Eight students receive the first Certificates of Achievement in Weather Forecasting

The first weekend in November was a memorable one for the adult learners enrolled in Penn State's Certificate of Achievement in Weather Forecasting program--it was their graduation! After spending the last several semesters working and collaborating completely on-line, they finally got the chance to meet face-to-face at the culmination of their efforts. Six of the eight graduating students were able to attend a ceremony at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College. The event was special, not only because it recognized the students' mastery of four online courses in meteorology, but also because they were the inaugural graduates of the certificate program. Faculty members Lee Grenci, David Babb and Steve Seman were equally excited about the graduation of their first proteges.

Mr. Winn Soldani, a business consultant and avid sailor who lives in Evanston, Illinois, received a plaque commemorating his 11th place finish in the National Forecasting Contest in September (the contest is a component of the fourth online forecasting course). Competition included 1,162 meteorology undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty from 53 universities across the nation. Mr. Soldani was the top forecaster at Penn State for this portion of the contest.

The ceremony included lunch, and, after initial remarks by Dr. John Dutton, Dr. Bill Brune, Mr. David Dibiase and Dr. Ken Udas of World Campus (http://blog.worldcampus.psu.edu/), a few students took the opportunity to address their fellow classmates. Even though they hadn't met each other until that day, it was obvious that there was a close, personal bond between students and faculty.