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Today’s #MarauderMonday is Kayla Rooney!<br /> <br /> Kayla is a recent graduate from Warminster, PA, majoring in Meteorology with a minor in emergency management. Kayla chose to attend Millersville University because of the “opportunities for undergraduate students, the small class sizes, and the great things I heard about the meteorology department,” she says. <br /> <br /> In addition to her studies, Kayla serves as the historian for the American Meteorological Society Student Chapter (MU-AMS). “This club has helped me find a community of people with the same interests as me, and we would have fun activity nights, from trivia nights to storm-tracking nights,” she shares. “We also have the opportunity to attend the AMS National Conference each year, which helps me network with others in the field and learn more about what I can do with meteorology.”<br /> <br /> Kayla is also a lead forecaster for the Campus Weather Service, a lead for the Weather Balloon team, and is part of a student research project titled Project BLASTED. These activities give Kayla “hands-on experience with applications within my major that I cannot learn in the classroom,” she says. <br /> <br /> Kayla’s favorite course so far has been ESSC449: Radar Meteorology, which she is currently taking with Dr. Sepideh Yalda. “In this class, I learn how to interpret different types of radars and the images they produce,” she says. “We also take a trip up to the NWS in State College to tour their radar and campus, along with AccuWeather. This is fundamental to my degree, as I use radars daily, so learning to use them will help me tremendously throughout my career.”<br /> <br /> Kayla’s favorite spot on campus is the Weather Center, located on the fourth floor of Caputo. The Weather Center offers meteorology students a home base to spend time and learn about weather. <br /> <br /> After graduation, Kayla plans to find a job within the NWS or the private sector to become an operational meteorologist.<br /> <br /> Kayla’s favorite quote comes from Winnie the Pooh: "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
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