Senior Spotlight May 2020 – Nolan Meister
This year we are continuing our tradition of Senior Spotlights! With graduation postponed, it is more important than ever to highlight this spring’s graduating class.
The class of May 2020 is experiencing their last few weeks of college unlike any of those who came before them. It has been a tough time, but the seniors are adapting to new ways of learning and are continuing to celebrate their accomplishments thus far.
Meet Nolan Meister! Nolan is a graduating senior originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over the past four years, Nolan has conquered OU’s most difficult undergrad meteorology classes while still maintaining a high level of enthusiasm in all aspects of life. He has:
- worked for the past 3+ years at the Oklahoma Mesonet
- served as President of the Oklahoma Weather Lab as a junior and senior
- spent a summer as a student hydrologist at the National Weather Service Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center in Slidell, Louisiana
- was a research assistant for the TORUS field project in 2019.
Nolan has had his eye on becoming a meteorologist ever since he watched the Weather Channel at his grandma’s house and saw how many numbers there were. He spent his entire childhood dreaming of being a meteorologist, and could reliably be found outside taking pictures of shelf clouds from his front porch or measuring snow in the backyard. 
Nolan first learned that OU had a meteorology program when he read about it in Reed Timmer’s autobiography. He first visited OU back in 2012 while on Spring Break. This was the only school he ended up applying to, which drove his mom nuts but seems to have worked out pretty well. (It’s okay, mom, I applied to four grad schools.)
The most difficult part of college for Nolan has actually been the last year. It was not easy to decide whether to hunt for a job or apply to grad schools. Once options were available, it was not easy to choose the right choice for him. Balancing stability, ambition, and relationships was a real strain on Nolan. Fortunately, he has a great support system with whom he can always talk, and he is happy with the decisions he has made.
Nolan’s favorite part of being an OU student was the opportunities. He has been able to build up a network of professional acquaintances, mentors, and friends that he could not have at any other place. There truly is only one Oklahoma.
After graduating, Nolan will be spending the summer working with the Mesonet (and hopefully camping at some National Parks) before beginning his MS in meteorology at OU. He will be working with the National Severe Storms Laboratory on a boundary layer analysis of a northern Wisconsin forest prior to, during, and after a derecho in the summer of 2019. Nolan ultimately wants to work for the National Weather Service as a Warning Coordination Meteorologist or mesoanalyst, and would like to perfect the art of folding a fitted sheet before he dies.
Congratulations and best of luck to Nolan!