Graduation

Yes, a little delayed, but with a post about the 6 month anniversary of April 27th in the works, why not write about what happened six months ago on April 30th?

It has now been six months since I graduated from college.  Phew!  That went by quickly.  I vividly remember the day I moved into my dorm room freshman year…and then drove right back to Pontotoc with my parents because classes didn’t start until a week later!

Obviously I am not going to go into grave detail (for your eyes’ sake and my fingers’ sake), but I think a very brief review is in order.  Then I have to give a couple of shout outs.

My freshman and sophomore year, a majority of my time outside of class was spent at the Baptist Student Union.  I was very active with events, bibles studies, etc.  I grew so much as a Christian my first two years of school.  Who would’ve thought, right?  The stereotype is to leave high school to see what is out there–which is code for getting wasted at parties every other night for some people.  That never appealed to me.  I am glad I got plugged in so early with such a great group of friends.  I even went on a mission trip to Italy with Campus Crusade for Christ during Spring Break of my sophomore year and spent Christmas Break in Asia during my junior year.  Those were both amazing experiences.

For my junior and senior years (see, I told you this would be a quick synopsis), I was still involved with those organizations (I even played violin in the BSU traveling praise band–Drawn Together), but a lot of my attention was put on meteorology.  You can read my About section to get the scoop on why I chose this to turn into a career.  I cannot begin to say enough about the people in my program.  I loved going to class every day just because I knew I had a GREAT group of friends waiting on me.  The kids in the weather department are such a tight-knit group.  Several of my non-weather friends were amazed that I hung out with people in my major outside of class!  And now those weather friends of mine are spread all over the country on TV or in some other line of work.  That works out great for when I want to do some traveling! Hah.

The professors at Mississippi State are amazing.  They genuinely care about each student and want them to understand the material.  When they say their doors are always open, they mean it.  And I did take advantage of that several times.  I am confident that they all saw my hard-work and determination, and that is one of the reasons that I was selected to go storm chasing in the Great Plains for two weeks during the 2010 summer with 7 other students and 2 professors.  We saw six tornadoes on that trip, and I am confident that experience will give me an edge in my job.

If any of you are reading this that are thinking of going to MSU to study for a career in weather, you need to know about the Climate Lab.  It is basically the lounge for meteorology folks.  There are tables to work on projects, do homework, eat lunch, or just shoot the breeze with friends between classes.  Professors constantly come in to sit and shoot the breeze with you!  You can drive by Hilbun Hall after midnight on most nights and still find the Climate Lab light on.  It also houses the room where the broadcasters practice and have labs.  There is always someone in there practicing which means there is someone to critique you and someone who knows what your aspirations are.  Of course there are several computers in there, too.  During severe weather, you can find many professors, grad students, undergrads, people not related to the weather program, HAM radio operators, etc. in the lab tracking the storms and seeing what is going on.  There is always someone there to learn from.  It is truly a unique environment and is one of the first things I think of when I think of the program–second to the great people.

So, college was fun.  I applied and got accepted to a couple of grad schools (including the University of Oklahoma), but I couldn’t pass up a job opportunity that came along to be a television meteorologist.  I made life-long friends, won a national championship in forecasting with those amazing people I just wrote about, saw Mississippi State football go to a couple of bowl games, basketball win an SEC championship and go to two NCAA tournaments, and watch the baseball team get a few outs away from a College World Series.

THE BIG THANK YOU goes to Mom and Dad.  Because of them, I have no debt.  Yes, I had some scholarships and grants, but they picked up the rest of the tab.  They know how important education is, and I will never be able to thank them enough for allowing me to be a student and fully devote myself to studying (I finished with a 3.92 GPA with all A’s in my weather and communication classes), getting the full college experience by being in extra-curricular activities (including intramural tennis and softball as well as the MSU orchestra), and not having to worry about where my next rent check, grocery money, or textbooks were going to come from.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Really.  I hope you two take satisfaction in knowing that I will turn around and pay it forward to my kids one day.  I love you both!  I promise I made the most of my four years (be proud of that for one thing–that I didn’t go over four years!) and represented you in a way that you would be proud of!

Hail State!