WKU students and professor play crucial role in opening of the Obama Presidential Center

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – After many years of waiting, former President Barack Obama finally opened up his presidential library in Chicago to a cheering crowd of many thousands.

But behind the scenes, two WKU students and a WKU professor were performing important jobs monitoring the weather for that big day. Dr. Joshua Durkee and grad students Harmony Guercio and Thomas Payette were tasked with monitoring and forecasting the weather for the event. An important opportunity, Payette said, he couldn’t believe he even got.

“First I was like, ‘no way. Like, this is crazy.’ I mean, in like, the realm of things that we’ve been able to do, like Chicago Marathon and then also Special Olympics a few years back then in Orlando, I was just like, I just can’t fathom what would top some of these experiences, and by golly, we did” Payette said.

The job, however, was not all sunshine and rainbows and proved to have some big challenges, especially as Illinois has been the hotbed for severe weather this season.

“So we were taking a peek at the potential heat stress, assessing the venue and the position in the city and those kind of things. And then also keeping in mind that it’s severe weather season in the Upper Midwest. So we had an array of weather concerns for this, obviously, this prestigious outdoor event. And that’s what we were brought into to help with” Durkee said.

For students, stepping out of the classroom and the lab and testing their skills in a real world setting proves crucial for skill development before they begin their careers outside of.

“Much like the storm chase class, there’s nothing like learning hands on, onsite, in person, all of that and something for this really just kind of taught me more about our communication aspect of this and how it’s a lot more than just the meteorology. And so everything that the weather does affect and how we communicate that to them is so important,” Guercio said.

All of their hard work did not go unnoticed either, with the former president himself showing gratitude for their hard work.

“He looked, you know, in our direction and looked at me and he said, oh, this is one of the most important guys here. And then said, like, ‘thank you for the work.’ And then made a joke about thanking for clearing up some of the bad weather and got to shake his hand. And then off he went. So it was quick but it happened, and it was it was surreal. And we’re still I think we’re all still just living high on that moment right now,” Durkee recalled of their experience with the former president.