Tag Archives: Prescott

Prescott Valley Police Department

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As promised before, I want to share my experiences with my new internship at the Prescott Valley Police Department. Unfortunately, I have not found too much free time to head over there too often, but the time I do set aside has been well worth it! I had the chance to go on a patrol ride with another Volunteer. He is actually attending graduate school at Riddle. (small world!) He is a really nice guy and he helped me to learn a lot more about law enforcement. Unfortunately, there was not too much excitement the day we went out for a ride. One guy ran out of gas at an intersection, so we got to direct traffic. There was also a car accident with a school bus (no one was harmed). Looked like the lady driving the car was not paying attention and rear-ended the bus driver. We stayed on the scene until officials came and took over. We wrote a few parking tickets, and did some house-watch requests. It was pretty fun!

I also spent some time trying to perfect my recovery of fingerprints on objects such as glasses and windows. It is a LOT harder than it looks. But it was a great learning experience and the head of the forensics department told me that my lifted prints looked better than some of the officers’. (shhh…we do not want to hurt their feelings. ha ha)

Just recently, I had the opportunity to go to Flagstaff to the big forensics/evidence lab. We took evidence from 5 different police stations around here (Prescott, Prescott Valley, Sheriff’s Department, Chino, and the Indian Reservation) and put them in the evidence van and took it all to the lab in Flagstaff. It was a nice drive. I learned a lot more about the chain of custody and how important it is to log everything that is done with the evidence because it will be used later in court. It is really interesting!

If you are interested and intrigued with security, forensics, and/or working for the government or law enforcement, I would really suggest volunteering for your local police department. They are all very helpful individuals and they are very willing to teach you as much as they know and once you have worked with them, I bet you any one of them would be willing to write you a nice letter of recommendation which will come handy once you are looking into a future career in the government. It is a lot of fun and educational!

Winter in Prescott!

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After the summer weather of +70 F, the next season to hit the campus is winter. Yes, I know that fall season should fall in between summer and winter, but it is more of a sharp transition.

The first snowfall here at ERAU was on November 18th. There was occasional snow in between then and the last week of November, but on December 1st, the clouds dumped snow by truckload. Most of the time, the snow does not stick and is mostly gone by noon the next day. However, the storm dropped temperatures enough (at least to 10 F) so that there is still snow over a week later! Here is a picture of snow over Prescott from my flight yesterday.

My group of friends and I went to the annual City of Prescott Tree Lighting Ceremony in downtown and the lights plus snow created the perfect winter wonderland image. Here is a picture of our group downtown!

And here are two pictures of the courthouse all lit up!

Hopefully we will get more snow because it puts you in a good mood for winter!

Online Courses Vs. Campus courses

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I apologize for not writing a blog in such a long time! I have been so busy this year with all of my classes and work. I also got an internship in town, which I will discuss more in my next blog. This semester I took 2 online courses and 3 courses on campus. My class schedule include Environmental Science and Statistics (online) and Geography, Environmental Economics, and Spanish I (Prescott Campus). I have enjoyed my classes, but I definitely like campus classes more than online courses. When you are deciding whether or not you should take an online course, you have to weigh your options. I would suggest only taking online courses if it is a class you need for your degree, but won’t use a lot after you graduate. This means do not take upper level courses online, it will be very difficult for you in the long run. Even taking stats and Environmental Science online had a toll on me because I did not have a professor in front of me, helping me out. I did not have lectures and I had to be completely self-disciplined. It was difficult, but it did give me more time to work and save some money. Also, I got to finish my 2 online courses early, which gave me a great opportunity to work on my huge papers and projects for my campus classes. I also found an awesome internship at the police department which has been a great blessing. I have enjoyed it a lot! I have already learned so much and I continue to learn every time I go. Next blog I’ll share a little more about what I have been learning and which department I have been working in.

I wanted to share my experiences with my online courses to give others an insight to them, because I know it can be a hard decision to make. Sometimes we have no option when we have to hold down a job or take care of family, but if you are fortunate enough to only take campus classes, I would definitely recommend it. Online courses are nice because you can get them over with and have the freedom to study when you want, but there are still due dates every week. You have to be self-motivated and I suggest trying not to procrastinate as long as possible. I wish everyone the best of luck with the upcoming final exams in December. I know there are a lot of projects and term papers due! I hope we all stay focused and do a good job. Don’t forget to register for Spring classes soon. Just remember to choose classes that you need, but also work best for your schedule!

GO EMBRY-RIDDLE GOLDEN EAGLES!!

Goodbye Sophomore Year and HELLO SUMMER!

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I recently realized that I am half way through my college years, how exciting! Time flew by so fast, it is incredible to know that I only have two years to go. I have been very blessed with good classes and a job here on campus. I have had a lot of fun with my friends and professors. I learned quite a bit and I am happy that I switched my major from Aviation Business to Global Security and Intelligence.

Finals went well. Every one was extra stressed for the week of finals, including me. I feel like I was a little more relaxed about finals than most, but I was still a little nervous. I knew what my grades were going to be even before I took my finals though. I ended up getting A’s in Social Psychology, Observing Asian Cultures, and History of Terrorism. I got B’s in Foreign Policy and International Relations. A few months into these classes, I knew which grades I would probably end up with. I will give my advice and evaluations on these classes. I think it may help prospective GSIS students.

I knew I was going to get a B in this class as soon as I got my first essay grade back. I messed up a lot on this essay. I did not give myself enough time to proof-read it. After that essay, my grades in my exams and later essays kept increasing, but I knew it was too late to get an A. So, I tried my hardest to make sure I could get a B. Professor Trombley was an amazing teacher, but she is leaving Embry-Riddle. But I still advise incoming students to try not to procrastinate. Write the essay a few days before and get someone to proof-read it.

In international relations I had Dr. Jones, GSIS Chair. He is an awesome guy and a good professor, but his assignment due dates continue to change. He would tell us the original assignments and due dates, but later it would be something else. He is very lenient and helpful though. He is very understanding and super knowledgeable. It was a good class overall. I would suggest skimming over ALL the chapters, otherwise you will not do well on the exams.

Social Psychology was so much fun. I learned a lot in Professor Lohn’s class. This was my third class with her, and I enjoyed it even more than her other classes. She is very understanding and enjoyable. She tries hard to make her class more interesting by adding experiments and videos. She also gives out a lot of extra credit. If you are ever struggling, just talk to her and she will help you to succeed!

Observing Asian Culture was very interesting, but it was so difficult to be in that class for 2.5 hours. It started at 6:30 and ended at 9PM. This class made me realize that I do NOT want any more night classes. I thought I disliked early classes, but I would rather get my classes over with instead of having to go back to campus to take a class. If you enjoy Asian culture and if you can handle a late and long class, this is an awesome class. Our finals consisted of a presentation and a 5-10 page essay. It was a lot of fun, but it was a challenge every Thursday night to get the energy to go to the class. (Never missed a class, even though sometimes I wanted to. ha ha.)

And the last class was History of Terrorism. This class was very interesting. We learned a lot about how terrorists operate and I feel more knowledgeable about current events, especially when terrorists are involved. Dr. Vuk was my professor and he is very intelligent, however; he is retiring. He is a nice man, but sometimes he would talk in gibberish, it was hard understanding what he was teaching at times. But it was still fun.

The main advice I have for incoming GSIS students is that you got to brush up on your history and current events. Start reading and writing more, so you can begin to enjoy it. And do NOT procrastinate, it could cost you your grade. This major is a lot of fun, and there is a little something for everyone. Personally, I love psychology the most, while others love to learn more about different U.S. policies and tactics. Just give it some time, you will come to realize what you love.

Now it is summer, that means it is time to relax and get ready for the last few years of college. I am staying here in Prescott to work at the campus in admissions office. I enjoy being here with good company and great friends.

I wish everyone a wonderful summer and I cannot wait to meet the new students and to greet the returning students in the fall. Take care and be safe!