Another great opportunity to encourage girls to be scientists!
I was recently invited to the South Florida Science Center in West Palm Beach, FL to talk to a group of young girls about their current interests and possible 
future careers as scientists. The GEMS Club (Girls Excelling in Math and Science) is a monthly meeting of girls, mostly in grades 3-8, to get excited about their interests in the STEM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). It was my pleasure to talk with nearly 70 girls who have interests in science and math, and encourage them to continue to follow those interests!
I spoke to them about my career in meteorology. I explained to tell them, it’s not just about being on TV! While that is mostly what *you at home* see with my job, there is so much more to it. There are numbers to crunch and there is data 
to analyze to create a forecast. We talked about data analysis, and the basic scientific method that a meteorologist does on a daily basis to analyze the weather, and make a forecast.
I think they were surprised at how much there is to do! How much science is really involved, and how much more we have yet to learn.
In fact, that was my drive home point… there is so much left to learn! There are endless possibilities in science and math because, basically, WE DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING. There will always be something new to learn. We will continue to discover new things about Earth’s weather and environment. There will always be the next “big thing” in technology. There will always be more to learn about our ecosystems… ecosystems on other planets perhaps, more about the Universe and everything in it. That’s why I encourage these girls to stay in science. They could discover or create the “next big thing” that we may not even be able to comprehend at this time in our history.
Who knows? Maybe one of those girls will be the first to create the most accurate weather model we have ever seen. Maybe they will create a brand new way to mass transportation that creates zero emissions or environmental impact. Maybe they engineer a piece of equipment that will make life saving medical advances. The possibilities are endless and I’m glad I got the chance to inspire them to reach for those limitless ends.
Thanks for having me!
For more info on the GEMS club and science center, click here to be directed to the SFSC website.
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Kerrin Jeromin 