In June 2017, I was notified by the American Association of State Climatologists that I was selected as a recipient of their annual Dissertation Award! As part of receiving the award, I was invited to attend and present as their annual meeting in Asheville, NC (which happened to coincide with my 35th birthday). I was overjoyed and humbled by the selection, which meant a lot to me personally after enduring a very challenging Ph.D. program. The topic was on my recently published dissertation research on ENSO and winter and early spring U.S. tornado outbreaks (visit here to read more).
Asheville is a beautiful city! And when interacting with the members of the Association, I was pleasantly surprised at how collegial and supportive colleagues were of one another – it was very much a family atmosphere as much as it was a scientific conference. Below are pictures of me being presented the award by Hope Mizzell (South Carolina State Climatologist and AASC President) and Glenn Kerr (Executive Director, AASC). It was a fascinating experience that I won’t soon forget…
