By Vyllorya Evans and Janelle Williams

Kendall Parks is a graduate of the Richard Wright Public Charter School of Journalism and Media Arts, and a 2019 SWNA Scholar. He is currently a meteorology major at Jackson State University (JSU), in Jackson, Miss., and has successfully completed his freshman year. 

In addition to completing a rigorous schedule of classes, Kendall attended the American Meteorology Society’s Student Conference in Boston, Mass., was formally inducted into the JSU W. E. B. DuBois – Harvey Honors College, and was accepted into the Sigma Alpha Pi National Society of Leadership and Success. He was recently selected as one of nine students to participate in the NOAA Cooperative Science Center in Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (NCAS-M) 2020 Experiential Training Summer Program. 

The eight-week training program provides rising sophomores with virtual summer experiential training in NOAA mission-relevant research. Students work with NCAS-M researchers in collaboration with a NOAA mentor on an approved NOAA mission-relevant project during the summer. The program will culminate with a virtual research colloquium to showcase students’ video abstracts and poster presentations.

JSU is the only HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) that offers a degree in physics, meteorology, or earth systems science (ESS). It is becoming the country’s primary source of African Americans who hold B.S. degrees in meteorology and ESS. Nationally, the JSU atmospheric sciences program has produced one out of every four African Americans who hold bachelor degrees in meteorology. 

We look forward to following Kendell’s educational and career accomplishments.

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