Getting to fly in a plane isn’t something most of us can say we do on a daily basis. But for Drew Tatum, flying is a part of his everyday life.

Tatum, senior at Auburn University majoring in Professional Flight Management, is a flight instructor at the Auburn University Regional Airport.

Tatum’s job includes the training of private, instrument, commercial and multi-engine pilots wishing to receive their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot’s certificate.

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Tatum says that the best part of his job is being able to get a different perspective on how everything looks in the air.

“Being able to fly somewhere and get there in an hour instead of driving four hours to get lunch down at the beach is also a great perk,” said Tatum. “And being able to travel all around the nation by air is something everyone does not get to do often."

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According to Tatum, being a flight instructor enables him to learn something new every day. He says it’s also a good feeling to know that he is trusted with a half million to a million dollar machine.

Tatum says another great part of his job is getting to know people and spending a lot of time with them.

“Most people are very appreciative of everything you do for them,” said Tatum. “It can be very rewarding when the student passes their FAA check ride and receives their license and knowing it is because of you they were able to accomplish that task.”

Tatum is responsible for teaching all of the ground-based knowledge that every pilot is required to know, as well as flying techniques. He must make sure the pilot is able to perform all maneuvers safely and to a passing standard. He is also required to teach them about the systems of aircraft, the aerodynamics of aircraft, different types of airspace, how to read and interpret weather and how to read aviation maps.

“All of the FAA rules and regulations are an important, if not most important, part of learning to fly,” said Tatum. “You break any of them, and you can lose your license.”

Once a pilot is taught most everything on the ground and in flight, Tatum says his job becomes relatively boring. From then on, he sits in the right seat and can only critique on how the student can improve flying a particular maneuver of the aircraft.

“As a flight instructor, basically, I am more at risk of potentially losing my license,” said Tatum. “I am the pilot in command when I go up with anyone and am responsible for the safety and well-being of all students. If any accident were to occur, it would be my fault.”

According to Tatum, training new pilots can be dangerous, especially when teaching them to land.

“At any time, they could over control the plane and either make a destructive landing or worst case, crash,” said Tatum. “It is definitely a job where you have to pay attention to everything 100 percent of the time.”

On average, getting a pilot’s license costs between $7,000 and $10,000. The first step is to go to a certified Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) to obtain a medical certificate. To get a private pilot’s license, trainees must pass a written test and oral exam. They must also pass a flight test with an FAA examiner.

For more information, visit the Auburn University Regional Airport website at http://www.auburn.edu/administration/airport/.

This past spring break, four Auburn students were selected to be part of a spring break special on The Travel Channel in Key West, Fla.

The Travel Channel crew interviewed Elizabeth Anne Leavitt, Ashlyn Seeley, Jenna Hill and Blaire Wheelis on Tuesday, March 17, 2011.

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After getting off the boat where the group participated in a snorkeling excursion, they were asked by an employee of Fury Adventures if they wanted to go parasailing… for free.

Leavitt said the group’s immediate response when they heard the news was, “What’s the catch?”

After the employee explained that The Travel Channel would be filming their experience, the girls decided they wanted to participate.

“We couldn’t pass up a free chance to go parasailing,” said Leavitt. “Especially if we were going to be on The Travel Channel.”

The group had to sign waivers in order to parasail and to be interviewed for the show.

“I couldn’t believe we got to go for free and that The Travel Channel was filming us,” said Wheelis. “It felt like a dream.”

The girls were paired in groups of two for their interviews and were asked questions about their spring break experience in Key West, as well as their reaction to being able to go parasailing.

The Travel Channel camera crew also filmed them while parasailing.

According to Wheelis, all of the girls besides Seeley had previously been parasailing.

“They did a separate interview on Ashlyn to film her reaction to parasailing for the first time,” said Wheelis. “It was really fun to watch her be put on the spot and answer the questions.”

After parasailing, the girls were given certificates for a free sunset cruise for the following night from the employees at Fury Adventures.
“We were excited because we were planning on going on the sunset cruise anyways,” said Wheelis. “Getting to go for free made it even better.”

More information on Fury Adventures can be found at http://www.furycat.com.

The show will air this April or May on The Travel Channel. For more information on The Travel Channel visit http://www.thetravelchannel.com.

With swimsuit season just around the corner, several people are visiting tanning salons. While some are using the tanning beds, others are choosing to get spray tans, which may prove to be the best alternative to harmful UV rays.

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Elizabeth Anne Leavitt, senior at Auburn University, is an avid fan of spray tans.

“I get spray tans because skin cancer runs in my family. It’s less time consuming than going to tan every day in a normal tanning bed,” Leavitt said.

Leavitt said that she likes the results so much, that she has gotten 10 spray tans in the past two years.

“I like them because I can have a tan in the middle of the winter or when it’s cloudy outside or,” Leavitt said. “It’s like an instant tan.”

According to Leavitt, it’s a healthier solution to tanning. She says that it’s fast and worth the money.

“It gives you more reliable results,” she said. “You know what you will look like when you come out.”

After deciding if you want a light, medium or dark spray tan, you go into a booth and apply a base lotion that prevents streaking and balances the pH level in your skin. You are also given a shower cap and barrier cream to put on your hands and feet. A voice guides you through the process.

“It takes about 15 minutes and you stand in four different positions in the booth while it sprays, right, left, and front and back,” Leavitt said. “The machine talks to you and tells you where to place your feet on the ground.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the most effective sunless tanning products contain DHA (dihydroxyacetone), a chemical that creates the long-term tanning effect. When applied to the skin, DHA reacts with the proteins and amino acids in the skin's superficial layer to produce a golden brown color. The skin begins to darken two to three hours after application and lasts five to seven days.

Leavitt says she gets spray tans before special occasions like weddings, formals and sorority recruitment. She usually gets them two days before the event.

“Being tan makes me feel more confident,” Leavitt said. “It typically makes you look more healthy and it makes your skin look more radiant.”

The Tan Essentials on South College Street offers Mystic Tans. The light shade is $21, the medium shade is $23 and the dark shade is $24. Aromas or triple bronzing boosts may be added for $4 extra. You can also buy three sessions for $50. On “Mystic Mondays,” customers can purchase any shade for $18.

Palm Beach Tan on South College Street offers Mystic Tans and VersaSpa

Some say it is just a trend to get engaged while still in college. Others just say it is just the right time in their life. Planning a wedding can be very time consuming especially when added to the pressure of classes. Erika Strother and Angel Champion are both planning a wedding during their senior year at Auburn.


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Strother is a senior at Auburn University majoring in Nursing. She says she is trying to get the “big things” taken care of first because she will be doing her preceptorship until the end of the semester in Panama City, Fla.

“By using good time management, I’m able to balance preparing for the wedding and getting things taken care of as well as finishing schoolwork in a timely manner,” said Strother. “If I wasn’t organized things would be all over the place.

So far, planning the wedding hasn’t interfered with her schoolwork. Since Strother has passed her major exit exam for nursing, she says she feels more relaxed now and has more time to think about planning the wedding.
She says her mom as also been helping her with the planning process.

When asked if Strother thinks there is a pressure to get engaged while still in school, she replied by saying, “I think it becomes more of a pressure the closer it is to graduation, especially if you have been dating for a while,” said Strother, “It can be seen as the next step of your life.”

Strother’s fiancé, Dean Moncrief, proposed to her on Dec. 28, 2010. Moncrief responded to the same question by simply saying he did it when he wanted to.

According to Strother, everything is going well so far. She says she is glad she is almost finished with school and that it may have been a challenge to try to juggle nursing and planning all at the same time if it were any other semester.

“Now that I’m in the final stretch and the majority or my school is under my belt, I feel like it is easier to devote time to planning the wedding,” said Strother.

Champion is majoring in Secondary Education. She says that she finds time to plan for her wedding in between studying and school. She tries to get things done on the weekends and during breaks.

“It is such an exciting time in my life, so I feel like it is more fun to plan and think about the wedding than homework and studying,” said Champion. “Sometimes, I’ll even stay up late looking up things on the Internet just to make myself feel accomplished.”

Since Champion got engaged at the end of the summer, she says she started the fall semester off distracted. She would go to the library with girls to study for a test and would end up talking about her wedding plans for hours.

“Wedding planning adds another distraction to the pile of things given to us as students,” said Champion. “It is a lot of pressure because this is the big day that most girls dream about all their lives.”

She says there is so much pressure to have it perfectly planned in advance, and as a result, wedding planning is the first thing on her mind every day.

“Wedding planning is just more fun to talk about and focus more attention on,” said Champion.

Strother’s wedding will be on October 1 in Brundidge, Ala. and Champion’s will be held on June 11 in Childersburg, Ala.

Jenna Hill, senior at Auburn University, plans to move to New York City after graduation to pursue a career in special events. An English major at Auburn, Hill has also received a certificate for event planning from the Continuing Education Program at Auburn University in Montgomery.

Hill said that moving to New York City is something she’s wanted to do since she went there with her mother when she was in the eighth grade.

“I want to plan large events and work with a big company, and New York has plenty of options,” Hill said.
The companies Hill is applying to work for vary. One company plans larger events at places such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as award shows. Another company is more of a marketing based event company that plans events in order to promote certain products, such as New Balance shoes. The other places she has applied to are lounges and night clubs, that do smaller private parties, but for well known clients.

This past weekend, Hill went to New York City for three job interviews. She also went to look for places to live. The areas she is looking at are the Upper East Side, SoHo and West Village.

In order to find places to live, she has been asking her friends to see if they know anyone who lives in New York City. So far, she has had luck finding people who live there, but none of them need roommates. She has also been searching on Craigslist.com.


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Hill is a native of the city of Fairhope, Ala., with a population 17, 147. In May, she will be moving to the most densely populated major city in the U.S., with a population of over 8,000,000.

“As of right now my plan is to stay in New York for five years. After five years I will sit down re-evaluate my life and see what’s next,” Hill said. “I can see myself moving back to the South at some point, most likely when it is time to start a family.”

Friends and family of Hill believe she will be able to adjust to the life in New York City and will have no trouble making new friends and finding a job.

“I’m excited about Jenna moving to New York,” said Kristin Richmond, friend of Hill. “She’s a very driven person, and I know she’ll fit in just fine.”

Hill knows three people living in New York. She says it is a little scary moving to such a big city and not knowing hardly anyone, but she is sure she will make friends in time.

“The people I know are all very nice and I’m sure they will have no problem introducing me to their friends,” said Hill.

The cost of living is much higher in New York City; therefore adjustments will have to be made when Hill moves. She is selling her car in order to cut down on costs of parking and gasoline. She says she will feel a little weird not having any means of transportation, but the majority of the population in New York City relies on walking or riding the subway.

“The subway systems is probably what has me the most nervous because it is the largest in the world, it can get very confusing very fast,” said Hill.

From New Orleans to Nashville to Charleston, the fraternities at Auburn University have been to them all. Fraternity formals are the perfect opportunity for fraternity brothers and their dates to get out of Auburn for the weekend.

Blaire Wheelis, senior at Auburn, has been to five fraternity formals. She recently attended Fiji formal in New Orleans.

“My favorite part about formal is getting to go on an organized road trip with all of my friends”, said Wheelis.
“Even though most people are exhausted throughout the trip, the show must go on.”

Wheelis said the majority of the trip is spent walking around the city. She enjoys getting to eat and shop at different places. One of her favorite spots in New Orleans is Cafe Du Monde, an original French market coffee stand famous for its coffee and beignets.

“Every time I go to New Orleans for formal, I go to Cafe Du Monde,” said Wheelis. “It’s always fun to get a group of people to grab a table, order beignets and people watch.”

While these formals may be pricey for most college students, for them the cost is well worth the money spent. According to Fiji social chair, Brad Cink, the cost of formal this year was $475 per brother. Fiji plans their formals through Worldwide Travel in Northport, Ala. Cink said that planning well in advance in order to book an available weekend and then collecting payment early helps cut down on the price.

“Other than that, it's pretty simple,” said Cink. “Executing it and keeping up with 160 people on three buses is difficult but an empty threat of getting left behind keeps everyone on time.”

Fiji formal was held at The Bourbon View. The group stayed at the Astor Crown Plaza Hotel, located in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Each fraternity brother was given a hotel room key policy, cooler policy and itinerary for the weekend.

For most fraternities, the location of the formal depends upon the members’ preference each year. Price, location of the hotel and safety are all taken into account when making the decision.

Sigma Nu formal was held this past weekend in Charleston, S.C. After departing Auburn Friday afternoon on an eight-hour bus ride, the group was ready for a night out on the town. They stayed at the Renaissance Marriot. The cost was $450 per brother.

Farmhouse Fraternity will be traveling to Nashville, Tenn. on Feb. 18. The formal will be on a riverboat cruise dinner aboard the “General Jackson.” The price is approximately 325$ for each brother. The group will be staying at the Double Tree in downtown Nashville.

Formals are filled with lots of music, friends and, for some, embarrassing stories. According to Wheelis, “For most people, what happens at formal stays at formal.”

For more information on fraternity formals, visit http://www.auburn.edu/ifc/.



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