UNL National Weather Camp hosts students from coast to coast

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – This week, 15 students from across the nation gathered for the UNL National Weather Camp in Lincoln to talk all things weather.

Leaders are working to inspire the next generation to enter STEM fields, where employment has grown by 79% in the past three decades, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“There’s almost an anti-science feeling among a lot of the people,” said Dr. Ken Dewey, a former UNL meteorology and climatology professor. “It doesn’t seem as exciting to the young kids as it was years ago, so we are trying to stimulate interest in the sciences, technology, engineering and math.”

And that includes young women.

Just 19% of the meteorologists in the National Weather Service are female.

So for one student, seeing more women around her at the camp meant a lot.

“Definitely this camp, there’s a lot more women than last year, especially, but it’s nice knowing that I’m not just the only one,” Lizzie Aurit said. “Especially in the media recently because of things that happen in the STEM community surrounding women.”

From Missouri, Texas, Florida, Washington and more, kids came from far and wide to learn from local experts.

“There’s a comment the students made: I didn’t know there was anybody else out there like me,” Dr. Dewey said.

For many of these students, they haven’t been exposed to all the possibilities back home.

One example is Michael Avery from Houston.

He doesn’t share his passion with many others, so he came to Nebraska.

“I really wanted to go and meet other people who have the same type of interest in weather as me, and I only go to school with one other person like that,” Avery said.

The camp is only for high schoolers, so some here in Lincoln have been waiting for years to take part.

Until now, Jaxon Trotter has spotted storms for officials while looking forward to this week.

“I’ll call the National Weather Service and report,” he said. “I think that is really cool, and being able to tell people about my weather experiences is really cool.”

All with Dewey at the helm, still giving back in his labor of love now as a retired professor.