I’m Back Y’all!

 Hello again to all my friends, I would love to be writing right now to tell you that I’ve been out of the country, free from any internet connection, spent a month at sea and haven’t seen a computer in months, or better yet, took a co-op on the international space system for the spring semester….but the truth of the matter is, I became enveloped in school and totally neglected this blog for an entire semester…or two (oops). But back by popular demand (and a vast opening in my schedule) I am here to fill you in on life thus far. 

Spring Semester: most fun semester so far.  Although many of the girls in my sorority left to study abroad in Spain, I became very close friends with the girls who stayed behind.  We had several events for our sorority (see below) and found other shenanigans to get into including Mardi Gras and many Billiken Basketball games.  

my Delta Gamma "Family" at the T-Party
Tinkerbell, Turtle, Tri-Athlete

Crush Party

Gettin' downnnn

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras

Also, although I swore I would not mix my classmates and my friends, I have found my niche this semester in a group of 6-7 fellow aerospace engineers with whom I have made it through another semester without (too many) mental breakdowns.  Apparently other engineering students are people too, we just may not make the best first impressions.

Disha, Brad, and Ty

Girl Power!!

For those of you who haven’t gotten word yet, my boyfriend, Randy, has made the move and joined me and the John Cook School of Business at Saint Louis University in January.  He jumped right in, getting involved with SLUTV our local television station, snagged a job at the student center information desk, and rushed Alpha Kappa Psi, the business fraternity on campus.  (Oh, and he turned 21, hahaha!! See below)

At midnight, using his ID for the first time!

Birthday "Plunger" Shot at local college bar, Humphries

The past month has been a whirlwind of studying/cramming, packing, testing, (crying), moving, and finally making it to GRAND RAPIDS, MI.  Last fall I attended the Society of Women Engineers conference in Chicago and was blessed to meet a company called Eaton Corp, land an interview, and was then offered a summer internship before Christmas.  It’s been a long time coming, but I am so happy to say that I am finally settled in and am learning so much every day.  At orientation in Cleveland, OH one of the former interns described the first few weeks as “drinking from a fire hose” because of all the information that is blasted at you, and that is exactly how I’ve felt the past 9 days.  Since I had a short trip to Cleveland for training, I was able to meet up with my best friend Marissa and her boyfriend Zak who both attend The Ohio State.

Zak and Marissa

After orientation I made my way to Grand Rapids, MI where I will be until August 10. I am living about 10 miles from work and live with the other intern here, Rachelle.  She just finished her Junior year as a mechanical engineering student at LSU and got this internship at the same conference I did in Chicago!  We get along very well and have become quick friends.  In fact I am flying to New Orleans with her in 2 weeks to visit her family and drive her new car back up here.

Rachelle and I on our first day!

At the small Eaton aerospace plant here in Grand Rapids, I am working on a door actuator that will open and close a cargo door underneath a Chinese aircraft called the C919.  It is still in the development stages and has been quite a challenge so far.  This week I combed through all the parts that makes up the actuator system and with the help of a computer aided design (CAD) program, calculated the mass of each part, subsystem, and finally the entire system using the part’s density and volume.

Trying to keep cool in our apt the first week

Kissing up to the office with our Friday sweet treats

Catching some rays with my Program Manager, Mike

Cold "summer day" in Grand Rapids

Mom and Jordan are coming to visit me this weekend so I am super excited to venture beyond the apartment and work to see what else Michigan has to offer, word EVERYWHERE is that the beaches are great.  Mom just got wireless set up in our apartment so I promise to try to keep y'all in the loop this summer.