I am now a proud owner of a full time job at Landmark Aviation at Port Columbus International Airport. All of my worries are now gone. Within a few days time I have gone from working a day or two a week at an on campus job to working 30 hours in one weekend. For the next couple weeks I will be working on the weekends for training. Once I return from spring break in Daytona Beach I will be working full time. With 3 days of work accomplished, I can say I love my job.

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.

More than 3000 aviation professionals, both men and women, will be attending. The conference consists of speakers, an extensive exhibit hall, unlimited networking opportunities, and the opportunity to find your dream job. Although our group has grown since last year, it is a struggle to fund raise to attend this event. In previous years we have successfully earned enough money to pay our way. There will be approximately 470 exhibitors at the conference. Some examples of the attendees are Airbus, Boeing, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta, UPS Air, and all branches of the military. All companies are eager to meet college students excited about starting their career. As a senior, I’m especially excited about the conference this year to scope out potential career opportunities and make connections with aviation professionals who can serve as mentors.

We are continuously trying to come up with new fund raising ideas. Some examples of our fund raising includes selling chocolate airplanes, selling food at the flight team competition, and selling homemade aprons at local craft shows. From now until March is crunch time in finding ways to make the conference an affordable reality for all members of our Ohio University WAI branch.

The tour was to support their King album, which was released in early August. Songs included were “Shattered,” “This Town,” and “That was a Crazy Game of Poker.” I was almost extremely disappointed that they didn’t play Crazy Game of Poker, but they saved it until the very end.

O.A.R. formed at O.S.U. and O.U. contributed to them making it big. When they were starting out, they played at a lot of backyard and street parties at O.U. They eventually worked their way up and recently grabbed the #3 spot on the ITunes Album Chart Day of Release and #3 on the Billboard Digital Album Chart.

It was an awesome concert. After the concert we went to uptown to the PigSkin, where I got the chance to meet bass player Benj Gersham (left in photo) and guitarist Richard On (center in photo). After walking back and forth multiple times making sure it was really them, we stopped and talked to them. I was so star-struck I forgot to take a picture with them. We also thought we saw Jerry, the saxophone player. It turns out we said “good show!” and shook the hand of a random dude at the bar who very closely resembles Jerry.

TheOU Performing Arts website provides a calendar of upcoming events and tickets prices. Some recent and upcoming events include O.A.R., The Miles Davis Experience, Aziz Ansari, and Young Frankenstein. These concerts and performances are generally pretty affordable and only a short walk from your dorm or house on campus, which is great because you don’t have to deal with the normal hassles of being stuck in traffic and paying for parking when attending concerts.

The golf course is a par 35, 9 hole course. The course is on both sides of the Hocking River and is gorgeous in the fall. OU students can play 9 holes of golf for as low as $7.00 with winter rates, and as low as $10.00 during the regular reason. Also on the grounds, there are indoor and outdoor tennis facilities. The outdoor courts are completely free for students with a swipe of your student I.D. The indoor courts are heated and can be used for a small fee.

The facility is open year round. As long as there isn’t any frost on the greens it is fair play. This is nice for those freak days in November when it’s 70 degrees.

I successfully balance working at the Golf and Tennis Center with a full class schedule. Every quarter, I submit my class schedule and my shifts are scheduled around my classes. It’s a great way to earn a paycheck without interfering with school. And free golf is a nice perk!

Women professionals were there from throughout the entire aviation industry: military, commercial, corporate flying, maintenance, and engineering. It was an excellent networking experience. In the exhibit hall there were 121 companies eager to hire. Every airline you could ever imagine yourself working for was there.

Wednesday morning at 4:30AM we departed Athens for the Columbus airport. Our flight was at 8:00AM. While on the plane, I fell asleep around 9:30 and when I woke up it was 8:30 again. I was stuck in a time warp. I had never traveled that far west before. Experiencing the time change was confusing but neat. Later that afternoon we arrived at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. The hotel was beautiful. It was like an indoor city. They had a 24-hour bowling alley, laser tag, casino, shopping mall, health spa, and more. From our hotel room we had a view of the Sierra Mountains.

The first night we attended a chapter reception sponsored by Walmart Aviation. The next morning was full of seminars and workshops. Throughout the week there were education sessions covering various aviation topics and amazing speakers. We attended the annual WAI membership meeting. After the meeting we took a short break. We changed out of our suits and went bungee jumping outside of the hotel. After, we found a nice cafe at the resort for lunch.

By the time we were done with lunch the exhibit hall was open. The exhibit hall is the most exciting part of the week. That's where I spent the majority of my time networking and handing out resumes. Along with all the great job oppurtunities, every booth handed out freebies. By the end of the week, I could fill my whole suitcase with just freebies. It takes a full 3 days to see all the booths and talk with each company.

The conference is all about networking and making connections. You meet amazing individuals with amazing stories that may help you pursue your career in aviation some day. Women in Aviation is an amazing organization full of opportunities for men and women. I highly recommend that any student in Engineering or Aviation majors should consider joining.

Today I finally get to chill. I have absolutely nothing to do. Tonight I'm going to the movie theater off East State Street with my boyfriend to see "No Strings Attached." I hope it's a good one, because me picking the movie is very rare. Usually we go see any movie with guns or Bruce Willis.

Even though I'm expected to study and cram for yet another class, I must say I'm becoming a toned and fit health nut. I've lost 5 lbs so far. So far so good.