1 Semester Down – 7 Semesters to Go

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Megan

It is hard to believe that my first semester of college is over. This semester has brought tears and many joyful moments, late nights and early mornings, as well as amazing friendships and hard goodbyes. College by no means is easy, but it is a crazy adventure that is worth the work.

Looking back, I remember arriving on campus in August scared that I would not make friends and that school would be too hard. But, I came out of my first semester having to say some of the hardest goodbyes to my friends who became family and the knowledge that if I put my mind to it I can be successful in college.

The organizations I am apart of is a major reason why my first semester was spectacular. Being involved in my sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, has helped connect me to other girls on campus and become more involved. I have helped collect cans for the food bank, supported other Greek organizations, and built some great friendships which I am thankful for. The other organization that I have been heavily apart of at Embry-Riddle is Chi Alpha. If you have read my other posts, Chi Alpha is the group I explore and go on my crazy adventures with. I have faced many fears and built long lasting friendships with this group. I know I have said this before, but this semester has truly shown me that getting involved on campus is important.

Friends. This is a major part of what makes college, college. Most of my close friends are a part of the clubs and organizations I am a part of. These are the people I have spent every day with for the past four months and I would have it no other way. Leaving campus to go home for winter break was almost as sad as when my parents left me in August. To send me off, my friends and I opened and seeded a pomegranate, it was an eye opening and fun experience to share with them and definitely messy. Knowing that I will not be able to tell them about my day, or share interesting meals with them, or go hiking in the dells for a whole month was a hard pill to swallow even if it’s only a couple weeks.

Since my life outside of the classroom has been so eventful and wonderful, it makes me loving my major even better. Studying Global Security and Intelligence has been my dream since I was little and having the ability to make that dream a reality has been wonderful. My professors knew who I was and noticed when I was not in class even in my larger (fifty student) class. This is something that surprised and shocked me, but helped drive me to succeed.

Although college is great and I had a wonderful first semester, it was hard. Being homesick, moving away and adjusting to the workload that Embry-Riddle requires was not necessarily easy. Classes where hard and there were many nights where I stayed up past my “bed time” to finish assignments or study, but it is worth it. Facing all the challenges head on helped me have a wonderful first semester, which is a trend I expect to carry on throughout college.

Now that the semester is over and the year is trekking on, I wanted to reach out to incoming or prospective students, if you have any questions regarding Embry-Riddle, the transition from high school to college, or anything in between do not be afraid to ask. It is a big change, but definitely worth the effort. Comment below and I’ll respond when I get back for semester #2.

Part 2 – How to Succeed as a Student-Athlete at Embry-Riddle

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Carlos

In my opinion, the most important factor for a student-Athlete to be successful is diet and good eating habits. The fact that they train and go to school every day, all week, all year causes them feel two or three times more tired than a normal stu Food Pyramid dent. Athletes are always running on 3000 revolution a minute every day trying to recover muscle, finish projects, homework, resting, going to the training room in case of injury, preparing food, getting ready for trips, losing weight, and more. Diet is essential!! Good eating habits will provide enough energy and vitamins to do all the activities that a student-athlete has to get done every day. A bad diet based on fast food or a lack of nutrients is totally destructive not only for your sport but also for the most important factor that keeps you here – your career as student.

One of my favorite dishes chicken mole with rice. So good and healthy!

A bad diet would cause you poor muscle recovery after training, poor attention in class, and can make you feel more tired than normal. If an athlete is not eating the correct food his/her body is never going to recover to keep up with the high-speed lifestyle student-athletes live in.

Breaks, holidays, and time off is a two-edged sword for Student-Athletes. Holidays and breaks are something I personally love because it’s when we take a huge breathe of fresh air into our bodies and we can go back home for more than a few days to visit our family and friends. The thing is that we are not only students, we are also representing Embry-Riddle in athletics and breaks are the perfect moment to get out of shape. This certainly happened to me over the summer when I went back home. Everything was perfect – I saw family and friends and relaxed a little. But, I knew that if I wanted to come back in good shape for the next season I had to keep running a minimum of three times a week and do some other exercises. The first week I did what I had to do, I was very motivated, but after some weeks I got lazy and I stopped training. I was at home, no school, no tournaments, and of course good food, basically no stress at all. After summer break, the time to come back arrived and when I got back to the normal training I was totally devastated. My body wasn’t ready for that level of training. I had three very hard weeks to get used to the intense training again. I was sore, exhausted, and I got a knee injury. Right then I made a promise to myself I will never do that again, ever!! Now even if I am on a break I will keep moving, exercising, running, and preparing myself for whatever new challenge is coming!

Being a Student-Athlete is often, actually, never easy. I have had times in my life when I was so tired – tired to a level that I cannot sleep, tired to a level that I got sick, tired to a level that the only thing I wanted was to give up. In those moments, sometimes I think “Why I am here? Why am I doing this to myself? Why?!! This does not make any sense! I would rather be sleeping until 9 AM, only going to school and not dealing with physical pain. Instead I have 5:00 AM training in winter, then school, then afternoon training, then homework and today is just Wednesday! Not even half the week is gone and the worst thing is I have to do laundry because I don’t have any clean sock for tomorrow!” Yes, I can get overwhelmed. Once that has passed, I remember that I want to be successful, that I want to be the best, that I want to be a great person for society, and then I remember that every single drop of sweat, every 5 AM training, every single second in the wrestling room and the classroom are totally worth it.

Keep It Up and Never Give Up!!!

How to Succeed as a Student-Athlete at Embry-Riddle

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Carlos

ERAU Wrestling!

Soccer, wrestling, and volleyball are just some of the sports Embry-Riddle has on campus for any student to join (see all of them on our sports website). Mostly the head coaches from our teams go out to do recruiting around the U.S. or in my case another country (remember, I’m originally from Mexico), with the purpose to bring them together in a team. Many student-athletes are chosen to get a scholarship to help them pass through college. Even though getting a scholarship in a sport is a great success it also brings many responsibilities and challenges to those who agree to take it. I know this because I’m proud to be on the ERAU Wrestling team (check out my signing notice).

Student-Athletes will have many challenge and responsibilities. One of the most challenging obstacles to overcome is finding the balance between college (homework, meetings, projects, etc.) and training (rest, eating habits, trips, etc.). Time-management becomes a critical skill for student-athletes. This skill will help you find time for every single activity you have to get done between college life and athletic life, also allowing you to give 100% in the school and 100% in the training.

In my personal experience, this skill took me too long to understand and develop to an optimal level. For example, early in the semester I made my schedule for homework, training times, rest and recovery times, etc. Everything was ready for the following week, but on Wednesday when I was supposed to sleep at 10:00 PM because I had training the following morning at 5:30 AM, a friend invited me to go watch a movie. “No big deal,” I thought to myself, but the movie started at 10:30 PM and ended at 12:00 AM, and so by the time I was back home it was already 1:00 AM! You can imagine what happened – I got 4 hours or so of sleep. I was tired for my training the follow morning, tired for the classes after training and too tired to keep doing the things I was supposed to get done in my weekly schedule. Time management is the most critical skill in college life. Ironically, our worst enemy is our self. In college, nobody will chase you telling you when to sleep, eat, or do homework, all of those duties are up to you.

“Conquer first yourself, then the world will fall at your feet.” -Augustine

Another area I consider critical for student-athletes is the balance between homework/classes and the sports season. Fall sports have already started. For example Cross-country is going to have its first trip-tournament in couple of days and Volleyball has already traveled.

Volleyball at Embry-Riddle

These student-athletes have some challenges to break down. First, they will have some days away meaning homework, lessons, notes, and precious time in the classroom is going to be missed. They have to make prior arrangements with the professor before the trip to ask them for homework and maybe even time extensions for due dates. The good thing is that faculty here at Embry-Riddle really support us and are helpful. Another good option is to ask friends in those classes to back them up with notes and help with homework. Second, if they got the assignments, notes, and help from their friends they still have to get them done before or after the trip and keep up with training and practice. I know, it sounds hard but it is possible and totally achievable! I’m proof.

The Embry Riddle Prescott Campus Golf Team

To be continued…Part 2 coming later this week.

Entrepreneurship as Spoken by Dr. Kodimer

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Adam

Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or organization. Last week Oct. 7th was IEEE day. And as a member of the student IEEE branch at ERAU I am glad to announce that in celebration Dr. Kodimer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University gave a speech on entrepreneurship and his professional experience.

Today I will go into a few of the interesting topics he chose to discuss with us which includes goals, marketing, and a few other great discussions.

First and foremost I’d like to start by saying not everyone’s goal is the same, and your goal to be an engineer may change to being an entrepreneur. For many, it may be to own a small company that does good for the community OR, you may want your company to grow as large as Sony, Apple, or Microsoft.

It all depends. Dr. Kodimer stated, ” Remember the prime directive”. No matter what the goal may be, it can be easy to get lost in the ownership of the company and lose track of what may be best to survive.

One of the key things he listed in his speech was what it takes to be an Entrepreneur. Health — a clear mind; Knowledge — in the field of need; Integrity, Courage — higher risks; Compassion — for others on the team; and lastly Marketing! What to say and how plays a large enough roll to severely impact your success. Dr. Kodimer revealed something called a push for market and a pull for market. A push for market is when you design something for a target group that they don’t yet know they need/want. While a pull for market is when a target group needs a solution or item that may or may not exist.

There is much more to discuss so if you have further questions or knowledge that you would like to share please contact me or leave a comment.

Thank you.

olimskia@my.era.edu