It ended up being beautiful on Saturday, and I got to show them the Ridges and a little driving tour of campus in the car I bought last year for my internship. I got to show them my old houses and dorms, and some of my other favorites around Athens (Miller’s Chicken, OU Golf Course, Haffa’s, The Donkey). It was fun for me too; I don’t often have a reason to venture down to South Green or across the river. I felt like I was reminded of some of the things that drew me here in the first place.

There are multiple ways to handle this. One way my friends and I have chosen to do it includes using Google Calendar. The calendar allows you to post your schedule and then add contacts that are allowed to view it. My schedule has a handful of different schedules all color-coded which allows me to see who is free during the day.

This has allowed us to set up a weekly lunch where almost everyone can make it to stay in touch. It also helps for impromtu gatherings and the occasional bit of humor; all of which makes the dreary winter quarter less discouraging and more fun!

With the conference coming up in just a few weeks, this is one of the last fundraising attempts we can fit in. The money raised will go towards lowering each member's total conference cost. In previous years, the conference has been completely covered by our fundraising. This year we have a lot of new members and it is the largest group yet to attend the conference. Even with all the new members, we just barely meet the member requirements to be considered a chapter of Women in Aviation. Since there are so many people going, it is the largest out-of-pocket cost that we have had and we need all the help we can get for being such a small group.

I'm looking forward to this fund raiser. In my time at OU this is the first time we are raffling a flight! I feel really good about this one.

I have really enjoyed my required work out twice a week at the pool and have met a lot of people who are in different majors. Ohio University has other courses for students to take such as horseback riding, golf, bowling and many more. Below is a list of all the Physical Education Activity classes offered at Ohio University.

In the meteorology class, we are tasked to look at a significant weather event from the recent past (tornado, hurricane, blizzard, etc.) and look more in depth to the conditions that caused the event. My group has decided to look at a tornado from Tuscaloosa, Arizona from a few years back. It is really a neat assignment to be able to determine the causes to this significant event.

In the environmental geography class, we were assigned to research food miles. Food miles are how far your food has traveled from its point of origin to your plate. We had to compare foods from Kroger to the local foods at the Athens Farmer’s Market. This was also a neat assignment. So many of the foods we think are “fresh” at supermarkets are actually one or two weeks old because of the distance they had to travel. This causes a lot of other effects like the burning of fossil fuels by the shipping of the food.

These are two of the neatest projects I have done at OU as a student. I really enjoy this about the classes at OU. It isn’t only lecture and test, but you get some real experience with the topic too.

The project involves improving efficiency for the receiving docks; we want to reduce the time it takes for incoming parts to be processed. Right now, the process is very hard to understand since we have only seen it a few times. The key to understanding any process is to break it down into steps, and find the root of the problem. This will be especially challenging due to the high volume of parts Kenworth receives daily for its trucks.

Since the project involves Six Sigma, we follow through a sequence of steps: Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. This quarter we primarily focus on the design, measure, and analyze steps. This involves creating how data is to be collected and measured, along with analyzing the system's current capability, and design.

Senior design is the most valuable and challenging class, I have been in thus far. Working for a company provides the real world experience that I need to succeed in my own career. I look forward to providing Kenworth with a valuable solution that can save them money.

My team is working with the Maintenance, Repair, and Operations Manager to optimize their warehouse. The first thing they want us to do is to find the order frequency and fail rate of each part in storage. From that we will determine the economic order quantity for each part. Once we have a better idea of what they have, how much they use it, and how often it needs to be ordered, the second part of our project is to design a new layout in their storage facility and a system of part vending machines throughout the facility. Under the current system workers must leave the line and go to the storage room for parts. With the new vending machine system, the workers will have to travel a shorter distance. And since the machines will be hooked up to the warehouse servers, the machines will keep track of each part in storage and automatically reorder when the stock is low.

While the size of the project was initially intimidating, we have been able to continually measure and get a better understanding of the current situation and how to implement the change. I’ve been waiting for this project for a long time and I’m happy to be working on it now that it’s here.

Wayne National Forest is about 30 minutes northwest of Athens, and boasts 300+ miles of trails (including mountain biking, bridal, and ATV trails). The Burr Oak Trail intercepts the Buckeye trail on the North side, which would offer a 30 mile loop for a good 3-4 day trek. They call this area “the Little Smokies” because of its aesthetic similarity to the much larger National Park. The guy at the P & P warned that the better option would likely be south of Athens though for our quicker weekend trip.

So we are settling on Zaleski State Forest. It covers over 26,000 acres and borders Lake Hope. With the rain we have had lately the trail likely will not be too muddy with good local drainage into the lake. The loop is 26 miles total, but we will be able to cut that in half if need be with a shortcut that is supposedly well-marked. The trailhead is only a 40 minute drive from Athens, ensuring an easy return in time for class on Monday and my brother’s drive home to Cincinnati. The date is set for next weekend—-wish us luck!

Check out the link to Zaleski’s website (+ free downloadable maps): http://www.zaleskistateforest.com/

This is one of the most fun classes that I have ever taken because it is preparing me for the real world. We are learning how to apply what we have learned over the last four years. We are also doing group work which also helps you figure out how to work as a team. This is a huge help with your interrelationship skills. I am learning how to work with people and understanding how to communicate with them. Even though I might not always agree with what people in the group say I am starting to be able to figure out how to calmly argue with them to get the point across without getting mad. It is very nice to start using what we have learned over the last four years and putting it to good use.