What's the Word? Eagle Alumni Spotlights

Anna Cox, a recent graduate from Embry-Riddle with a degree in Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination, now works as a financial analyst at RTX while also running her own solo accounting practice. Anna’s entrepreneurial spirit served her well even before she graduated; one of her favorite campus experiences was re-launching the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners student club. Anna recogniz...

Natalia Barraza (2023) discusses her background, including her naturalization through the Army and her bachelor's degree in Global Security Intelligence Studies from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She highlights her role in Korea with the Civil Affairs Directorate, focusing on strategic operations and research. Natalia emphasizes the importance of concise, objective writing in both the mili...

Daniel Dyck (2019) uses his Mechanical Engineering degree at Blue Origin in Washington State, mainly designing and building valves. He got hooked on rocketry at Embry-Riddle and fondly remembers his capstone team building a brand-new test facility for their project, on top of all their other design and rocket-building work. In his current work, documentation is the most important kind of writing h...

Michelle Day (1991) earned her degree in Aviation Business, and in this episode she shares a little of her experience from working in the aviation industry, living abroad, and eventually coming back to support alumni engagement on the ERAU-Prescott campus. It took Michelle some time between graduation and finding an airline job-- she wishes she'd taken more advantage of Career Services when she ha...

Sam Ruggio (2022) gained a range of great experience from his time in ERAU's GSIS program, from ROTC to internships with Boeing. After graduating, he worked for 2 years in St. Louis as a [check on this job title...] defense inspector...? at Boeing, but then decided to go back to school. He's now working on a graduate degree in International Relations at George Washington University. Writing and co...

As a Trust and Safety Officer for Turo, Kenda Wilcox (2023) investigates an exciting range of incidents, documenting every tiny detail along the way to help her solve the case and report a successful outcome. Kenda appreciates how well her degree in Global Security and Intelligence Studies prepared her for this work, with a shoutout in particular to prof Alan Saquella and the reports he assigned i...

Stephen Rocha, 2011 graduate, shares stories and details from his current work with Delta Airlines. He flies internationally and enjoys that every day is a little bit different--even when flying to the same city or the same airport terminal. Communicating clearly with the crew, flight control, maintenance teams, and industry safety organizations is a key requirement for all professional pilots. St...

In this episode, Ivana Martinez (2023) shares with us her unique Embry-Riddle journey, including how to make time for the arts, passion projects, and side hustles during a busy college career. Ivana is now applying everything she learned as an Aerospace Engineering major to a variety of work at a defense contracting company. Writing and communication are everywhere in her current job-- from creati...

Gaurav Nene, a recent graduate from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, works at Relativity Space in Long Beach, California, developing the Terran R rocket. His role involves mission reliability, focusing on ensuring rocket success through independent verification and design improvements. Gaurav’s experience includes internships at SpaceX and leading the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Rock...

This week we are bringing you a special look into what goes into making What's the Word? From how the podcast came to be to the process of creating each episode to favorite pieces of advice, this week's episode gives an inside look at the process from the people that bring you What's the Word.

This week on What’s the Word, we dive in with Jordan Savoy. A graduate from 2017, Jordan majored in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Propulsion. Starting as an engineer at Raytheon, Jordan moved through the ranks and is now a Contract Manager where she directly oversees a team of engineers and also has become one of the faces of Raytheon. Jordan reflects on her writing experience as a Contra...

Edward Micklos, a recent graduate from Global Security and Intelligence Studies, currently works for Epic Systems. He reflects on learning to work quickly to produce highly important communications during crisis situations, as well as how useful it was to apply skills from writing classes in his history classes, or welding skills in chemistry. In his current job, Edward needs to write with a clear...

Barrett Hendrickson talks through his experience as a flight instructor, flying for Horizon Air, and now teaching airline operations at ERAU-Prescott. He reflects on writing ASAP reports and maintenance logs as a captain. Since you never know when the FAA might need to inspect the records you have written, it's very important to make those notes precise, concise, and clear. His advice for curr...

Our guest for this episode is Chris Walton, one of the first Eagles to experience the Prescott campus in the 70s and 80s. He shares some great memories of how different things were back then, along with highlights from his more than 30 years working in aviation. We might think pilots don't do much writing, but communication is still key to keeping a flight crew on the same page, documenting an...

Our first Eagle Alumni Spotlight is Alex Hoppe!

Daniel Cohen (2016) shares an insider view on what it takes to co-found a new robotics lab. In this episode, he also talks about the importance of prioritizing the fun stuff in life just as much as work, and tells current engineering students that communication is going to be a lot more important than they might think it will be. His advice is to not put too much pressure on yourself, take your ti...

This week's special edition episode spotlights four alum who are all excelling in their careers. Going all the way back to the beginning of Embry-Riddle Prescott Campus, this episode goes back in time to showcase these amazing alums accomplishments.

In this fun episode, our host Abby talks with the director and tutors at the new Prescott campus Writing & Design Lab. They all love working together to help all our current Eagles with their communication work in any genre, any medium, and any situation in or outside of class. 

Tyler Morris (2018 graduate) works for Sandia Labs on a variety of cybersecurity projects. His workplace writing also varies a lot-- from informal updates and business correspondence to proposals. He even gets to use his creative writing skills when coming up with fictional security scenarios for trainings and other events. Tyler has fond memories of his Humanities and Communication courses, where...

In our first spotlight from the Global Security and Intelligence program, Rosa Sosa Vargas (2017 grad) explains some of the variety of long, short, academic, and non-academic writing she works on in her role as an Associate Professor. She also talks about the importance of thinking of your audience and being confident about your message. Look for Professor Sosa Vargas at the local campus athletic...

This week we talk with Forrest Mobley, an Aerospace Engineering major from 2020, who currently works for Boeing. In this episode, he shares fond memories of learning how to make things work in the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Lab, how he organizes his notes for sharing with colleagues, and the importance of writing succinctly.

In this episode, our first graduate from the 90s shares all about the twists and turns of his career trajectory, from NASA, to American Airlines, to working for Yavapai county. His advice for current eagles is to keep an open mind about where your degree might take you.    

In this episode, Colton Campell shares his enthusiasm for Embry-Riddle's engineering capstone program, relates fond memories of working directly with the Bell aircraft company, talks about his unconventional career path, and encourages current Eagles to become lifelong learners. Campbell is currently pursing a PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the Univeristy of Alabama.

Dive in this week with graduate Tyson Boatman and hear what life is like as an Embry-Riddle Flight Instructor!

This episode features some awesome advice from Aerospace Engineering grad, Benjamin Treece.