杏吧原创

Jamie-Lyn Cavallon decided she wanted to be a meteorologist when she was 9 years old, after a tornado touched down in Westfield, Massachusetts, traveled through Cavallon鈥檚 hometown of Agawam and then devastated the neighboring city of Springfield.

The 2011 tornado 鈥� unusually severe for the region 鈥� made the national news.

鈥淭here were green skies and it was hailing,鈥� Cavallon says. 鈥淲hen something like that happens outside your back door, you don鈥檛 forget it.鈥�

Now Cavallon is studying meteorology and atmospheric science at UMass Lowell, the only public Massachusetts college or university to offer the major 鈥� and a more affordable option for her than any other school she applied to. Her financial aid package includes state and federal grants, scholarships and a work-study job.聽

Cavallon also was attracted to UML by an invitation to join the River Hawk Scholars Academy (RHSA), a 鈥渦nique鈥� supportive program for first-generation college students, she says. Her peer leader in the RHSA, Debby Fernand, encouraged her to try out different student clubs and service opportunities.

Cavallon joined the campus chapter of the right away. As a sophomore, she became a peer leader in the RHSA, and as a junior, she went on the first-ever RHSA study abroad program to Granada, Spain. She now works as an office assistant for the program.

鈥淟ining up the RHSA helped me line up a lot of other things,鈥� she says. 鈥淣ow, I just try to help other students any way I can, especially first-generation students coming into college.鈥�

Cavallon also joined the Honors College after earning strong grades in her first semester.

鈥淚 wanted to be in another small community and take classes outside my major,鈥� she says.

Her hard work paid off with a 鈥渧ery good opportunity.鈥� She applied for, and was granted, a internship at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire over the summer of 2023.聽

Cavallon researched how the terrain in Maine and New Hampshire, including the White Mountains, affects summer thunderstorms. , culminated in a conference at SUNY-Albany where she presented her research poster.

She will continue the research for her honors thesis, mentored by Prof. Frank Colby. She is also starting to look for meteorology jobs in the private sector, she says, perhaps for an insurance firm doing catastrophic forecasting and risk analysis, or for a company that provides on-site forecasts for golf tournaments.

In the meantime, she鈥檚 planning events for the campus chapter of the American Meteorological Society. She鈥檚 the group鈥檚 first woman president, and it鈥檚 her second year in the role.聽

In Cavallon鈥檚 first year as president, she invited the National Weather Service to train the students to be severe weather spotters. She also brought in alumni to speak, including Michael Souza 鈥�13, 鈥�14, a meteorologist for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and television meteorologist Lena Arango 鈥�19, 鈥�20.

That鈥檚 because she knows how important it is for students to network as they explore potential careers.

鈥淢eteorology is such a small community in terms of careers,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd if the alum doesn鈥檛 work in that field, they might know someone who does.鈥�