It was just really cool as a college kid to be able to sit in the office of the director of the NWS and see how it worked at the highest level. They gave me a little medal and a book about navigating the world of federal service and operational meteorology. I actually won an award for best presentation and I got to go to headquarters and meet the director of National Weather Service and NOAA leadership. I really enjoyed the trip to Silver Spring, Maryland, for the scholar conference and presentations. What was your favorite or most memorable moment from your Hollings experience? You never know where you are going to end up and the field is more connected, and smaller, than you think. I know the right person to talk to and reach back out to researchers to learn about something I got a press release on. I did this because I wasn’t exactly sure what field I wanted to find myself in, but I still use those contacts in my job today as a communicator. I networked as widely as I could and as many places as possible. Everyone talks about “networking is so important,” but some people keep their network too narrow. Keep your network open and as broad as possible. What advice do you have for current and future Hollings scholars? I am able to go comfortably between those two and my Hollings experience is one piece that helped me be able to do so. They’re very connected - you have researchers and then you have your boots on the ground and they don’t communicate all that well - they sort of live different lives. Understanding the intersection of research and operations when it comes to meteorology and climate science, especially being able to synthesize research and apply it to operational techniques, is essential. Working with and becoming comfortable with academic research helps me figure out what is important in research and communicate that effectively, which is something I do everyday. Do you still use skills learned during your internship or other aspects of your Hollings experience today? Even though I didn’t take a job with NOAA, Hollings gave me extremely valuable experience and context that I still use to this day. But, after Hollings, I explored an academic career path. Like many meteorology students, I knew what I saw on TV, so I knew that I could be a broadcast meteorologist. The research I did during my internship gave me the experience and the confidence to do things that weren’t necessarily along my planned career path. Hollings gave me more experience in the operational and research fields in meteorology. How did Hollings impact your career path? I officially joined the CNN World Weather Department in 2008 after graduating with my master’s degree. I also continued to work freelance at CNN to keep the door open for future work. Those possibilities led me to go to graduate school at Georgia Tech after my graduation in 2006. That REU experience led me to Hollings and the research I did during my Hollings internship introduced me to new career possibilities. I think this probably made me competitive for my REU with the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma in 2005. First, I had an internship at CNN doing Global Weather News. My favorite day was spent checking in on community weather stations and meeting some of the volunteer weather monitors.I had a couple of important career launching opportunities in undergraduate at Georgia Tech. Keep in touch with the friends and colleagues you develop during Hollings - you never know when the opportunity to collaborate with them again may appear! I have reconnected with some of my NWS colleagues several times during the past decade as SWCDs promote participation in the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) offsite link and facilitate the communication of drought status information between farmers and our state climatologist. The Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet) skills I developed during my Hollings internship were game-changers and have saved me countless hours in my academic and professional career! I also never leave home without checking the weather forecast. I also gained valuable experience working in a professional office environment, participating in staff meetings, delivering presentations, and analyzing historical climate data from our state. Download Image How did Hollings impact your career path?ĭuring my summer with NOAA and the National Weather Service, I learned a LOT about the essential functions of the NWS and about the direct and important effects weather and climate have on everyone.
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