Embry-Riddle: Admission Extras

Blog #8: Volleyball Preseason Day 1

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:43:24 -0700

Well, as you all should know by now, I am a senior on the women’s volleyball team; which means that this is my last year to ever play and represent ERAU as a student-athlete. As crazy as it seems, I am anxious for the start of season but sad that this will be my last. I have seen our volleyball program grow so much in the past four years that I have been apart of it, that I am really excited to see our team push our way to Nationals this year…but there is always the burden of going through the much dreaded preseason first. Our coach cooked something up for us new this year: on our first day of training (which was August 4, 2008), we drove to the rope course at Northern Arizona University (NAU) to learn about team building, communication, trust, and about building our relationships with each other. My teammates and I have learned a lot about ourselves and what goals we wanted to set for ourselves and each other. There was a ‘rubber ducky’ challenge, where we were split into two teams, each having their hula hoop empty. Between our teams was a hula hoop filled with rubber ducks, and our main objective was to see which team could end up with the most ducks in their hoop. We all started sprinting back-and-forth between the main hoop and our own hoops along with stealing from our opponent’s hoop. The leader of the activity just gave us strange looks for the ten minutes that we were sprinting (and I am sure that coach was happy that we did sprint). One of our teammates thought of putting all the rubber ducks into the main hoop and place both of our hula hoops over the main hoop. Yes, we finally got the message from that: we are ONE team, and if we should ever have a division between us we will never get anywhere. We also did a few communication exercises before a lightning storm decided to roll on it. We went into their indoor rope course, and dude, I was excited! Everyone did the flying squirrel (which basically means one person will run in the opposite direction of her six teammates pulling her on the other end of the rope and therefore fly and be suspended into the air for a bit until her teammates slowly bring her back to the ground). The second team ropes activity was basically trying to balance on a wooden platform with your teammates pulling you up on both sides. Our teammate’s job was to make sure that the wooden platform would stay horizontal on the journey up. Once each person got to the top, we rang the bell and then slowly be dropped back down to earth. Next were the individual tests: rock climbing, rope ladder climbing, and air-swings. I officially LOVE rock climbing!!! I did two of the five rock climbing courses that they had. It took me about eight minutes to get to the top for one since I had a difficult time trying find some grip rocks for my shoes. We ended with learning our new favorite game called “HAIYA!” Basically it’s a ‘samurai’ game where we all bow to each other in the beginning and then act out like we are slicing each other in the stomach while passing on the ‘HAIYA’ to someone else. You will all probably see us playing this games a few times around school or even before our matches to pump us up (not like we need to get more pumped up in a game, but it is fun to play). In the end, our team learned very valuable lessons and has created goals from our activity: 1- Trust is definitely a huge part of our small team, and we need to trust each other that we will all do our jobs to the best of our ability. 2- Respecting our selves will allow us to respect our teammates, peers, and our opponents. 3- Speaking the truth allows us everyone on our team to know how one is feeling. 4- Playing hard is a key goal to our success as a volleyball team…especially for our last goal: 5= NATIONALS!!!!

Blog #7: Home in Hawaii

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:26:06 -0700

Well, my life finally had a schedule again now that I was back in Arizona…but not for long. I was only able to settle down for a few days before I had to pack and leave to go home. I was excited to go home; free food, no work, nice weather, the beach, and getting to hang out with family. In all reality, I was sitting in Starbucks every morning and afternoon (probably 5 hours total a day) using their internet for my McNair Research project. I’m doing my research on cross-culture miscommunications and misunderstandings between China and the United States based on family traditions. The reason why I chose this project is because I would like to pursue a Master’s in International Relations, and gear it all towards Asian Relations with the US. While in Starbucks, I was able to communicate with my Chinese students that I have met during my stay in China through emails, and send them interview questions that will help me with my research. I will be doing the same thing to my fellow classmates that have gone with me to China study-abroad when I go to Florida and visit the other ERAU campus. I keep in close contact with a few of my Chinese students, whom have asked me to send pictures of Hawaii and Arizona for them to see what a part of America looks like. Some of them would like to come to America just to visit, but now with the Chinese being able to travel and visit the United States, it will give them an opportunity to use their English and for the Americans studying Chinese an opportunity to use their Chinese skills. In my family, dinner was and always will be a family meal. I always ask my parents to at least have one dinner while I am at home that is of just Hawaiian food. My parents bought lomi lomi, poi, kalua pig with cabbage, and rice. Lomi lomi is basically cubed-raw salmon mixed with chopped white and green onions and tomatoes. Poi is taro that has been pounded up into a pudding-like paste. Kalua pig with cabbage is where the pig has been steamed underground and shredded into thin pieces which are then cooked with the cabbage. That was so ono (or delicious). Later that week, I begged my dad One life lesson I learned when I went home this summer is to make the most of the short time I was able to spend with my family, and to cherish all the moments I spent with them. I am only able to see my family twice a year, and if I am lucky, three times a year…all for very short periods of time. The next thing I knew, a week had flown by fast and I was back at Honolulu Airport getting ready to board a plane back to Phoenix, Arizona. However, I am very excited and extremely lucky to fly in August back to my home state to play against a few girls that I have played against growing up. I haven’t played a volleyball match in Hawaii since my senior year of high school, so to me personally, this is a huge deal to once again play on my island and in front of all of my family and friends. This will be the last and only time that I will play for a school in Hawaii, and so this will be a very special moment for me.

Kui's Blog 6: Coming Home to Reality

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:16:50 -0700

Blog 6: Coming Home to Reality Leaving China was probably one of the saddest days I have had to deal with. I wasn’t ready to leave yet, but at the same time, I had to go back to my responsibilities of being a student, employee, teammate, daughter, and friend to those I had left behind. The final days of my stay in China were more bitter than sweet, and more tears than smiles. You could tell on the look of my classmates faces that we were all going to miss each other very much. Then again, that’s just how the cookie had to crumble. So the final days were spent all together. Our final dinner was at the first place we had our formal dinner in Qinhuangdao. Everyone was included in the toast, along with the many events that have taken place and the many sites that we saw that were really funny, awkward, or amazing. This toast took about a good half hour. With our glasses raised, we all agreed that this was in fact an unforgettable trip. The morning after our final dinner, was our last class together. We reviewed how to buy tickets to travel either on a bus or train, how we would reserve our hotel rooms if we were staying for a few more days, and how to travel to the airport. Zhan Laoshi’s older nephew, along with two other friends, came to teach us the art of calligraphy and the art of painting pictures Chinese style. It was really cool, and all of us had the opportunity to try out the different calligraphy styles with their guidance. We all took home our names in calligraphy, and some of us took home poems. Calligraphy is a serious art in Chinese culture, and all students learn how to write in calligraphy when they are young students. Most of our class decided to go and eat at the street venders one last time together, where we ate almost 200 dumplings between 10 of us. As we sat down to eat, the Backstreet Boys’ song ‘I Want It That Way’ came on (and yes, it was in Chinese). We all started to sing to each other, and the Chinese people walking by us either started to chuckle or stare at us. A few of us left the following day by train back to Beijing. We all did some last minute shopping at the Olympic Store, and some last minute photos with Chinese tourists who thought we looked pretty cool. We decided to eat at our favorite duck place for dinner downtown, and enjoy the best cooked duck in the world before we left China. We saw a few Google workers eating behind us…which we thought was pretty cool. How did we know? Well, for starters some had Google polo shirts or bags, and they looked like a bunch of nerds (hey! Sounds pretty familiar…eh?). Well, I finally left Beijing the next day. It was a sad taxi ride to the airport with my roommate. Both of us did not want to leave China. We raced through security, since we were late. We bought some food to eat on the plane, and found out we had a 2.5hour delay due to weather. So my flight back to America was about 14 hours. I ended up in Prescott late Friday evening, and was not able to sleep until 6am that morning because I was still on China Time. My clock was all mixed up for the next few days. After the first night of sleep, I thought I was still in China when I woke up. I wasn’t, and that was disappointing to me. There is definitely one thing that I learned from this whole China Study Abroad experience: keeping an open mind at all times and trying out new things makes the trip so much more enjoyable and exciting!

Kui's Blog 5: Our Last Stop- Qinhuangdao

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:14:43 -0700

Blog 5: Our Last Stop- Qinhuangdao Right when I started to settle down in Xi’an, I had to pack right back up again and take a 20 hour train ride to the sea-side city of Qinhuangdao. This time, we took 1st class on the train. There were 4 beds to a room, and storage spaces on the top. I had all Riddle students in my room, and we had a bunch of fun on the train ride from movies to having class on the train. I love train rides, and was very comfortable throughout the whole ride. I did not once feel the train jerk to stop, but the sunlight did wake me up pretty early. As we were riding out to our next city, I looked out the window and saw that the towns were starting to look a little ‘ghetto’. Well, our teacher did warn us that we were going into a more rural city compared to the others that we have stayed at. Well, the last two weeks were definitely a huge blur. Our study abroad class was asked to do a presentation about our school in America, our degree programs, the diversity we have at our schools, and relationships. I had learned up until this point that many students may go through arranged marriages, which is traditional here in China. Some of the students, however, are starting to date with parental permission. There were a few female students who are extreme romantics, believing at love at first sight and marrying the boy that they are with at that moment. There are other students who believe that all American students act like what they have seen on American Pie. The questions we got after our presentations were interesting, nevertheless we all did learn a lot. One of the main reasons we came to Qinhuangdao was to see the Great Wall meet the Pacific Ocean. I was born and raised in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and has seen the Pacific Ocean from America, but this was the first and only time that I will be able to see the Pacific Ocean from Asia and get to put my feet in it. The water is very cold, and it felt like an ice bath. I could care less because it felt like I was back at home. I couldn’t help but take a lot of pictures at the beach! (Coach, this is for you) I was also able to go running on the beach to get to a sandbar that was very far way, and I was only given 15 minutes to run there and back. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get onto the sandbar because of rock and water restrictions, so I just enjoyed the walk back with the sand between my toes. We also went to the Great Wall, once again, on a mountain in Qinhuangdao. The view of the city below us was amazing. We took a cable car up to the half-way point on the mountain, and found our way onto the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter how many times you have been on the Great Wall, you will always have the exact same expression and appreciation for the beauty of nature around you. We were able to walk the Great Wall all the way down back to the parking lot. On our way down, we saw a gorgeous bride taking pictures with her husband on the Great Wall. Serious, how cool is that? Our last fieldtrip for our China Study Abroad semester was an ecological fieldtrip, where they grow all the food there organically. In some parts, it was like walking through a jungle of palm trees, banana trees, mango trees, papaya trees, coconut tree (I think you get the point). I got drink coconut juice from a fresh coconut while we were walking around. There was also an amusement park within the ecological plantation, which included bungee jumping. Yes, I am a chicken for not doing it, but it was well worth watching my classmates do it. We were also able to eat lunch there, where all the food was organically grown. The baozi (which is kind of like a small bun with meat and onions in it) and the pancakes (which is like a fried tortilla with sprouts, meat, and other vegetables mixed in) were so good. We also learned about the history of Chinese farmers, and were able to play around on their equipment and learn how they were able to create fishing nets and tools to use for farming.

Kui's Blog 4: Welcome to Xi’an

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:10:59 -0700

Blog 4: Welcome to Xi’an So my 12 hour train ride was pretty entertaining. I have never been on a train before, so I decided to go exploring. The carriage that we were in was for 2nd class seating. There were 6 beds to a room (3 on one side, 3 on the other) and storage for luggage was above the tiny hall way at the foot of the top beds. The bathrooms were all squat pots…I have honestly avoided a squat pot for as long as I could while living in Beijing, but I could no longer avoid them. They are not that bad, but I would still prefer a good ‘ol American throne, if you know what I mean. There is always a food cart that goes around every few hours for those who are out of food and are completely starving. There are tiny little seats in the hallways for looking out the window and eating. After a few hours, I tried to get some sleep. The downside of living on the 2nd and 3rd level beds is living above people who SNORE!!! I could not sleep for the longest time due to some stranger sleeping on the 1st level who snores really loud. I put on my iPod, turned the volume on loud, and went to sleep. I woke up a few hours later because I felt crammed in my tiny bed, and walked around for a bit socializing with the rest of the study abroad students who were awake. After a long 12 hours train ride, we finally made it to Xi’an. We dropped our bags off at the hotel, and started to explore our surroundings. We found an amazing dumpling place right across the road from our hotel, and an ice cream shop about 5 minutes away from where we lived. We noticed right away that this wasn’t a bustling city like Beijing, and everything was in walking distance to where we were living. We found a beautiful park, with a huge tower and a very huge water display. Apparently, every evening at 9pm, Xi’an holds one of the biggest water display shows in the world for 10 minutes. The water spouts play according to the music, and it is just amazing to watch at night. It is always crowed, so if one wants to get a good seat, go about an hour before the show. While in Xi’an, I was very excited to see the Terracotta Statues. We did have to learn a bit of history first, and so we went to a pottery shop where we were shown how the statues were made in the past. I learned that they were hollow, they were all originally painted, and all the soldier statues were different from each other. I would have never thought that. We definitely needed a lunch break, and went to another part of the city to have a buffet. We finally got to the Terracotta Statues, and they were amazing. The story goes that a farmer was digging a hole for a well in 1974 and discovered pottery fragments at the bottom of the hole he dug…from there, its history. Hundreds of the soldiers have been uncovered, and many are still being uncovered today. Some of the statues are in amazing condition, and some of them are headless. It was honestly breathtaking and amazing to see Chinese history up close and personal. The last full day we had in Xi’an was dedicated to climbing Huashan Mountain. There had been an earthquake a few days before, but the mountain was safe to climb. We took a cable car up to the midpoint of the mountain, and hiked to the highest peak (South Peak). It was a long hike and probably took us a little over 2 hours to reach the South Peak, which included us getting lost. Well, we conquered and rocked that mountain. We decided to go on the West Peak next, which was the 3rd tallest peak there. I won’t lie to you, but there was a bunch of steep climbing and rock climbing to do. What also doesn’t help is the fact that the steps are half the size of my foot, so it definitely will scare someone whose foot is about over a size 6 in women’s (note: I have size 10s in women’s). This was the first day since I arrived in China that I was able to see blue skies. The air was fresh, and the view was breathtaking.

Kui's Blog #3: So what else is there in Beijing to do???

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:06:14 -0700

Og Blog #3: So what else is there in Beijing to do??? Well, the second half of my week was just as busy as the first week and a half of my trip. On Wednesday and Thursday, I met with students of Beihang University after my classes. My students were Mac and Betty, and they showed me all the school’s cafeterias, their 5-story library, and a bunch of shopping malls. The shopping mall we went to was about a 20-30 minute walk from the school. There were six levels, and all the shops were very expensive. I didn’t buy anything there but a Mickey Mouse shirt that was on sale. Apparently, Mickey Mouse is very popular in China among the high school and college students. Friday was a fieldtrip to the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. This place is huge and very crowded with a bunch of tour groups lurking all over these two places. In the middle of Tiananmen Square is where Mao Zedong’s body is located, where it is exposed for the public to look at. It is really gross because the body is decomposing inside of a glass case where it is a very ugly yellow color. To get into the Forbidden City, you had to go through a few gates and security checks. We bought our tickets, and entered under another gate/pagoda. In the few hours that you’re there, all you see are pagodas and the different halls that were built during the different dynasties. Honestly, this goes on forever and ever and ever. This palace is huge, and my feet got really tired from walking all over it. After today’s fieldtrip, I got sick of seeing pagodas every where we went because they started to all look the same. Saturday was just as crazy again for me. Some of our study abroad group and I went back to the Beijing Zoo to look at the animals that we did not get to see. Lucky us, we also found a small ‘amusement’ park hidden on the left side of the zoo. Yes, we all played bumper cars in the Beijing Zoo in China! It was awesome, and empty…so while a few of us were trying to be ‘no-so-good’ drivers, others were taking pictures of how much fun we were having bumping the other cars. We then moved on to see the rest of the animals, and found another treat for us to try. A few of the students decided to go boating on the river in the middle of the zoo. The boat driver swerved back and forth with my friends inside, creating a series of waves and causing the boat to rock heavily back and forth. After that, everyone has to see the most famous animal in the Beijing Zoo: the Panda. Well, our day didn’t end there. We bought tickets to see the acrobatic show that evening. We all dressed up in formal attire, and caught a taxi to downtown Beijing. These acrobats are amazing! The acrobats are between ages 7 to 15 years, and are very strong, flexible, and extremely talented. At one point, they stacked about 5 boys on top of each other; the bottom acrobat was standing up with the next person sitting on his shoulders. The 5th boy at the top was standing up. When it was time for them to come down, it was really scary. You could see the whole line lean like the Tower of Pisa. They broke off from each other as soon as they were near to the ground and they all just rolled over and got up like it was nothing. After the acrobatic show, we all decided to head to Outback Steak House, to see if their food taste like it would in America. Since we’ve been eating everywhere with chopsticks, we asked if we could use chopsticks for dinner, and the waitress shook her head and laughed at us. Their steak was really good, along with the rest of the food. We head back to the hotel to change our clothes and to discover the night life. We went to a club about 15 minutes away, and discovered a bunch of Purdue students who were also in Beijing studying for a few weeks. I guess this was a popular place for international students. Sunday, I slept in, finished my homework, and packed up for my first train ride on Monday. 12 hour train ride…here I come!

Kui's Blog #2: Exploring My Surroundings

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:08:41 -0700

So it’s been about a week since my last blog, but so much has happened since! For our class fieldtrip, we went to the Great Wall of China! Apparently, you haven’t seen China unless you’ve seen the Great Wall…It is very huge, and my study abroad group and I decided to walk up the steep side of the wall. I believe that my coach should be proud of me, because it was very steep for most of the way up. The sight was breathtaking… and the surroundings were as green as Oregon. My calves and my thighs were really sore by the time I hiked to the ending barrier and back to the entrance. My feet were very sore after that trek, but I was able to get a bunch of souvenirs from the venders on the Great Wall. We all went to Starbucks for some coffee after our hike…and yes everyone, it is the exact same prices as it is back home in the United States. Our next trip was to the Ming Dynasty Underground Tombs, which were amazing. At the beginning, there was a map that showed where every Ming Emperor and his wives were buried. Their resting places were very scattered all over a vast amount of land. We were able to go underground and see examples of how their caskets looked like, along with their thrones and a few possessions. In the museum above, there were examples of their ‘crowns’ along with the Empress’ possessions of jade jewelry and silk. There were also a bunch of painted pictures of many of the Empresses, along with a long list of names of the Emperor’s wives and mistresses. Next was the Beijing Zoo, and unfortunately I was only able to cover about half of the zoo. I was fortunate enough to see the guerillas, white tigers, camels, and the all important pandas I took over 400 hundred pictures of the many animals that I did see, and I have to go back to visit the penguin house along with all the reptiles. There were some random turkeys running around…it was pretty awesome. There also were some very entertaining brown bears who decided to pose and try to climb their concrete wall. Some of the visitors were trying to feed the bears soda. Apparently the bears like it and kept begging for more each time. Someone else tricked them with water, and after getting a small drop in their mouth, they moved away. The next day, I went to visit Summer Palace. It was breathtaking, and the palace grounds are beautiful. One couldn’t help but think what it would have been like to live centuries ago in a palace that has a big lake and gorgeous greenery that surrounds it on all sides. There is a walkway between places, and on the beams above are painted pictures of Chinese history. I was able to walk around the whole lake, which took a while. 3 classmates and I also rented a boat to hangout on the lake. We each took turns peddling the boat and was able to maneuver around most of the lake, avoiding the big boats that were ferrying from the island in the middle of the lake to the palace. The view from the top of the palace will make you want to stay there forever. Monday afternoon, our class met with the English class of BUAA and we were paired up with a Chinese student for the rest of the day. My partners name is ‘Betty’ and she is originally from Mongolia. She helped me with my Chinese assignment, and I helped her with her English. She is a very fun person to be with, and I learn a lot from her. After our meeting, of few of my classmates and I took a subway to downtown Beijing with a few of the Chinese students. This was my first time on a subway, and it cost 2 Yuan. It was much cheaper than a taxi! The Chinese students took us out for dinner, and the food was amazing. It was a mix of Arabic food and Chinese food. We had so much food, that none of us could eat it all! Tuesday, we had a fieldtrip to a Medicine Shop in downtown Beijing. There were three floors of just Chinese medicine, and I was able to buy tiger balm. As a group, our class decided to walk down a few back allies to try and find a place to eat. We decided to go to a place where the duck was apparently the best in China…and yes, the duck we ate was amazing!!! The skin was very greasy, but the meat was to die for. I have never had cooked duck taste so good. It was also a very nice and expensive restaurant. The bathrooms have someone handing you the paper towels and turning on the faucet to wash your hands. I thought that was awesome. So China is rocking my socks…but now I have to go to sleep. More updates to come soon from Beijing, Xi’an, and Qinhuangdao! 在建!

Kui's Blog #1

Thu, 15 May 2008 15:45:57 -0700

Kui’s Blog 你好 & Aloha from Beijing, China! 我叫吴亭。 My name is Kui. I am a senior GSIS major from Oahu, Hawaii and am currently working on finishing my two minors in Middle Eastern Studies and Asian Studies. I play on the ERAU Women’s Volleyball team, and am a part of the Hawaiian Club and the unofficial Arabic Club. I am currently in China on a study abroad trip with eleven other ERAU students from the Daytona and Prescott campus. I am also working on a research project while in China. I left Arizona on the 12th of May, and journeyed on a 12 hour flight from San Francisco to Beijing, China. The first half of the flight didn’t bother me, since it felt like I was flying home to Hawaii, but the second half of the flight I was very restless. I watched four movies, ate two meals with snacks before and after each meal, paced up and down the aisles talking to people in my study abroad program, and studied from my Chinese books. I flew on Air China Limited, which had adequate leg room, but I was unfortunately squashed in the middle. Our Boeing 747-400 flew over Russia, which was covered in snow! You could not see the ground at all, or the rocks that would normally stick out on mountain tops… It literally looked like a dream land with the snow blending into the clouds on the horizon. A huge tip for long trips is to bring your iPod. My iPod lasted for the whole trip, with the exception of watching the movies on the airplane screen. I tried to sleep on all of my flights, but I could not. By the time I was able to crawl into bed and fall asleep, I had been up for a total of twenty-seven and a half hours. I was exhausted, and hoped to sleep in the next day. I woke up at 530am in the morning the next day. We had a short class, then we went to the bank to take out and exchange our American money for Chinese currency (which is 原 yuan). The exchange rate was one American dollar for seven yuan. This rate is amazing! I was able to buy a huge meal for fewer than three dollars. Before my trip started, mainland China had an earthquake near Xi’an, which is one of the cities our study abroad group was to go stay at. Our teacher in uncertain to if she is still going to take us there or not, due to the earthquake and now the rain that has made it more difficult to travel in that region. I would love to go and visit the terracotta soldier statues, but our safety is our number one concern.

Applied Meteorology at the Prescott Campus

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:03:25 -0700

If you want to know what’s hot with the weather these days, you might ask Joffre Lander. As part of the first class to graduate in May from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in applied meteorology Lander, an All-American wrestler and pilot would know. For starters, there’s all the hot equipment. “Have you been on the roof yet?�? he asks, referring to the top story of the campus complex that houses the department of meteorology and its high-tech equipment. There you’ll find a weather radar like those used by real-world aircraft, as well as a weather camera that feeds data to the department’s web site. Downstairs is the weather center where students can practice radar and satellite interpretation from weather radars around the country, and a supercomputer that offers up mesoscale weather models. But for Lander, meteorology is hot because it fits well with his passion for flying. He was recently awarded a pilot’s slot in the Air Force and hopes to fly B1B “Lancers�? as a career officer. Having a degree in applied meteorology and the weather expertise it offers is an obvious asset, he said. Another pilot who agrees that meteorology is hot is Peter Grey. Grey is also set to graduate in May but with a double major in Applied Meteorology and Aeronautical Science. Grey hopes to be a civilian airline pilot and has already been accepted by Embry-Riddle as a flight instructor, having logged 350 Hours. A member of the university’s National Champion Golden Eagles flight team, Grey chose a double major with the idea of job security. “I just thought of what would happen if I couldn’t be a pilot. I’d need a back up plan,�? he said. “Meteorology is a good career field. There’s so much we don’t know about weather and how things work together. It’s a very dynamic field of science,�? he said. Although the university only began offering majors in applied meteorology in 2004, the classes, and notably the instructors, come highly recommended by their students. “It’s not like a typical college where there are three hundred people in a class taught by a TA (teaching assistant) and the professor is locked away doing research,�? Grey said. Lander adds that Department Chairman Mark Sinclair might even teach one of your first classes. “The instructors really show an interest in you. They’ll definitely give you all the support you need,�? Lander said, referring to some hurdles he had to overcome with calculus. “We are a teaching-centered faculty,�? affirms Sinclair, and he stresses the faculty-student relationships that develop at Embry-Riddle are one reason for its reputation as the premier aeronautical university in the nation. “Our doors are always open and we are here to help students succeed,�? he said. Along with faculty colleague Dr. Dorthea Ivanova, Sinclair said applied meteorology is a hot career track for women, noting the current shortage of weather officers in the Air Force as well as excellent opportunities in other areas of meteorology. About a third of the students in applied meteorology at the university are women, he said. A woman going into the field can expect to be “very much in demand,�? Ivanova said. However, “anyone going into applied meteorology can look forward to an intriguing field of study and (they) will have fun doing it,�? Sinclair said, adding that the university concentrates on the “applied�? aspect of the degree, with many hands-on projects and opportunities such as launching and tracking weather balloons, and inter-collegiate forecasting competitions Also, with the growing awareness among the general population of global warming and climate change, Sinclair notes there will be more money available for grants for those going into research. “Global warming will certainly keep meteorology in the public eye,�? he said. It appears the forecast for those with degrees in applied meteorology from Embry-Riddle continues to be “hot�?. To contact Embry-Riddle, call 800-888-3728 or 928-777-6600. You can email the Office of Admissions at pradmit@erau.edu.

Students 2 Future Students Video

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:45:16 -0700

The following video was produced completely by current students on the Prescott campus for a Communications class: