When Lizzie Aurit arrived on campus as a high schooler to attend Big Red Summer Academic Camp — part of Nebraska 4-H — she was only casually interested in weather. Then, a tornado hit.
“My first year here (in the weather camp), there was a tornado near campus. We were sheltering in the basement and all looking at our little radar apps, talking about what was happening,” Aurit said. “The next day, we broke it all down and got to study it. Being in that active situation and getting to learn about it made me realize just how interested I was in weather.”
A few summers later, Aurit is now leading the camp while preparing to enter her first year at Nebraska this fall on a Presidential Scholarship to study meteorology and climatology. She’s leaning on all her past experiences as a camper — including the professional networks she’s built and the relationships she’s formed with current Huskers — to help make the camp as successful for new participants as it was for her.
“The camp has been amazing for me to connect with people my age and see how interested they are in weather, because it’s a bit of a rare thing,” she said. “Students from all over the country come to this camp, and now it’s my job to teach the whole thing. I’ve been planning since the spring — reaching out to professionals so they can come in and talk, scheduling all our activities, and just making sure everyone’s going to have a good time.”
From real-world connections to lifelong friendships, Aurit said her camp experiences have played a major role in shaping her academic, professional and personal goals for college and beyond.
“All the professionals I’ve brought in to talk to students this summer are people I networked with through coming to camp in the past — some of them have even helped me with scholarships and other things,” she said. “This camp has brought me a lot in my life — my professional life, my personal life, all of it.”
Many of those professionals are recognizable figures from across the state, including members of the Channel 10/11 weather team who visited campers. Others are based right here on campus, such as Ken Dewey, professor emeritus of climatology.
“Dr. Dewey, who’s the director of the weather camp, has been amazing,” Aurit said. “He’s not only helped me out with college and scholarship applications, but also with just meeting new people and feeling welcomed on campus.”
As much as the direct contact with professionals has meant for her blossoming college and career aspirations, Aurit said the relationships she’s formed with people oat the university — and her comfort navigating Nebraska’s campus — have been just as impactful.
“Coming to this camp makes campus feel like home,” she said. “I’ve had so many good memories here already — I’m able to walk around campus confidently and know where things are. All the other staffers here are students on campus, too, so I know I can reach out to them if I ever have any questions.
"We also work with a ton of professors in different departments, so if I have a class with them, they already know me. It just makes me feel like I’m already a Husker.”
