The start of the fall semester marks another year of community-building and professional development for the undergraduates of the Illinois Student Organization for Meteorology (ISTORM). The student AMS chapter strives to create a welcoming space for students of all backgrounds, introducing many to the professional field of atmospheric sciences.
Philanthropic fundraisers were the organization’s proudest successes of the year. After the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the members of ISTORM quickly began planning a fundraiser in an effort to help from afar. Direct donation, social media fundraising, and a massively successful bingo night raised over $950. ISTORM was able to donate the sum to Hearts with Hands and Collier Comes Together, two disaster relief nonprofits in Asheville, NC, and Tampa, Florida, respectively. As promised, the ISTORM executive board ran a 5k around campus as a thank you to all the donors, both in-person and online. ISTORM later organized a fundraising collaboration with student chapters across the country to support those affected by the LA fires. Through a joint trivia night with the CliMAS Graduate Student Organization, Illinois was able to raise over $300 to donate to the California Community Foundation Wildlife Recovery Fund. Across all institutions, the effort raised almost $2,800.
The annual trip to Curtis Orchard kicked off fall social events. Throughout the year, ISTORM hosted socials ranging from the ever-popular Cocomero and Clouds frozen yogurt gathering to evening game nights with Mario Kart and chess matches. De-stressing events like Reading Day Recess drew an anxious crowd together for a few hours of volleyball and sunshine.
Two of the core values of ISTORM are education and outreach. The organization was once again invited to teach the Weather Merit Seminar for Troop 9 of the Eagle Scouts in Champaign, IL. It was a tremendous opportunity to partner with the community and have students engage with and learn about weather and weather safety through presented material and physical models. Another year also meant another Engineering Open House (EOH). The campus-wide event gave CliMAS undergraduates a chance to get kids of all ages excited about the weather. Last year, ISTORM expanded its demo table to include a 3D hurricane diagram, a blizzard visibility demonstration, and a tethered balloon. Of course, the balloon launches were the star of the show. Members were also encouraged to share about their undergraduate research, landing ISTORM with a 2nd place EOH award in Undergraduate Research.
Rounding off ISTORM’s core events were the numerous professional development opportunities planned with undergraduates in mind. Prof. Bob Rauber presented an engaging talk about winter weather and undergraduate research. ISTORM executive members with past internship experiences created a presentation and panel discussion about summer internships in research, government, and broadcast. Eleven ISTORM and CliMAS undergraduates attended AMS 2025 in New Orleans, LA, with seven student conference posters, five main conference posters, three main conference oral presentations, and two second-place student oral presentation awards.
ISTORM is proud to keep growing and representing the undergraduates of CliMAS. Led for a second year by president Charlie Remmers (Class of 2026) and vice president Jared Emmert (Class of 2026), cross-campus collaborations and partnerships with other student AMS chapters are in the works. Professional development events like the highly successful Intro to Python workshop series led by returning secretary Alyssa Shih (Class of 2026) continue to draw undergraduates just starting their academic careers. Returning student outreach chair Juliana Wittrock (Class of 2027) and new treasurer Olivia Samolej (Class of 2027) head the brand new social media and fundraising committees respectively. Student forecasting attendance has grown due in part to the new online forecast statistic tracker created by new webmaster Adam Wittwer (Class of 2028), with second-year forecasting lead Matthew Perry (Class of 2027) and new lead Rory Simons (Class of 2026) mentoring new and returning forecasters alike. The ISTORM executive board would like to thank all those who have supported us in the past year and welcome alumni to keep in touch!
