Evan | Student Blogs

About Evan

Hometown: Crystal Lake, IL Major: Aviation Flight and Aviation Technologies Fun Fact: I am a Zamboni driver.

First Week: Done

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Evan

Wow it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. Truth is, I’ve been so busy this week! It has been crazy getting into the swing of everything. As if class wasn’t enough, I’ve been busy trying to get involved with aviation too. Man its tough! The other side of it though is that it will be well worth it in the end. Now that I’ve established a (semi) good foundation here, I can’t wait to begin the construction of my college career.

Classes this week went well. It was cool meeting such a dynamic of instructors that teach here. I was surprised at how many graduate assistants (GAs) instruct the courses. I think its a great idea because they have a better understanding of us as a student body. I feel like I can connect with the GAs easier which, in turn, will help me succeed this semester. I’m also excited that I can understand all of my instructors! I was warned before going to college that I might end up with an instructor who was unfamiliar with the english language. Luckily, I will not have that problem.

Best class so far? Without a doubt, my Transition to Flight class has been my favorite class. I really respect that there is a dress code (business attire; no jeans, tennis shoes, or t shirts) at the airport because it helps me get into a professional mindset. So far this week, It’s been a constant test of the knowledge I already have. Although its quite difficult and requires extensive review, I feel great knowing that the level of training I will be receiving will be top notch. Tomorrow morning is my first flight and I am greatly looking forward to it. Another thing I love about the flight program here is the ability to set your own pace. If you want to fly six days a week? As long as the resources are available and your instructor is willing to put in the time (thankfully mine is), go for it! This is going to allow me to get my 8 week class done in much less time while keeping me more current.

Keep looking out for more posts! Tryouts for the flight team are Thursday with practice every night until then. I’ll keep everyone posted. Thanks and ’till next time…

-Evan Krueger

Settling In

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Evan

So far so good down here in Carbondale! I moved in yesterday with the most generous help of all the student groups. My family and I left around 23:30 Tuesday night and arrived around 6:00 Wednesday morning. Since move-in didn’t start until 7:00 we went out and grabbed a bite to eat. At 6:45 we drove around to Mae Smith and unloaded the car. SIU uses a great process to assist in moving in so many people. Once our car was unloaded, I went inside the building lobby to check in. At check in, I had to fill out some paperwork which I traded for a room key and a number. The number indicated when I could use the elevator (I was not about to drag all of my stuff up to the 16th floor). When our number was called, a small heard of student helpers gathered up my belongings and took them to my new abode. The process was essentially painless and quick as well. Best part of the day? FREE FOOD! University housing sponsored a free BBQ at lunch time AND the aviation department held one for dinner. After the 7 hour drive and all that free food, I took a much needed 13 hour nap. Tonight there is the Welcome Fest which I am looking forward too. Hopefully I’ll meet some new people and get to know the campus a little bit better. Thanks for reading and ’till next time…

Evan Krueger

One More Month!

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Evan

The countdown continues! Only one more month until move in day at SIU. Like many, I took the advice of a lot of upperclassmen and chose to stay in a living learning community (LLC). For those who don’t know, a living learning community is basically a group of students that live near each other who are enrolled in the same college or are pursuing the same major. I will be living in the aviation living learning community which takes up the entire 16th floor of Mae Smith. Students who live within a LLC generally have higher GPAs and are more likely to graduate. Not to mention you are surrounded by people that are interested in the things you are. It’ll be interesting to see how the aviation floor goes since most pilots have a type A personality. The floor isn’t all pilots, however. Those majoring in Aviation Technologies and Aviation Management will be included as well. Can’t wait to surround myself with people that have their heads in the sky! Thanks for reading and ’till next time…

Evan Krueger

Practice Makes Perfect

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Evan

This timeless motivational phrase has been used by most every type of person in existence; from parental figures to famous musicians. Myself? I’ve heard it quite a few times in my life. This summer, I’ve been applying this phrase to my flying skill set. Why you might ask? I’ve been working on my airmanship this summer, not only for fun, but to sharpen my skills for the SIU Flying Salukis! Because I will be entering this semester with my private pilot’s license, I will be eligible for an audition with SIU’s flight team; an audition that will not be a walk in the park. In case you were unaware (I’m sure you’re not though), our Flying Salukis were named the 2011 National Intercollegiate Flying Association champions! If you haven’t had a chance to read the article, I would strongly suggest you do so by clicking here. This makes it even more difficult for me coming after such a successful year. As you’ve probably assumed, the bar is going to be set quite high. No problem for me though. I love a good challenge; especially when its aviation themed! So I will continue to practice precision landings, precision navigation, and my simulated flour bomb runs (which by the way is way too fun to consider a practice exercise) in hopes that one day I can help bring back another NIFA championchip. ’Till next time…

Evan Krueger

Freshman Schedule

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Evan

Below I’ve listed my first semester classes along with a short summary of what I’m expecting from them. I’ll probably do two follow up posts (one at mid-terms and one at finals) on what I thought of them too. I think it will be kind of fun to see my opinions change as the semester progresses. So without further delay…

AF199 – Intermediate Flight Transition Program

As you can probably infer, I’m expecting this to be my favorite class. I think it will be interesting, though, learning the new procedures SIU uses. Its going to be weird at first flying so much. I’m so used to flying maybe twice a month, but three times a week?!? I’m going to be in heaven! It’s nice that I’ll be working towards my major right away too. I feel bad for others who are going to community college and won’t start major-specific classes until much later. This is one class that I won’t have any problem working hard in.

ENG101 – English Composition 1/SPCM101 – Intro: Oral Communication

I decided to lump these two classes together because I expect them to be similar (at my high school, most of our English classes were half speech and half composition anyways. I’m not expecting too much trouble here. Even though English is one of my weaker subjects, I can usually power through it if I relate my papers to something I am interested in. I’m expecting most of my work here to be related in some form to aviation.

GEOG303 – Meteorology

I’m not quite sure how to feel about this class yet. I’ve heard from others that this can be a challenging class so I’m a little nervous. Weather was one thing I struggled with while getting my private pilot’s license which doesn’t help either. I’ve also heard, however, that the instructor is more than willing to help out. Reaching out for extra help is one thing I wish I did more of in high school. I’m going to try to not make that same mistake in college.

MUS103 – Music Understanding

This class should be fairly easy for me (at least I’m hoping). I’ve played the saxophone since I was 7 and was involved with band all four years of high school. Music theory was a major focus with my high school director who taught us more than we were required to know for the class. If this class is based on basic music theory, then I shouldn’t have a problem. If its more on the history, I’ll struggle. Even though history isn’t one of my strong subjects, I’ll have to make it work. At least I find music interesting!

Evan Krueger

And so Begins the Countdown

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Evan

If I did the math correctly, there are only 44 more days until my move-in day. Normally I would add the overused witty but who is counting quip but I think in this case everyone is counting for one reason or another; whether they are excited, scared, or just plain anxious. Its hard for me to grasp the concept of leaving. Its not that I’m scared to leave (its actually the contrary); I just can’t believe the time has come already. Excitement doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about flying three days a week. I know it’s going to be hard work, but I’m ready for the challenge. Bring it on SIU!

Evan Krueger

PS: Sorry for such a short post, I’ve got a nice big monster one in the works…

Post Education Plans

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Evan

You’re probably reading the title right now and questioning “why is he making post college plans now? He hasn’t even started yet!” but just hear me out; don’t think of this as my plan but rather my goal. I was always told by my father keep your eye on the prize as to remind me that all the hard work now will pay off in the end. After attending Southern Illinois University, I hope to begin my life as a commercial airline pilot. International or domestic, cargo or passenger, it matters not to me. As long as I can spend my days 30,000 feet above the earth, I will be satisfied. While flying as a commercial pilot, I plan on continuing to educate others about aviation through another one of my blogs. I believe that one of the most important things to keep aviation alive is to get the youth involved. When I am not flying for business, I would like to fly for pleasure volunteering my time to aviation organizations whose mission is to serve the community. This way I can give back to the world what was given to me; an opportunity to experience true aviation. Because flying means so much to me, I see myself sharing aviation with the world until my last day; whether it’s instructing new pilots, or writing about my latest flight. By keeping these goals in mind, I can motivate myself through the hard work to come. Thanks for reading and ’till next time…

Evan Krueger

Why SIU?

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Evan

I guarantee you that if you asked each current student at SIU “Why did you choose to continue your education here?”, no two answers would be the same. For some its the beautiful campus; for others its to carry on a family tradition. For me however, it was because of the fantastic aviation program Southern has to offer.

Like most, I started putting together a college plan at the beginning of my junior year of high school (I remember then thinking “college is light years away. Boy was I wrong). Since I knew what I wanted to attend college for, I had an easier time than my classmates choosing. It didn’t take long for me to narrow down my top four choices. I’ve listed them below with an explanation of why I didn’t choose them (and why I chose SIU). In no particular order…

1) Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, CO) – Up until the beginning of my senior year this was actually my first choice of school. I have an aunt who is active in the Air Force which kind of inspired me to try and go this route. The application process was a nightmare (although I did almost complete it). In case you aren’t familiar with it, I’ll sum it up as best I can. It started with an online application which required 3 separate essays and your junior year transcript. After that, you had to interview with you area’s liaison officer. If you passed the interview, you then had to go for 2 medical examinations; one with a government physician and one with an optometrist. After passing those came the difficult part, receiving a congressional nomination. Each academy student must be nominated by their senator (either one) or the US representative. The catch, however, is that each person get around 5 nominations. I was lucky enough to have received one from both Representative Donald Manzullo and Senator Roland Burris. The only thing I had left before deciding on SIU was a physical endurance exam. I chose not to pursuit the Air Force because I didn’t want to chance getting a pilot slot.

2) University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) – I initially heard about UND at an airshow. They were advertising their school being the cheapest flight school in the nation (wasn’t even close to being true for out of state students). The more I looked into attending, the less I found it suited me. UND is in a relatively remote area and too far away from home for me (11 hours vs. 6 hours).

3) Embry-Riddle University (Prescott, AZ) - The school most pilots consider quintessential definitely was not the right fit for me. After talking to some pilots that frequented my work, I learned that many know of Embry-Riddle as a “pilot factory” and warned me away from attending there. After looking at the cost of attendance, I didn’t need any warning. Not to mention Arizona weather is not for me, at all.

4) Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, IL) – I first learned of SIU through their aviation career days. The aviation department teams up with either American Airlines or United Airlines who fly prospective students down from O’hare airport for the day to tour the airport, the campus, and listen to presentations by pilots and SIU faculty. The cool part (well all of it is cool actually) is that the crew of the aircraft is comprised of all SIU alumni donating their time! Even better was the cost of the entire day: free! Anyways, after attending a couple of career days, I got to know some of the students and faculty members associated with the aviation program. The more and more I visited, the more it seemed right for me. I loved that flight instruction was very personable (something I was used to) and the cost was relatively low. Everything about SIU just felt comfortable to me. There has not been one day since deciding to come here earlier this year that I doubt I made the wrong decision. I am more than ready and excited to move in. Thanks for reading and ’till next time…

Evan Krueger

Hello World

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Evan

I know, I know, the title is so cliche, but it gets the job done. My name is Evan Krueger and I am very excited to be here. I guess I’m the baby of the group since I am an incoming freshman. Nonetheless, I am more than excited to both blog for and attend SIU.

I’ll be heading down in August to dual major in both Aviation Flight and Aviation Technologies. Aviation has always run through my blood and I am very passionate about it. I’ve worked hard and was able to receive my private pilot’s licence about two years ago. To this date, its been my greatest accomplishment. However, I expect to have many more of those at school.

I’m going to try to keep my posts focused (key word try) on the whole freshman experience. Although no two experiences will be the same, I hope sharing my episodes throughout college will help others who are in my shoes or hope to be in my shoes. Thanks for reading and ’till next time…

Evan Krueger