Eagles Helping Eagles
In the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, some Embry‑Riddle students and their families need our support. Please consider contributing to the Daytona Beach and Worldwide Eagles Cares Emergency Funds by making a gift.
Red Rope, a student club at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, leapt into action as Hurricane Milton roared across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida — at one point reaching Category 5 status, with winds topping 180 miles per hour.
The Red Rope club, which focuses on community service and preparing ROTC and civilian students for Special Warfare, operates under the motto, “First there, that others may live.” Members go through intense physical training, with many members certified as lifeguards, emergency medical technicians or firefighters.
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Hurricane Milton triggered flooding and deadly tornadoes across Florida before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean just south of Daytona Beach. In the storm’s aftermath, the Red Rope team spent days cleaning debris to clear roads and driveways, and removing dangerous limbs near homes, Munro reported.
Since 1997, Red Rope has prepared Embry‑Riddle students for the rigors of Special Operations training while serving the local community through preparation for and recovery from natural disasters. Alumni have gone on to be Air Force pararescue specialists, special tactics officers, Army rangers, engineers and pilots.
Red Rope’s most recent activities were only one example of Embry‑Riddle students contributing specialized military, aviation and engineering skills to relief efforts. Embry‑Riddle President P. Barry Butler, Ph.D., commended the actions of the university community.
“The spirit of Embry‑Riddle was on full display before, during and immediately after the severe weather impacted so many of us,” Butler said. “I am inspired and encouraged by these stories of leadership and community service.”
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Engineering for Safety
When Sigma Kappa Sorority sisters Alexis “Lexi” Davis and Lauren Phillips needed someone to help rebuild a storm-damaged fence for the Domestic Abuse Council’s emergency shelter in Volusia County, where they both work as victim advocates, they knew just who to call.
Enter Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity brothers Brady Andrews and Marcus Lopez, both juniors at Embry‑Riddle.
Andrews said he had been driving around after Hurricane Milton, in search of a way to make a meaningful contribution, when he received a text from Davis. He quickly agreed to help, along with his roommate, Lopez.
Once at the shelter, Andrews and Lopez realized the job was more than a simple fence repair.
Shelter leadership explained that the fence “provides an extra layer of safety and comfort for the survivors and their children who are seeking shelter there, and they weren’t comfortable reopening until the fence was fully restored,” said Lopez, an Aerospace Engineering student from Danbury, Connecticut. “We knew then that this cause was bigger than us and that we would work diligently to make sure their fence was 100 percent fixed.”
Andrews, a native of Pompano Beach, Florida, who is pursuing a Global Conflict Studies degree while working toward his commercial pilot’s license, recalled working on the fence for about four hours, including through the rain.
The fraternity brothers described the experience as rewarding. “There are so many heartbreaking stories that I’ve been hearing about this hurricane, and we are fortunate that we came through it okay,” Andrews said. “Many were not as fortunate.”
