Written by: Brooke Rieke Schanowski
Winfield, Illinois
Agricultural Communication
Senior
“Today we’re experiencing another beautiful day. Mostly sunny skies, with a light breeze coming from the southwest. Later in the week, we may see some possibilities for rain showers. Other than that, take advantage of this warm October weather.”
I was so fortunate to have an internship at NBC4-Columbus with their weather department. When I was in eighth grade, we did a 3-week weather unit. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked. That’s why it is so important to have an internship that fulfills my specific interest. I was so excited when Jym Ganahl, NBC4 Chief Meteorologist, emailed me back telling me I could intern with them in the fall.
A typical day at my internship consisted of first and foremost looking at the various weather models. We were always fascinated at studying the GFS-Model. For those of you who don’t know a lot about weather, the GFS-Model basically shows the trends of fronts and jets streams across the nation. Although some of the data shows patterns that are too early to tell, we always like seeing if these patterns will stay true.
After studying the weather trends, we would go into creating the graphics with this data. As you see with your local weatherman, behind him is a variety of graphics that help give a visual representation to what the weather is like outside. At some stations, they will have a weather producer who is in charge of these. However, most stations have their meteorologists creating the graphics themselves. I was especially able to help out with the graphics during Beat Xichigan week.
One of the best parts of this internship was being able to go out with Jym for High School Friday Night Football. Every Friday, Jym and Jerod Smalley, the lead sports anchor, host a tailgate at a different high school. The students get behind it and show off their school pride. There’s free Cane’s chicken fingers and a great Columbus DJ playing the latest hits. It was interesting how different the dynamic was when the anchors had to give a report on the field rather than in the studio.
At a Football Friday Night event with Jym Ganahl and Jerod Smalley.
With this internship, it has made me excited to start my future career in this field. By learning from intelligent individuals, such as Jym Ganahl and Dave Mazzza (another NBC4 meteorologist), I have learned so much that I will be able to apply when I’m on-air.
Thanks for a great experience Jym and Dave!
Summer’s heat or winter’s cold, the seasons pass the years will roll, time and change will surely show, how firm thy INTERNSHIP.