Competition for positions within NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) has increased in recent years. It has proven beneficial for recent college graduates to have prior NWS experience when they apply for positions within the NWS. Hence, we have developed a student volunteer program at the NWS forecast office in Sterling, Virginia, aimed at allowing selected college to gain first-hand knowledge and experience of operations within an NWS forecast office. Because of resource restraints, only a few students are selected to the student volunteer program at NWS-Sterling through a competitive application process.

Students wishing to apply to the student volunteer program at NWS-Sterling must submit an application (attached) and include 1) a resume and 2) a transcript (unofficial is acceptable). Prospective students are asked to present available work days/times and be in good academic standing.

Expectations of the students volunteering at NWS-Sterling include:

• Proper casual-business attire
• Conduct ones-self in a professional and respectful manner.
• Complete specified goals of both the school and the NWS
• Work on an assigned research project with a forecaster

Students will have the opportunities to:

• Obtain Upper Air Certifications
• Become familiar with NWS Structure and Policies, Operational Software and Computer Systems, and Hydrologic and Meteorological Products

Program success depends on how much the student wants to learn. Some form of research project is expected during their time at the office. Past projects include: "A Tornado Climatology for the Sterling, VA Weather Forecast Area", "A Comparison of PW Measurements from Radiosondes, Ground-based GPS Observations, and GOES Soundings", "Location of Flash Flood Prone Areas", and "A Study of the Feb 2007 Sleet Storm".

This is a "Volunteer" Program. Students will not be paid for their time at the office. However, it may be possible for the student to earn class credit. This can be determined by the school.s advisor or department head. Students will most likely spend two days a week in the forecast office, with additional research time/resources spent outside of the office. The form may be downloaded from:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/outreach/Application.doc

Email the completed form, along with the information listed in paragraph two, to andrew.woodcock@noaa.gov by Wednesday February 25.

Student Volunteer Program Application

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