hang out and bond with friends. Even if you aren’t an outdoor person, you will learn to embrace Prescott’s beauty! My best memory with the team was when we initiated new members. We took a large group of people out to the Dells and ended the gorgeous hike with the afternoon sunset and a presentation of the swords.

Phoenix Open during Super Bowl Weekend!

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Mike

So all I have done thus far really is just talk about work, and more work. We do, believe it or not, have fun! Prescott itself is located right on the boarder of the Prescott National Forrest and can offer many exciting hikes in the surrounding mountains. We have Sedona, AZ with all of its beautiful red rock only an hour away. In addition, Flagstaff is just an hour and a half drive away, which in the winter, is awesome for skiing and snowboarding! Las Vegas can be exciting for those over 21, which is only just over 3 hour drive away!

However, the big destination for most students is going to be Phoenix, which is only a short 90 minute drive away! This past weekend was a big one for Phoenix with not only Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium, but also the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale. If you are a sports fan Phoenix was the place to be!

Now the Phoenix Open is a different golf tournament from most with the 16^th hole being one big party! It is the only hole in the PGA where you can just scream and be obnoxious the entire time, and not get into too much trouble. This year was a bit of disappointment with both Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods missing the cut at the same tournament for the first time since 2002. However be that as it may, my friends and I left Prescott early on Saturday around 6 AM to get there in time. Glad we did, because only ten minutes after we got to the 16^th hole stands did they meter how many people could go in, and a huge line formed. We waited for a couple hours before the first players even teed off, let alone got to the 16^th hole. It was worth the wait though. For only the second time since Tiger Woods in 1997, a hole in one, took place! Yeah that’s right; Francesco Molinari aced the 16^th hole! Which the tradition has always been if this takes place to throw your…beverage of choice…onto the green! If you watched ESPN on Saturday night you would have seen this. IT WAS AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!

If this wasn’t enough after we had our golf fix, we went over to Phoenix Sky Harbor to do some plane spotting for the Super Bowl traffic. The night ended with stopping by Westgate in Glendale where the Super Bowl was to see the action. It certainly was a fun Saturday that was a nice change of pace from normal work at school!

Next weekend, I go to Los Angeles for the USA vs. Panama soccer game, more pictures to come!

I chose Embry-Riddle because of Spy Camp

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Student Spotlights

Hi my name is Jessica Embrey. I am a freshman here at Embry-Riddle. I am majoring in Global Securities and Intelligence Studies. I have always been interested in this line of work. I think it would be cool to work as an analyst, in an embassy, doing field work, or in counter intelligence.

My brother had just started at Embry-Riddle so I was learning more about the school and the different majors when one really caught my attention – Global Security and Intelligence Studies. GSIS, it was everything I wanted to do concentrated in a college major. Then I heard about spy camp. It was the perfect way to try out my interests so I signed up!

My experience at spy camp was amazing. I met so many cool people that I am still friends with to this day. I also learned a lot more about what I wanted to do in my future. I experienced what it’s really like, not just what you see on TV (even though TV was a big part of how I decided I want this). The camp was very in formative and a lot of fun! We did so many cool activities like encryption and surveillance. It really helped to show me a different side of gathering intelligence. Attending Spy Camps is something that I recommend to everyone who wants to go into this field of work. No matter what summer camp you go to here at Embry-Riddle you will have fun and learn a lot of things. Whether it is an engineering camp, flight camp, or spy camp you will learn a lot and have a good time while also getting a look into a perspective career field and even getting a look at Embry-riddle to see if you want to come here one day! So take my advice, come to camp!

My Most Inspiring Professor Dr. Moshier

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Cherie

We have some great professors here at Embry-Riddle, and my personal favorite is a gentleman named Dr. Moshier. He teaches Structures I at the Prescott campus and of all the professors I have had during my three years here I consider him to be the best.

Dr. Moshier used to work with the Air force as a structural analyst and now owns a business as well as working at Embry-Riddle. He is one of those guys who works here because he likes to help others, not because he needs a job. Structures is one of the hardest courses here at Riddle and it requires many hours of homework. I spent tons of time in Dr. Moshier’s office asking questions and solving problems last semester. He was more than willing to take time out of his schedule to help me work through each problem or question that I had in regards to the homework. No question was too dumb and Dr. Moshier respectfully addressed each point of issue I had with the homework.

Additionally, the homework assigned was always challenging and allowed me to use the concepts I learned in class. I walked away from the course with an extremely high knowledge in Structures and it is now my passion. I hope to be able to use the knowledge that Dr. Moshier passed on to me during my upcoming career.

He is just one of the amazing and inspiring professors we have here at Embry Riddle. If you want to attend a school with a great student culture and professors who dedicate themselves to your education then Embry Riddle Prescott is the place for you. Stop on by and take a tour today!!

Rainy Day in Prescott AZ

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Cherie

Its not every day that we get the pleasure of wearing rain boots and splashing our way to classes here in Prescott AZ but, we were fortunate enough to experience rain all through last night and into early morning today. See some of the gorgeous pictures of our rainy day sunrise here in Prescott 🙂

Water dripping from the branches

Clouds

Reflection of the clouds in a puddle

Gorgeous right!! Come on by to visit us on this beautiful day 🙂 You can schedule a visit here, if you have any questions please feel free to call. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Winter Weather Man

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Adam

Hello readers, if you aren’t currently an Embry-Riddle student then you might be wondering what the weather is like out here in Prescott, AZ. Well lucky for you I will be getting into how the weather is and how it changes mostly in respect to winter. This will be especially helpful for those coming from warm climates like myself.

So ERAU in Prescott definitely gets FOUR seasons! Summer is hot, fall is bipolar, winter is cold and spring is a usually a good mix of warm and cold weather. But you must be wondering how cold it actually gets here… Well last week it reached 37 degrees (F) during the day! That’s crazy!…..I don’t want to scare you so ill lighten it up with some good news, such as this weeks weather. The average for the week turned out to be 56 degrees (F) midday, and 34 degrees at any given time after dark.

So be prepared for the winter! while it is only this cold during the winter it does lighten up in the fall and spring, which are quite pleasant and beautiful. Being able to come out here and experience four seasons its great, there is really nothing like Prescott. For instance below is a photograph taken of Watson Lake after its snowed, which is right around the corner from ERAU. In fact most students that run, tend to run to the lake and back which takes about 30 minutes to get there, its a great trail!

But enough about how cold it gets, the real question is, does it snow at Embry-Riddle and how often? Well for the past 3 years that I have gone to ERAU in Prescott it has snowed on average 10 to 15 days each year. And i would say about three of those days does it actually come down in a storm that makes it hard to drive. So if you drive you could get away without buying chains no problem but I have some anyway. The other thing to know about snow here is that is melts very fast rarely staying on the roads for more than half a day. As soon as the bright Arizona sun hits it, it’s gone. I hope you enjoyed this blog, stay tuned for more!

Here is a link to a website that has a great amount of detail about the weather in Prescott, AZ. http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/US/AZ/Prescott.html

Chinese Courses at Embry Riddle

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Cherie

This blog is a shout out to one of our readers who was wanting to know more about Chinese courses at Embry Riddle. I was able to find and interview several current students in the Global Intelligence and Security Chinese Program and this is what they had to say.

“The program is super fun and intense at the same time. Each course you take (one semester) is actually equivalent to learning one year of the language. It is high paced but, the professors are really helpful and clear with the material so it is challenging as well as interesting. There is also an opportunity for students to go to China between the Sophomore and Junior year in order to completely be immersed in the culture. The trip really helps to cement your knowledge in the language and can help you get future jobs. In addition to that you get great connections with the people you meet on the trip and gain many life long friends. As far as the schedule goes, you do have a lot of free time to do homework and group work because classes are spread out well. There are actually tutors for the Chinese program as well and being able to talk with them is really great as most of them have extensive backgrounds in the language.”

“In all despite the challenges that the program can present it is really fun and totally worth doing.” All of the Chinese Students that I interviewed said that taking Chinese at Embry-Riddle is the best decision they have made in their college career.

If you have any more questions please let me know or give the Admissions department a call 🙂 Thanks for reading.

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!

What can I do when I’m not studying? – [ERAU Activities Fair 2k15 VLog]

Posted on January 21, 2015 by Colton

Alot of college is about studying to make those very important grades… but obviously you can’t study for the entire 4 years of college right? Check out this video to see a few of the numerous on-campus clubs we have to fill up your free time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeQCUdQ_WtE&index=17&list=PL793E000DD1CD6326

Do you like these new Video Blogs I’m doing? Comment below and let me know! Suggestions and questions are always encouraged!

CFI New Hire Ground School!

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Mike

Not going to lie, it felt weird beginning my last semester as an undergraduate student here at ERAU. Time went by faster than I could have ever imagined. Three plus years later, I have had experiences and made friendships that I could have scarcely imagined prior to actually attending. Nevertheless I digress, onward to bigger and better things!

The beginning of January did not only mark the beginning of classes, but the beginning of CFI New Hire class as well. This month the Embry-Riddle Flight Line hired a total of five new instructors, myself included. Having gone through a new hire ground school with Cape Air in the fall of 2013, I felt myself feeling prepared for what lay ahead. The key to any ground school, whether it is with a new company or even classes here at school, is to always get ahead. The instructors usually send out the material they will be referencing in class in an email prior to the school’s actual start date. In this case, with Embry-Riddle, we had about 3 weeks to study up.

Having used some of Christmas Break to brush up on details I may have forgotten, I walked into the new hire with excitement. Overall, the ground school was broken up into two pieces. The first piece was more administrative stuff, policies and procedures for example. As a student pilot over the last three years, I have become familiar with the policies concerning the students. As I transition to a flight instructor, now I have to learn the policies influencing instructors on a daily basis. The big ones include how to schedule your students on ETA (our scheduling software), and of course duty time restrictions. If you reference 14 C.F.R. Part 61.195, you will see we instructors have laws restricting us on how long we can actually work. Furthermore, the flight line has more rules.

The second part of the ground school was all about the FUNDAMENTALS! If there is one topic that was most certainly drilled into our heads it is the fundamentals. When I reference the fundamentals I mean straight and level flight, climbs, descents, and turns. These four aspects, or a combination thereof, make up all of the flight maneuvers you will learn throughout your training. We as pilots cannot continue to make progress if we do not have the fundamental foundation to move forward. Therefore, the fundamentals played a huge part in our ground school and will continue to do so for the actual flight training we conduct.

With the successful completion of CFI New Hire Ground School as of last Friday, here’s to the successful completion of new hire flight training. Hopefully, within the next few weeks I will begin to receive students. If you remember my earlier blog, I talked about time management. Being enrolled in classes, traveling for admissions, and now teaching actual flight students will be the culmination of time management as my time here at ERAU, as a student, begins to come to a close.

More to come, talk to you all soon!