Hey! My name is Kassidy and I'm a second year Master's student in the Atmospheric Sciences department. I got my Bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Sciences here at UND as well, so I'm not new around the block! I'm originally from a little town called Froid in Northeastern Montana (so small that the population is seriously only a few hundred people, I graduated with just two other girls (: ). My weather interests are pretty well-rounded, as I love all winter weather and summer convection. My specific interests in meteorology actually follow atmospheric sciences education, which kept me here at UND for grad school! I'm specifically looking into which teaching methods might be the best for introductory meteorology education, which you'll see if you're in my lab this semester!

Outside of school, I love going to UND's sporting events, especially hockey games, so during hockey season you will see me in line or in the student section at the Ralph every weekend cheering on our team and having a blast. I also love walking, reading, and hanging out with my cat! I look forward to seeing you in class or around campus this semester!

Hi! My name is Kyle Gillett; a masters student of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of North Dakota. I'm an avid "chaser & photographer of the sky" (storms, aurora, astro, etc.), a root beer snob, and a general enjoyer of all things outdoors. Other hobbies include programming and attempting to teach myself guitar.

My interests in meteorology primarily include severe convective storm dynamics (particularly storm interactions, tornadogenesis, & supercell behavior). I also have interests in developing data visualization tools for meteorology and weather's impact of Great Lakes maritime disasters. My Master's thesis research here at UND involves high-resolution numerical experiments of storm interactions that result in tornadogenesis.

See you in class & at the Ralph! 

My name is Kellie Thrower, and I am a Senior in the Atmospheric Sciences department, minoring in Mathematics.  I’m from Chapin, South Carolina, and if you’re thinking why North Dakota, I actually came here for Aviation!  I am the Honors TA, and I also help with the lecture content, so if you need help with lab or lecture, come see me!  A fun fact about me is that I have two cats named after the legend of Zelda (Link and Urbosa).  Message me on Slack, email me, or chase me in the wild with any questions ;).  

Hello! My name is Owen Meisner and I am an ATSC GTA. I'm from Woodbury, MN, right next to the Twin Cities. Surprisingly, I love winter and the cold and I'm always excited for the next snow event. I have a hobby in hiking and playing pool, and enjoy spending my free time playing video games. I'm looking forward to growing my career in this awesome field! 

Hello, I'm Taejun Joo, but I mostly go by TJ. I'm a senior in commercial aviation and I'm from South Korea. I like staying warm indoors, away from the cold. I look forward to working with you guys.  

Hello! My name is Daniel Moraes and I am from Monument, Colorado! I am a 4th year, double major, undergraduate student in Commercial Aviation and Atmospheric Sciences. This is my second year as a lab instructor for ATSC-110L, but I have also assisted teaching ATSC-320 which is UND’s Storm Chasing class!

To keep a long story short, I grew up in an aviation heavy household, but I developed a deep passion for meteorology long before wanting to become a pilot! Some hobbies and passions include: Flying, Storm Chasing, Sports (NFL, NHL, and NBA are the big 3), the Outdoors (hiking, camping, etc.), video games, and collecting physical media (vinyls mainly)! I will talk passionately about any of these things if you ever want to strike up a conversation!

If you see me around campus or at hockey games feel free to say hi! Otherwise I can’t wait to see all you this semester! Don’t be afraid to ask questions or come to office hours!

Hello! My name is Deborah Hershey, and I am a ATSC graduate student. My undergraduate was in Classical Physics, and I hail from Rochester, MN. I love the winters up here, and you'll probably see me perk up when the snow begins to fly. In my free time I enjoy reading and playing video games (generally of the puzzle or MMORPG variety). I am excited for this semester with all of you, and I hope we can work together to make it a good one!

Hello everyone, my name is Sam. I'm a senior meteorology major from Mankato, MN. This is my second year being a Lab instructor, and I absolutely love it!

In addition to meteorology, I am also studying a minor in Spanish. My favorite free-time activity is watching La Liga games in Spanish. ¡Sempre Celta!

Hi, my name is Ryan O’Neill, and I am majoring in commercial aviation and minoring in atmospheric sciences. I am currently in my Senior year and cannot wait to graduate! In my free time I love going to the gym, playing piano, listening to music, and reading. I’m can’t wait to get started this semester and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask! 

Hey There! My name is Carter Matushek. I am a Commercial Aviation Major and Atmospheric Sciences Minor from San Diego, California.

Quick Q and A:

Have I experienced a ND Winter Yes.

Do I own a winter jacket? Also Yes.

Do I miss the beach? Sometimes.

What do I miss most about California? Probably my friends and fam-PSYCH!!! It’s Mexican food.

In addition to instructing out at the airport, I also drive the fuel truck and tugs. In my free time, I like to fish, hang out at the lake, and go camping. If you see me in the halls or at a hockey game, feel free to say hi.

Horns Down 

Hey! I'm Sam Johnson. I'm from Champlin, Minnesota and I'm a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Atmospheric Sciences. I'm a winter fan at my core and I had a fear of severe weather as a kid. So, naturally, I came to UND for aviation and then switched to AtSci. 

In the Forks, you might catch me at the rock wall, volunteering, skating, or completely invested in some music. I also storm chase, downhill ski, and frolic. If you ever spot me around town on some side quest, don't be a stranger!

Skol

Hello! My name is Amy Conner, and I'm a first-year ATSC master's student, originally from Omaha, Nebraska. I got my bachelor's in meteorology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where I was fortunate to participate in field projects such as TORUS-LItE, MITTEN-CI, and SCALES. I also completed an undergraduate thesis on the relationships between cloud-to-ground lightning and tornadogenesis in supercell mergers. I love all types of weather, unless it's over 90 degrees, but my favorite is of course thunderstorms:)

My current research interests involve synoptic meteorology, radar analysis, and radiosonde data, in addition to things like severe weather dynamics, hazards, and impacts. I hope to learn a lot about winter weather, aviation meteorology, and cloud physics here at UND as well. In the future, I would love to work in an operational setting that combines my love of forecasting and severe weather with community impacts and public safety. I'm looking forward to exploring this goal through teaching meteorology labs this semester!

Hey! My name is Jenna Westpfahl, and this is my 4th year at UND. I am majoring in commercial aviation and Spanish with a minor in atmospheric sciences. I am from Holmen, Wisconsin, and I love winter! In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors and traveling. Some of my favorite activities include snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and hiking. I can’t wait to meet all of you! 

Hi everyone! My name is Jonathan Polmatier, going into my junior year as an atmospheric sciences major here at UND; in addition to my major, I am attempting to get a minor in Spanish, mathematics, and communications! I'm originally from Stafford Springs, a small town in northeast Connecticut about an hour southwest of Boston (and yes, people really do say pahk ya cah and call everything "wicked awesome"). I came to UND because I grew up with annual trips to Wisconsin and fell in love with the Midwest! I also love winter and got sick of how short Connecticut winters are, which was another big incentive for me to move to the tundra known as North Dakota. I am planning on working as a broadcast meteorologist after school, so you might flip on the TV and get jumpscared by me looking back at you one day (or you might already see me on VNL if you live down in Fargo 🙂)! 

Aside from school, I enjoy staying in shape by running, biking, or doing any outdoor activity I can. As an ex-New England resident, I have a deep obsession with hiking (in case you couldn't already tell from my photo), and can typically be found on the nearest mountain during summer/winter breaks! During the winter, I love skiing on the weekends, or chillaxing with a nice cup of cocoa and a good book on a quiet evening. 

I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know all of you! If you see me around campus or town, feel free to say hello, and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or even if you just want to chat!

Hey there! My name is Stephen Kesti, and I am a first year Master's student in the Atmospheric Sciences department. I earned my Bachelor's degree in Climate Science from Northland College, so like many of you, I am also new to UND! I am originally from Blaine Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, and my weather interests consist of severe connective complexes and tropical cyclones. 

A few fun facts about me are that I love fishing, I am very tall, and I played basketball in college. Excited to work with you all this semester!

I'm a third-year Atmospheric Science undergraduate student here at UND. I'm originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, as such I enjoy the warm climate of the desert southwest, not the cold lifeless tundra of Grand Forks. In addition to studying meteorology, I am pursuing a B.A. in Music on French Horn, B.S. in Mathematics, and a minor in Computer Science. Currently I am an undergraduate researcher working with Dr. David Delene, studying cloud microphysics. In the future I want to attend graduate school, but I am unsure of what I want to study. Whenever, I am not studying or practicing horn, you'll find me storm chasing. When the weather is "nice", I'll be outside tending to my 24 tomato plants as well as baking pizza and other baked goods! 

Hey everyone! My name is Abbilyn Kaan, and I am a third-year student in Atmospheric Sciences, with a minor in Mathematics. I am from Aberdeen, South Dakota (aka the better Dakota). My fascination with meteorology actually started as an irrational fear of severe weather when I was a kid. To help calm my fears, I spent lots of time learning the science behind the storms, and I ended up loving meteorology. 

Some of my hobbies include painting, listening to music/podcasts, traveling, shopping, makeup, and hanging out with my friends. Besides being a TA, I am also a calculus tutor here on campus. I am also involved in several ATSC clubs and organizations. 

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have, or if you want to yap about campus, life, etc. :)

Hello, My name is Ben, and I am a senior atmospheric science major. I grew up in Nisswa MN and my interest in weather mostly comes from experiencing it while camping or working on my parents' farm. I originally came to UND to fly, but it was not quite what I was looking for and quickly fell in love with my ATSCI classes. Outside of school I love camping and being outdoors, and most Friday nights I can be found with the UND MTG club playing a few games. I look forward to meeting you all this semester. 

Hi my name is Tegan Fohrman! I am a junior majoring in atmospheric sciences, with a minor in sustainability studies. I'm from a very small town in SE MN called Dover. 

Outside of ATSC I really enjoying being outside whether that's hiking, skiing, swimming, or sitting. I am a part of the Students for Sustainability club here on campus, you may see some of our events around campus. I love going to the UND sporting events, especially hockey! Don't be afraid to reach out if you need!