From the Valley to the Skies

Julissa Rivas, a mathematics senior with a concentration in science and engineering, will attend the National Tropical Weather Conference from Tuesday through Thursday at South Padre Island.

Rivas said Tim Smith, KRGV chief meteorologist, advised her to enter the giveaway that would cover her expenses for her attendance.

“I emailed [Smith] and he said I could meet him,” she said. “The day I met him, he told me to apply for this weather conference and I was chosen as one of the winners. … I was the only one [from] Texas. The two other winners [are] from Florida.”

The giveaway was sponsored by Weatherboy, which is the cumulative efforts of a team of people passionate about connecting you with the wonderful world of weather, according to its website.

“While we appear online as a happy-go-lucky young weather enthusiast, we’re very serious about the weather,” the Weatherboy website states. “Any weather content produced in any medium under the Weatherboy brand is developed by trained, college-educated meteorologists.” 

The National Tropical Weather Conference has taken place yearly at South Padre Island for over 10 years. It is organized by Smith and Alex Garcia, Fox News at Nine chief meteorologist in San Antonio.

Rivas holds a weather balloon as it gets ready for release. Photo courtesy of Julissa Rivas.

“We bring in tropical weather experts from all over the world, people that are studying hurricanes 24/7,” Smith said. “… We bring them in as the experts to teach us in the broadcast industry what the latest is in understanding tropical storms and hurricanes. … It’s our chance to learn from the real experts in the field of tropical meteorology what the latest of the science is.”

Smith said he is glad someone from the Rio Grande Valley won the giveaway. He enjoys meeting people from the region interested in meteorology, especially because UTRGV does not have a meteorology program.

Rivas said she has wanted to become a meteorologist since she was 8 years old.

“I remember there was a hurricane; it was Hurricane Dolly,” she said. “I realized it knocked down my whole fence and I was wondering how big a storm [was] that could do that. I wanted to learn more about hurricanes and how they work. … I was always fascinated by when it would rain and looking at the clouds.”

She currently volunteers at the National Weather Service in Brownsville.

“I get to see them use the [geographic information systems],” Rivas said. “… Also, I’ve been volunteering to release weather balloons. [They] help with the humidity and the air and find out more [about] weather up in the air. It’s not so much the weather balloon, it’s the machine attached to the bottom. It’s called a radiosonde.”

After graduation, she said she plans to attend graduate school at Florida State or the University of Oklahoma and pursue a Master of Science in Meteorology.

“I think [volunteering] helps a lot since UTRGV does not have meteorology,” Rivas said. “I’m still studying something that’s like a [prerequisite] to help me get there. Volunteering helps me step up what I want to do and helps me combine my degree and what I’m doing at the [National] Weather Service to [get] into a good graduate school.”

Smith said while meteorology is a business where academics are important, it is mostly about networking. He encourages students interested in meteorology to visit a local television station and the National Weather Service, such as the one in Brownsville.

“Get to know those people there, spend some time there, get internships—anything you can do to get in the part of the business that you ought to be in,” he said. “What’s most important is what you know [and] get the education, but also work on who you know and where you are.” 

Smith also advises students to find their passion.

“I’m so excited about what’s happening at UTRGV, with the change over the last few years,” he said. “Bottomline, it comes back to academics … but find something you love and become good at it and never work a day in your life. That goes to every student in every major in every career field. Don’t be forced to do something you don’t like.”