NASA Announcement Today

Throughout my college experience I have always had a distant desire to study more about space. I did not really have the opportunity to as I chose a different path with Telecommunications and AFROTC. Being involved in so many extracurricular activities  pulled me away from learning different more about space. In a few hours NASA is going to make a statement about new findings. They have been in search of Earth-like planets that contain water. I really appreciate the things that NASA does. Their research and findings are going to dramatically change the near future.

The fact that there may be planets beyond our Solar System intrigues me. Looking back I wonder if I could have squeezed into an astronomy class or taken more time to learn about Space. When selecting what I wanted to be in the Air Force, Space Operations was one of my choices. While I won't be starting off working as a Space Operations Officer there is always a chance in the future.

UF Women's Basketball #SaluteToThoseWhoServe

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As a University, UF does a great job of recognizing those who serve. They understand the sacrifice and commitment that men and women give on a day to day basis. Last week I had the opportunity to participate in #SaluteToThoseWhoServe. During the UF Women's Basketball game I held the flag for the national anthem prior to the start of the game. At halftime AFROTC took on NROTC in a 5 on 5 basketball scrimmage. I really enjoyed the opportunity to show my competiveness in the new O'Connell center and block a few shots. The UF Women's basketball team played an excellent game against Arkansas.

I am really honored to go to a school where they have so much respect for those serving and those who will serve. Earlier this year the UF Football team did something similar that really stood out to me. The fact that multiple sports are showing respect for those defending our freedom is amazing. I really respect all the athletes and staff that put events like this on. 

Air Force Acquisition

Later this year I will be taking off for Robins, AFB to take on my first assignment. I have the opportunity to move to a new state (Warner Robins, Georgia) and learn my new career field. Many people aren't very familiar with what exactly an Acquisition's Officer does in the Air Force. As soon as I received notification that I was going to be an Acquisition's Officer I started my research to find out what an Acquisition's Officer actually does. I was amazed at the various things that I will be learning and taking on as a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant. I found out my first assignment back in late November. I was happy to learn that there are a lot of civilian careers in acquisitions and that it will really help me transition at a later date to the civilian workforce. I have been dedicating my time to make sure I am on track to graduate and commission. These next few months are going to fly by and before I know it I will be there. I am extremely excited and opportunistic for what is yet to come!

UF AFROTC - Adventure Run

THROWBACK! Every year of semester in my time in ROTC we put together an event called Adventure Run. This video is my first ever Adventure Run that we did at Lake Waulberg. The event consists of different flights that each participate in different athletic and mental competitions. It is a great way for us at the Detachment to relieve some stress and get out and compete. It's one of my favorite events that we do throughout the year. Since I am now Public Affairs Officer for the semester I am working to put together a video similar to this for this years Adventure Run!

360º Video Tour - UF College of Journalism and Communications

Technology is so amazing. This 360 degree video tour gives a great perspective and tour of the UF College of Journalism and Communications. At one point in the video I am in the lecture hall that they are using footage from. This video really does a good job of encompassing everything that the J-School consists of and has to offer. I am honored and privileged to have picked a school with such wonderful facilities, people and opportunities. I will forever be indebted to the University College of Florida Journalism and Communications.

Don't Make Me Think - Review

Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug dives into what makes a successful website. The book discusses different ways to keep the user from having to stop and think about what they are accessing the site for. Making the user think only creates problems and is very ineffective. Similar to many forms of technology, the book discusses the importance of having a website that is user friendly. The second chapter discusses the way people interact with the web and how they are drawn to different characteristics and keywords. Web design is a tricky task for a lot of people especially because most of the content will rarely be interacted with.

I found that one of the strongest points Krug made was in Chapter 4. He summarized the fact that when designing a website people need to get straight to the point. As a user of the internet on a daily basis I connect with this point a lot. Too many times I get to a website and there is a lot of stuff that either wastes my time or that I completely ignore.

Steve Krug’s use of comparing websites to traffic signs and billboards helps the reader compare his webs ideas with something more relatable. He walks you through different aspects of a website and the common things that can be found on different parts of the site, like the welcome page. He creates the point that most successful websites are reactionary. Reactionary in the sense that you won’t be able to please every user but the best way to do it is to see how users react to different things. This made me conclude that websites require a lot of resilience to be successful. When creating a website some things may be more successful than others.

Don’t Make Me Think brings up a lot of common sense ideas that people never really think about on websites. I can’t remember the last time that I was on Amazon.com and looked around at the website itself. Instead, similar to Krug’s points, I did what I normally do and search for what I was trying to purchase. 

Bottom line is that websites need to be convenient, straight to the point and not a lot of “fluff.” All of these things fall back on making sure the website is user-friendly and easy to interact with. Creating a successful website can be a difficult task. If working with a web development team it can sometimes be difficult to come to a successful conclusion.

If I were to create a website today I would really pay attention to a couple of the points that Krug made. I would brainstorm and brainstorm until I really had the concept that I wanted my website to contain. I would eliminate “fluff” from my site and really focus on making it user friendly. As the title suggests, I would try to make the user think as little as possible. I would then accept feedback from user’s and make adjustments as needed. Find out what users like and what they don’t.  Being able to respond to feedback, accept the failures and fix them will lead to success.