A Day at the Beach, Solid Preparation and Serendipity Are Foundation for Student’s Opportunity

Timing - and preparation - is everything, Jenna Greenhill, a junior volleyball player and Meteorology major from Orange County, New York, found out recently. She now has a prime summer internship lined up, thanks to the skills she’s developed creating weathercasts at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) in Danbury and a sequence of events that she couldn’t have predicted.

During the spring 2023 semester, Greenhill has been enrolled in a one-credit Weathercasting class that meets once a week to tape forecasts in front of the university’s broadcast facility’s green screen for uploading to YouTube. On Feb. 21, 2023, Greenhill taped that week’s forecast and sent it to her parents, Suzanne and John Greenhill, who were in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, visiting Greenhill’s grandparents.

As luck — or serendipity — would have it, while spending time at the beach, they observed a local meteorologist taping a weather hit to air that evening. It turned out to be Jamie Arnold, Chief Meteorologist at WMBF-TV, the local NBC affiliate.

Proud parents that they are, the Greenhills approached Arnold and mentioned that their daughter is a Meteorology student at WCSU who had just sent them her latest weathercast. Arnold looked at the clip on their cellphone and liked it enough to suggest that they call their daughter so he could speak to her.

“He was really nice and gave me some weathercasting tips,” Greenhill said. “He also encouraged me to apply for a paid summer internship at WMBF, which I did, and was offered the position!”

As soon as Greenhill finishes her final projects and exams, she’ll head to Myrtle Beach to stay with her grandparents, John and Patricia Greenhill, and begin her two-month internship opportunity.

“I have always wanted to become a broadcast meteorologist, which is why I attended WCSU,” Greenhill explained. “I also wanted to continue to play volleyball, and at WCSU I was able to do both. My favorite part of being here has been making good, one-on-one connections with my professors. I also made great friends. Being in a small program really helps you excel.”

One of those professors is Rob Eisenson, an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and on-camera meteorologist in the New York metro area for more than 25 years. Eisenson shares his years of expertise with students interested in pursuing broadcast meteorology opportunities by working with them in the university’s broadcast facilities to perfect their delivery of forecasts.

Another advantage of her studies at WCSU was the opportunity for Greenhill to obtain an unpaid internship at WTNH in New Haven during the spring semester. The internship, coupled with her time in WCSU’s broadcast facilities using weathercasting technology, also developed the skillset that was evident in the video clip her parents showed Jamie Arnold. 

“Everything I’ve learned at WCSU has given me a good understanding of weather systems and how to do a weathercast,” Greenhill said. “Having the opportunity to take the Weathercasting class, my WTNH internship and my parents being in the right place at the right time all contributed to this opportunity in Myrtle Beach coming through for me. What’s also exciting is that they say they hope to bring me on as an employee once I graduate next year.”

For Greenhill, it looks like clear skies ahead.