BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sage Keidel, a senior at Clevehill High School in Cheektowaga, is the WGRZ STEM Star of the Month for November 2021.
She plans on turning her passion into a career, though she has already showcased her natural curiosity for this subject to her teachers and classmates.
And that passion, that subject, is the weather. What a treat for Storm Team 2 Meteorologist Elyse Smith to sit down and speak to another "weather geek" about becoming a meteorologist and bonding over similar interests.
“So everyone immediately thinks I want to be on tv," says Sage. "Even if that isn’t the case, still everyone is really supportive of it. And when they realize how much math and science it is, they’re extra supportive,” she continued.
That is very much the case with studying meteorology, especially at the collegiate level. It's as much math and science as those who choose to study engineering.
With that in mind, Sage has challenged herself to take extra math and science courses in high school to prepare for college next fall, which has included Calculus, physics, and chemistry. She has even participated in local Storm Spotter Training Programs and shadowed with the National Weather Service.
Kelly Mergler is one of Sage's teachers at Clevehill High School and recalls how "Sage would always help us out with any meteorology questions we would have in class. The kids would come in and ask about snow and the different types of snow, and I’d have to refer her to all of that. But Sage has a serious passion for learning, she really wants to get out there and get into the meteorology world and has a strong desire to figure that stuff out.”
So it’s no surprise that Sage has already been accepted to several prestigious meteorology programs at colleges across the country, including The University of Oklahoma, also home of the National Weather Center in Norman.
And like many of us weather geeks, she credits a specific moment from her childhood that piqued her interest in the subject.
"Ever since I was young, probably around 4 or 5, I specifically remember one book, it was a true or false book, about random facts about the weather. And ever since then I got interested in the weather, wanted to study it and as I’ve grown up that passion hasn’t left," Sage recalled.
And that interest will likely never leave, as a passion for weather can typically weather any storm.
If you know of a student who excels in science, technology, engineering, or math-related fields, nominate them to be the next STEM Star here.