|
|
|||||
Name: Kaleigh
Lions, tigers, and bears…Oh my! This past weekend I went to the Jacksonville Zoo with some of my friends and we saw lots of animals. I hadn’t been to a zoo for awhile, so I was excited to see some animals and leave Daytona for the day. The zoo was surprisingly large and was divided into sections—South America, Africa, and Asia. I got to see a giraffe up close and watch them being fed; they sure have long tongues. There were plenty of birds at the zoo! You could walk into a caged area and they would fly around you or land on your shoulder. I enjoyed the trip and seeing all the animals!
We are heading into the third week of school and I think I have gotten back into the groove of going to school, work, and studying. My classes are going well and I think it’s going to be a good semester. For undergrad classes, I have Airline Management, Social Responsibility and Ethics, and an Air Force class. Airline Management is going to be interesting, I think, because we get to learn about how the airlines make their schedules. We are still going over an introduction to the material, so we haven’t covered a specific topic in-depth, yet. In my Ethics class, we have to come up with a sustainability project that will have an impact on Embry-Riddle and my group is considering something to do with paper consumption. My two graduate classes are: Aviation Law and Insurance and Global Information and Technology. The Aviation Law and Insurance class is like the insurance class I took last semester, but I’m enjoying it more so this time. The class is divided into parts and we cover insurance with one professor in the beginning and then we cover law with another professor. I’m looking forward to the law part! Global Information and Technology is going to be the harder one of the two because technology confuses me most of the time. I had a similar class my sophomore year; however, I’m hoping that this time the material will be more understandable with a different book and professor. All in all, I’m enjoying each class and hope that this semester I won’t procrastinate so much (this always seems to be my goal)!
The weather has been up and down for the past week. Most days, the sun comes out and we have blue skies. However, we did have a big storm roll through the area and it brought a cold front along, which caused tornado warnings. I looked out my window and the rain was just pouring from the sky—thank goodness it didn’t last for too long! The other day it was warm enough for shorts and the next day I needed a sweatshirt…I hope it decides to get warm soon and just stay warm! My favorite place to go study when it is warm and sunny is the dock my apartment has over the lake. The view of the water just makes it feel so peaceful.
Daytona is starting to gear up for all the races at the racetrack and every time I turn on the radio I hear about a chance to win tickets to one race or another. I can’t get over how many people come to the area to watch the races! I’ve heard the airport has begun having meetings to discuss how they are going to deal with the increase in traffic. It’s interesting to see how businesses prepare for the influx of customers and it makes you realize how volatile the tourist industry is from year to year. I’m looking forward to the Daytona 500 because Tim McGraw is performing! Maybe, I’ll be lucky enough to work the infield and get to catch a glimpse of him. Well, time to go study and I think I’ll head out to the dock!
Look out grad school because here I come! The GMAT wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and I didn’t have to stay for four hours. First, you have to write two essays after being given a prompt and that took about an hour. After that I took a break to clear my head and give my eyes a break from staring at a computer. Then, I did the math portion and then the qualitative portion. I think from start to finish it took about three hours. I was so happy when I answered the last question and got to leave! Overall, I did a pretty good job and I’m satisfied with my scores. My application has been submitted and I’m just waiting for my recommendation letters to be turned in, then the application packet will be complete. 
Five days before I left home we had a snowstorm; it left about eight inches and thirty-five mile per hour winds that created some big drifts. This picture is of a storm we had just a few days before the big one. Very dreary skies and unbelievably cold! It was too cold to go cross-country skiing, but I did get to shovel our driveway several times. I love watching the snow fall and turn everything white, but I don’t like having to shovel it! I just hope that the Air Force doesn’t station me in North Dakota or South Dakota; if they do I’m definitely investing in a snow blower. Maybe next Christmas I will get to try cross-country skiing again. 
One last thing I did over my break was remodel my mom’s bathroom with my aunt. We had a good time! My mom didn’t know that we were going to do it, so she was pleasantly surprised. The bathroom is really small and at some points I thought I was going to end up painting my aunt! After painting the walls, we tackled the floor and laid new tile. I learned all about the placement and cutting of tile, which might come in handy one day. Overall, I think it turned out really well!
By the time I write my next journal entry, I will have taken the long awaited GMAT. I’m scheduled to take it on January 6th and from what some of my friends have told me that it’s going to take about four hours . I’ll be glad to have it done and over with! I have to put the finishing touches on my essay for the graduate application and then I’ll just have to submit it and wait to hear back.
Over break, I’ve started working on a scrapbook for myself that begins when I was a freshman three years ago. I’ve enjoyed looking back at the pictures and seeing how much things have changed (the new College of Business building) and how some of them have stayed the same (the Wright Flyer is still outside the Library). I’m hoping to be caught up to the present by the time I go back to school. I have two weeks left of my break, so I think it can be done! 
My cousins and I went to a museum that was all about Abraham Lincoln last weekend. I learned a lot about Lincoln and found out that as a President the public didn’t like him very much; however, that all changed the minute he died. The museum was pretty elaborate and told the history of Lincoln from the time he was a boy till the time that he died. They had two movies that were interactive and captivated the audience’s attention. Being with my cousins was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to be home in time to go see them.
Well, my finals went well and I think it was a successful semester. My favorite part is the moment when I’ve finished my last final and I can take a deep breath realizing that I’ve made it through another semester. Next semester, I’ll be graduating and I don’t think that it has really sunk in for me, yet. I’m only taking two undergraduate classes next semester and two masters classes. One nice thing about my upcoming schedule is that I have made it so I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Four day weekends are going to be nice—except, I have PT on Mondays and Fridays at 7am. Oh well! 
St. Augustine—the oldest city in America—is a place that everyone should visit! My sister and I decided to take a mini road trip up there and see some of the sites. We purchased a ticket that allowed us to ride on a trolley and visit many of the historical places. Some of the places we visited included: the Old City Jail, the Oldest School House, and the Fountain of Youth. We’re definitely going to go back because there is so much more to see and do! 
far the best ride because it’s an indoor roller coaster and it’s completely dark, so you have no idea what is coming up next. We didn’t get to see Mickey Mouse but maybe next time!
My Strategic Management class is going to keep me busy this week; I have a test on Thursday and the final on Saturday. In order to prepare for the test, one of my classmates and I have reserved a classroom for several hours and we are just going to review each chapter in-depth. I hope it works and I do well on the test! My other finals aren’t until next Monday night, so I’ll have some time to study for them later on.
Silver Wings had our end of the semester banquet and fall initiation ceremony the week before Thanksgiving. This picture is a group of me and some of my friends. I met them my freshman year and we have all been friends since then. Next semester is going to be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to heading to Seattle for our National Conference in April.
If I remember correctly, they were filming a remake of Red Dawn. The picture is one of me on the set next to one of the tanks that was getting ready to be filmed driving down the street. I thought that was pretty cool to see! One thing I can say about Detroit is that the city has taken a hit since the automobile industry has been struggling; hopefully, the economy will pick back up soon. Silver Wings is a pretty unique organization in the fact that it is run completely by college students and there are some big changes that are coming in order to distinguish ourselves more. In 1998, we changed the culture of our organization and that has allowed us to become sort of lost in who we are. Now, we are trying to find our identity and in order to accomplish that some new things are going to be happening. I’m excited to be part of the staff that is going to implement these changes.
The College of Business Industry Advisory Board always comes to town during Homecoming Week and what this means is about twenty professionals in the aviation industry come and talk to us students along with some of their other duties. Some of the people include the co-founder of Ryanair, the risk manager at Jet Blue, people who work for Boeing, Lockheed Martin, the FAA, and so many other companies. I was one of the lucky students who were invited to attend a dinner with all of them and I learned so much about being a leader. A tip one man gave a few of us students was make sure you always give your full attention to your boss when he is in your office—don’t answer the phone, be typing on your computer, or surfing the web. They are the only thing that matters for the few moments they are in your office. I was impressed by how much these people wanted to talk to us students and how willing they were to share their knowledge with us. I’m looking forward to when they come back next year!
Last Thursday, I was given the opportunity to miss class and drive to Orlando for the National Business Aviation Association Conference. This conference allows aviation businesses to come together in one location and showcase their products to potential buyers. My Professional Selling professor wanted us all to attend so we could observe some sales people and see how they sold their product. I got to see a lot of different companies and how they tried to entice the customer to come to their booth by different display techniques and free promotional products. For example, one booth put on a magic show and in the end gave away a bunch of prizes for audience participation. A group of my classmates and I were able to talk candidly to one company and we found out that it was one of the smallest conventions in the past three years and they blamed it on the economy. Furthermore, they stated that the aviation industry will most likely be in a recession until 2012. The good news is their company was able to get some prospective new customers out of the show, so hopefully they will survive the economic downturn. Overall, the conference was interesting and I learned some new information, so I’m glad that I made the trip to check it out.
My scooter and I took a trip to one of my favortie locations: the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. It was a beautiful day and I hadn’t rode my scooter for awhile. During my freshman year, I made my first trip to the lighthouse and was impressed by the magnifficent size and beauty. I’ve always enjoyed lighthouses and this was the first one I was able to go inside and climb to the top. I think it’s about 200 steps to the top and once you are up there you can see for quite a distance. I had a fun time and enjoyed having the break from homework.
So many things to do, so little time to do them all—that saying seems to be the story of my life right now. I’ve been keeping busy with classes, ROTC, my job, Silver Wings, my friends, and thinking about the future. For the first time, Embry-Riddle granted all students a Fall Break this past weekend, and I hope they continue with it in the future. Having a four-day weekend was great and allowed me to get some rest and get caught up on homework. Unfortunately, I seem to get sick at least once every school year and this year was no exception. I wasn’t feeling very good last weekend and decided if I wasn’t better by Monday that I would go to Health Services. I went and they diagnosed me with an upper respiratory infection. They prescribed lots of rest and to flush my system with fluids. I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to skip some classes and get better faster rather than attend class and take forever to get better. Now, I’m feeling a lot better and am hoping I can avoid getting sick until I’m back at home.
I had a presentation last week in my Strategic Management class and I enjoyed doing all the research for it. I had to find an article on an aerospace company that had changed strategy within the last year. The company I choose was AeroVironment and I learned so much new information about unmanned aircraft systems. Overall, I think the presentation went pretty well but I’m still waiting on my grade. For my Professional Selling class, we had our first sales call and boy was I nervous; however, I calmed down once it started and looking back on the video you can’t really tell that I was nervous. I’m excited for the next one coming up this week and I think I’m more prepared because I know what to expect. I think pretty soon we will start registering for next semester’s classes—hard to believe!
I mentioned earlier how I was busy thinking about the future. I graduate in May but I will be staying another year because of ROTC, so I want to start work on my MBA; however, this means I have to take the GMAT (a standardized test like the ACT/SAT) and fill out the application for graduate school. I’m working on studying for the GMAT and the application but they both are just going to take some time. This summer I really want to get an internship and last week I attended a workshop hosted by Career Services on how to get one. I think there is a pretty good chance I will be able to find one. Speaking of Career Services, they are putting on multiple workshops throughout this month in order to prepare us for the Career Fair in November. I haven’t gone to the Career Fair these past two years, so I’ve decided that I’m going to go see what it’s all about this year. I’ll be sure to let you know all about it!
Happy October! I can't believe how fast this semester is going! We are
a third of the way into classes and I've had a test in each one. All of
them are going well and I'm learning a lot of information that is very
relative to the real world. In fact, my favorite class this semester is
probably my Insurance class. The professor is really nice and he does a
good job of teaching so everyone can understand. On the first day of
class, I was afraid that I would find it so boring; however, that has
not been the case at all. Another class, Professional Selling, is
starting to become exciting as we began our selling role-plays. I think
practicing my public speaking skills is always a good thing and this
class will help me realize what I need to work on. Overall, I think
this semester's classes are turning out to be alright.
Last weekend, I was able to attend a dinner hosted by the Air Force
Association and Arnold Air Society. The purpose of the dinner was to
give us a chance to interact with the older Air Force Association
members. I was happy to have a reason to get all dressed up! The
picture is of me with my next door dorm neighbors from last year. I
became really good friends with both of them and part of that is because
we lived next to one another. The best part about living in the dorms
is that making friends is easy and you know that people are around
willing to help you. Anyways, the dinner was a lot of fun and it was an
opportunity to socialize with friends that I hadn't seen in a while.
Silver Wings got down and dirty over the weekend while helping out the
community. The service project was helping to create a garden for
low-income families in the Daytona Beach area. We dug up a patch of
grass and turned it into a plot for some vegetables to be planted. Some
of us planted broccoli, while others spread mulch around the various
garden sections to make a pathway. It was hard work but we had fun and
are looking forward to going back next month. I thought that it was fun
to work hard and rewarding knowing that we were helping families get
fresh vegetables. Community service is something that I enjoy doing and
our campus is always advertising ways for students to get involved and
help out.
Another first that I can now cross off my list of things to do
is CAMPING. I had never been camping before this weekend and by that I
mean sleeping in a tent out in the wilderness. My friends convinced me
to go with them on a camping trip to Ginnie Springs. I decided to go
and I had a pretty good time; however, I don't know if I can say that I
will ever do it again! The mosquitoes were pretty bad and I forgot my
bug spray, so now I'm itching like crazy. I did set up a tent for the
first time and it wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be. The
pictures are of me holding the tent and then the tent all setup and
ready to be slept in. We floated down a river on inner tubes and that
was my favorite part of the trip! 
This past week I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and spend five days there. The reason I had this opportunity goes back to my freshman year when I decided to join a club on campus called Silver Wings. Silver Wings is a national, co-ed organization that focuses on professional development and community service. The club's members are both AFROTC cadets and civilians and one of our purposes is to create awareness throughout the community about the military. Over the past three years, I've been able to develop more as a leader because of the positions I've held in the organization. This year I'm the Silver Wings National Treasurer and the reason I went to Washington D.C. is because we had our Executive Boards. Executive Boards are when the National Staff shares with the eleven Region Presidents what the vision is for the year. Also, our sister organization-Arnold Air Society-meets and we discuss what community service projects we will work together on amongst other things.
My time in D.C. was not just spent in hotel meeting rooms; I did get to go out and see many of the monuments. I saw the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the White House, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. I had never been to Washington D.C. before and to see all these monuments was an amazing experience! Also, we did get to go to one museum-the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. We decided to get a group picture taken in front of the original Wright Flyer, since our school has a replica of the Wright Flyer in front of the library. One day I want to go back, so that I can spend more time exploring the city!
One of the reasons we have our Executive Board Meeting in Washington D.C. is because the Air Force Association invites us to their Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition. When we finished with our meetings each day, we were able to go downstairs in the hotel and attend their conference. Some of the briefings I was able to listen to were from the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Air Force, and many other notable people. On Sunday morning, we were guests at the Air Force Association Wreath Laying Ceremony for fallen Air Force Association members. The ceremony took place at the Air Force Memorial and I was impressed at the size and beauty of the memorial. Also, we were included in the two formal dinners they hosted. One of the dinners was to honor the 12 Outstanding Airmen and the Air Force Band along with the Singing Sergeants put on a performance. To be able to attend the Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition was an experience that I will remember for a long time.
Let me tell you a little about myself: I’m a senior majoring in Aviation Business Administration with a concentration in General Management, I’m in Air Force ROTC and will commission in May 2011, and I hope to start working on my MBA next semester. I enjoy going to school at Embry-Riddle and the weather is an added bonus! I’m from Sidney, Illinois where snow at Halloween is not a surprise, Florida weather is nice and, if you ever get too warm you can go jump in a swimming pool or the ocean!
I was excited to come back to school and see all my friends again! This semester has been another full of firsts: my first time having my Jeep in Florida, my first apartment, and my first time living by myself. A car is not necessary to have when coming to Embry-Riddle and my freshman year I walked all over the place with my friends. My sophomore year I got a scooter and was able to go a little bit further from campus. So far I have enjoyed having my own car because it’s nice to not have to ask people for rides or have to plan around the weather when I want to go somewhere. Right now, I’m living in a studio apartment about 5 minutes from campus. I like the fact that it’s close enough to go back if I have a break between classes, but far enough to not be on campus all day, every day. After having roommates for two years, I decided that I would like to live by myself and so far I’m enjoying it!|
Feedback |
Contact Embry-Riddle |
Working at Embry-Riddle
©Copyright 2010 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. All rights reserved. Daytona Beach, FL Residential Campus 600 S. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900 |
|
|
|
|||||
|
Feedback |
Contact Embry-Riddle |
Working at Embry-Riddle
©Copyright 2010 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. All rights reserved. Daytona Beach, FL Residential Campus 600 S. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900 |
