By: CHRISSY BOHLMAN
Staff Writer
cmbohlma@iusb.edu
If you are hoping for a career in news, this presentation was made for you.
Well-known meteorologist Somara Theodore will present “Anatomy of a Dream: So you want to work in the News!” at 7 p.m. March 26 in the Northside Performance Hall as part of the communication department’s lecture series.
Because newspapers are not as popular as they used to be, getting a job in news can be difficult. Even after job fairs and internships, establishing a job still worries many students.
Theodore can relate. She is a recent graduate from Penn State University with a major in meteorology and minors in energy business, finance and Mandarin Chinese.
Her experience since then includes working at The Weather Channel as an operational weather graphics intern and at NASA and Penn State as a micrometeorology research assistant.
Rachel Sylvester, communication studies senior lecturer, said the lecture series helps students.
“We want to further [students’] knowledge base with what they can do with their experience and how to apply their skill to a profession,” Sylvester said. “It’s something that we offer every semester. We have a speaker who has expertise in their field that can relate to communication studies.”
Theodore initially became interested in weather at six years old watching the movie Twister.
“For me it was much more than a Hollywood film filled with drama, love, thrill, and storms,” Theodore wrote on her website. “This movie was my introduction into the world of meteorology.”
A first generation American with roots in Trinidad and Tobago, she also recently spoke at a TED Talk about the evolving identity of first generation Americans.
After schooling, hard work, and perseverance driven by passion, Theodore made a name for herself in the news realm. That is when IU South Bend invited her to lecture about her journey.
“We actually got a tip from one of our adjunct faculty who knows the family really well. So we were impressed with her experience, her expertise and her learning as she goes,” Sylvester said. “You can tell she’s really a driven individual.”
As she grew, her love for weather did as well. “My mind could not fathom how so many people could go about their daily life regimens and not stop and look up at the massive ocean in the sky,” Theodore wrote on her website.
To see Theodore’s incredible resume and experience, visit her website at http://www.somaratheodore.com/#!experience/cu33.
