Thursday, May 21, 2015

Libby's Closing Remarks

SWIFT has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at the Naval Academy so far. I was able to make so many new friends, travel to an area of the country I have not seen before, and experience severe weather first-hand. Before SWIFT, the biggest weather problem that I have ever experienced in trying to drive in the snow, but now I have a much better imagination of the power of mother nature. When I was weather lead, I learned so much about how to track storms using radar combined with a number of other sites, such as SPC and Twisterdata. I feel that weather lead was a rewarding position to have because it helped me learn a great deal about the actual storm course and allowed me to have a one-on-one discussion with my professors, allowing me to learn in high intensity situations and make spur-of-the-moment decisions based on the weather. Logistics lead was also an amazing job because it allowed me to work with my navigational skills using written maps, which is not something that I am used to. As logistics lead I was also in charge of finding hotels and gas stations at quick time intervals. SWIFT has been such an awesome experience, not only for the in-field training and opportunity, but also because I have made such memorable friends! I love each and every SWIFT 2015 member and feel that we have become a kick-butt team over the last two weeks. The team dynamic has developed greatly from the first day, filled with awkward murmurs about having to use the bathroom, to the final days, where tasked are eagerly volunteered for by members of either the weather or logistics team, even when the task is not under their assigned domain. Despite my excitement to not drive upwards of 5 hours each day, I am sad to be parted from my SWIFT family!

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