Alumni of the Month - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Alumni of the Month

Josh

alland

Graduated: 

2013

Current Occupation:

 Graduate Student at the University at Albany, State University of New York - studying hurricane intensification under a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship - a fellowship senior undergraduates can apply for during their fall semester

.Slide2

Questions asked

1.  If you could go back in time and give your sophomore year self advice, what would it be? 

Work

your as* off! College is a time that will dictate the rest of your life, including the lives of other important people in your life (future spouse, children, etc.). Of course, it is important to have fun and enjoy yourself, but at the end of the day it will be your hard work academically that will give you future opportunities. Meet as many people as you can in the research field, NWS, private sector, and broadcasting. You never know where you will end up. I came to ISU wanting to be a broadcaster and told myself I would never ever switch to researcher - the word "researcher" made me want to fall asleep. Now I am in graduate school - keep all opportunities open and take every opportunity available to you! ISU has SO MANY unique opportunities - teaching opportunities, a NWS close by, and a wide network of broadcasting connections - take advantage of these resources!

2.  Name the funniest memory you have from AMS. 

Caroling

to professors' houses during the holiday season. Dr. Gallus had his dog play the piano, Dr. Wu made us some ridiculously delicious tea, Dr.

Cervato

cried after we sang her favorite song, and Dr. Chen's wife gave us a huge tip for our incredible harmonies. Slide3

Questions asked (continued)

3.  What classes did you struggle the most with? 

Dr

. Tsing-Chang Chen's Dynamics I. This class made me

flippen

stressed -

urghhh

. However, this class also turned into my favorite class at ISU. Taking the time to really read the textbook and understand the mathematics led me to better understand the meteorology. Putting forth effort in this class will be very beneficial to your understanding of meteorology!

4.  What general advice do you have for meteorology majors? 

Find

what you enjoy - meteorology is such a small field, and finding something you love that you can specialize in will pay off big time in the future. Once you find what you love, whether that be broadcasting, forecasting, researching hurricanes, or setting up instrumentation, build connections from your niche. Get to know as many people as you can. Look for internships based on your passions as soon as possible! Take every opportunity within the department and ISU AMS - including leading review sessions for classes and participating in outreach opportunities.

The

next remark is corny, but I think it is the best piece of advise. Always treat people kindly and with respect. I have met a lot of awesome, super nice people and have also met some horrible d-bags. Those that were nice are currently succeeding, but I cannot name one d-bag who is currently succeeding. Treating others with respect is not only the right thing to do, but will ultimately give you your best chance to land your dream job. Always keep this in mind. Slide4

Questions asked (continued)

5.  Since finals are upon us, what studying methods helped you the best, and what studying methods were a waste of time? 

I

am not the best person to answer this question, because I always procrastinated studying. Basically, do not be like me. I usually pulled all-nighters studying for exams. Dumb Josh, dumb. What worked well for me, however, was copying over my notes after class to make them neater. I found it much easier to study with cleaner notes.