Posted by Bud on December 04, 2009 at 14:09:44:
TV meteorologist urges students to follow their passions
December 4, 2009
BY JAMES D. WOLF JR., POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT
It was like having a television performance in school for fourth- and fifth-graders at Valparaiso's Central Elementary School.
Ginger Zee, meteorologist for NBC 5 Chicago, WMAQ-TV, had weather charts projected behind her as she talked recently to students about her work and why she always wanted to be a weather scientist.
"The favorite part of my job is not being on TV -- it's still predicting the weather," Zee said.
It was a passion that started when she was 8 years old and moved from Los Angeles, where it's often 75 degrees and sunny, to Grand Rapids, Mich, with snow and thunderstorms.
A waterspout she saw on Lake Michigan cemented her interest.
As others ran, she said, "I kept looking back at it. I fell in love with it."
Zee encouraged the students to follow their passions, too. Hers led to attend Valparaiso University and work a stint at Lakeshore Television in Merrillville. She teaches at VU in addition to her Chicago television duties.
Her talk fit in with the fifth-graders' weather unit, teacher Jill Higgins said.
"There's a lot of steps to forecasting," fifth-grader Carson Krutz said.
Most of the students' questions for Zee centered on weather balloons and her time working with storm chasers as an undergraduate.
"We didn't learn about just one thing; we got to learn about a lot of things," fifth-grader Michael Smiley said.
Fifth-grader Julia Rohde said she learned about weather balloons. "It wasn't just from a book."
Zee asked that the teachers take photos of their classes so she can put them on the air.
This was Zee's second time at Central and the ninth year she has shared her profession and passion at schools.
"It's more satisfying than doing 90 seconds of weather," Zee said.
It also allows her to get out of her office and connect with the community, she said.