CIMSS Weather Camp - Student Talks

If you follow my social media accounts or have ever taken a class with me, you know that I am very passionate about education and the sharing of knowledge. I was humbled to be invited to do a bit of both at the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Weather Camp for high school students. This was held in a virtual format this year as opposed to the typical in-person experience.

I delivered two virtual talks to 50 high school students from around the country who were attending the week-long event: “More Than a Meteorologist” and “#WxTwitter and Social Media-rologists.” The first, bearing the same of my website, was my story of how I became interested in weather and my career story up until now, much like I share in the My Story section of this site.

The second explored the benefits and potential pitfalls of sharing weather information online, interacting with professionals in the digital space including using the #WxTwitter hashtag, as well as developing credibility and authoring weather articles responsibly.

This brought back tons of amazing memories from my time in Madison, WI as an Education and Outreach Specialist with CIMSS. One of my duties was planning and facilitating the intensive, 1-week workshop for high school students to broaden their knowledge and explore career paths in the geosciences. Experiences included laboratory activities, field excursions and an interactive lecture series.

The photo on the right is one of our many Student Workshop trips which included visiting WKOW TV, the ABC affiliate in Madison, Wisconsin. Former WKOW-TV Meteorologist Brian Olson gave us a full behind the scene tour including green screen shenanigans!

A huge thanks to Margaret Mooney, CIMSS Education & Public Outreach Director - and one of my greatest mentors - for the invitation.

Here’s to inspiring the next generation of young professionals; after talking with group I’d say the future is bright!