- EMS Degrees:
B.S., Meteorology, 1973
- Title: Consultant
- Employer: Ban & Associates LLC
- Hometown: Marietta, Georgia
- Fun Fact About Me: I am a Christmas light fanatic! I spend several weeks in October and November prepping my house for the season.
- Department: Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
More About Me
When I first left Penn State, I started my career as a forecaster at AccuWeather, Inc.
I'll always be grateful for my academic adviser, Dr. Denny Thompson, who helped me make it through to graduation as an undergraduate.
Penn State did plenty to help prepare me for my career. In addition to providing me with the foundational meteorological knowledge, Penn State exposes me to new and different experiences that helped me grow as a person and increase my self-awareness.
My favorite Penn State tradition is the home football weekend and everything associated with it.
At graduation, my career aspiration was to be a TV meteorologist in my hometown of Pittsburgh. As it turned out, the bulk of my career was spent at The Weather Channel. I started as an on-camera meteorologist in 1982 and evolved up through my last full-time role in 2008 as Executive VP of Programming and Operations.
I offer this to graduating students: be persistent and follow your passions as best as you can. I've seen people do extraordinary things when they dedicate themselves, work hard, and stay PERSISTENT.
It might surprise people to know that I hired Jim Cantore at The Weather Channel.
The most rewarding thing I've done with my Penn State degree was when I was invited by then-EMS dean Eric Barron to give the commencement address to the College of EMS in 2006.
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