Grateful for our interns
The Nebraska State Climate Office is blessed to have five talented interns who greatly help improve the capacity of what the office can offer to the residents of Nebraska. Furthermore, all of them had unique experiences outside the office this summer. Rest of the article is dedicated to their summer internships and experiences in their own words.
Camille Shifrin
For most of this summer, I worked as an Environmental Science intern at HDR. My time there was split between office work and field work, with a majority being wetland delineations for the state Department of Transportation or private clients. I also conducted species surveys, did Threatened and Endangered species work, wrote community impact assessments for upcoming construction projects, and assisted with NEPA research.
Towards the end of the summer, I also began to work as a lab assistant in UNL’s Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation lab. A student is conducting a UCARE funded study on pallid sturgeons, so I assist with general animal husbandry tasks, cleaning, and data collection. I’ll continue working there into the school year up until I graduate this May.
Mick Udby
This summer Mick Udby received an Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience grant for a wildfire vulnerability forecasting experiment. Mick set about designing an app that took the Canadian Fire Weather Index, an internationally-renowned fire weather forecasting model, and adapted it to Nebraska's specific environment and climatology. This was a completely from-the-ground-up endeavor for Mick, as they had to learn Python on the fly as well as study the 6 sub-algorithms that comprise the CFWI. Working under the direction of UNL's Dr. Ross Dixon, Mick studied technical manuals and academic papers for a better understanding of the Index. By the end of the summer, Mick had successfully put together the Drought Code portion of the CFWI. With it, Mick was able to use CMIP6 climate model data to forecast a 5-15% increase in Nebraska's drought levels across the state by the year 2100. The Drought Code is generally understood to correspond with wildfire risk. Going into the school year, Mick will be completing the Nebraska Fire Weather Index program as their senior capstone project.
Bobby Reinsvold
Hello! My name is Bobby Reinsvold and I am excited to work for the Nebraska State Climate Office this semester. Last semester, I was so fortunate to spend six months abroad in Bergen, Norway. It was truly an unreal experience. I learned Norwegian to a conversational extent and conducted my own student research on the fjords of the Atlantic Ocean. Regardless, the best part was living, studying, and hiking with all my new international friends. Traveling throughout Europe, with my friends, to their hometowns and countries was so fun. My student work at the NCSO is a nice application of my data analysis skills learned in Norway. The opportunity to conduct my own oceanographic research was very rewarding.
Kyla Oelkers
Hello! My name is Kyla Oelkers. I am an undergraduate majoring in Meteorology and minoring in Geology, and am one of the student interns for the NSCO, working virtually from Iowa State University. This past summer, I had the opportunity to work for the Nebraska Mesonet. This internship involved heavy travel, utilizing heavy equipment to construct the measurement stands and gauges, and working with a diverse set of coworkers who had different kinds of work experiences to bring to the table. I didn’t think I would get the opportunity to work in a situation as fun as driving through the most beautiful parts of Nebraska. I especially enjoyed working in the sandhills as it was fairly easy to drill for our cement anchors due to the sandy soils and to install the fencing. I also found many beautiful rocks ( I enjoy dabbling in Geology when I’m not looking at the skies). I made lifelong friendships, got to explore Nebraska, and further my academic and professional experience through the 21 stations I helped to assemble, as well as the dozens of maintenance visits I did for the other 98 stations.
Mollie Petersen
This summer I participated in the REU program at UNL. My focus within Engineering Education was on investigating changes in instructional practices over nine semesters. To do this I examined course syllabi and learning management system data. I found that the use of active learning strategies grew over time, meaning instructors are increasingly aligning with best teaching practices. I was mentored by Dr. Grace Panther, Dr. Heidi Diefes-Dux, Gracie Kerr, and Hayden Wulf.
