Our Next Generation

Good Morning, happy Thursday! It’s Katy. Hope the week has been well to you! Yesterday was a beautiful afternoon, and I had the pleasure to spend my time outdoors at a fun event. I was at Milford Preschool for their Vehicle Day! This has always been one of my favorite things to do in my spare time. I love visiting schools to talk about weather! It never fails, when the Stormtracker shows up, the kids eyes light up in excitement to know that the Tracker chases tornadoes. Yesterday we talked about our Davis Weather Station that sits on top of the car and watched the anemometer spin.. ever so slowly. (it wasn’t very windy yesterday, but the kids thought it was the neatest thing to see a 3mph wind turn into a 1mph wind). And that’s why I enjoy this part of the job. It reminds me why I love weather and broadcast television. I can say that I have a pretty neat job, but it wasn’t an easy getting to where I am today. That’s the other part that I love about my job. Being a positive role model for kids, especially girls, and showing them that math and science can be fun and cool!

On a recent visit to Hopewell Elementary School in West Chester, I met a Junior Girl Scout Troop. We talked about what I do when I come into work, in the wee hours of the morning, and the types of things I do each day to prepare for the newscast. Looking at satellite loops, radar pictures, endless computer model runs… all in an effort to put together an accurate forecast. I realized then that being that positive role model for young women is important to me. Because math and science..well, mainly the math.. didn’t come as easy to me when I was in college. Calculus 1, 2, 3 and differential equations along with chemistry and engineering physics can put a lot of stress on one person, like myself. But I told the girl scouts that it was a mountain that I climbed, and reached the top! When I didn’t understand a math problem, I got the help I needed through tutors and professor office hours. And ultimately, it got me to the fun weather classes I had been waiting to take! Kinda cheesy, I know… but pushing that positive message of “you can achieve anything you put your mind to” worked for me! Now it’s my turn to pass it down!