In the future I want to be someone who is willing to be myself, try new things, and make an impact in my community.

If heavy metal music were a landscape I would characterize it with jagged mountains, steep cliffs, and ferocious seas. However, I am familiar with none of those. My name is Bryce Aufrecht and I was born in the ever-so-flat city of North Platte, Nebraska. Living there all my life, I managed to find my true passion in life, weather. It was something that I realized from the first thunderstorm I ever saw. Severe weather, in my opinion, is the most heavy metal thing on earth (aside from the music). Despite that, severe weather is a major threat to life and property around the world. In the year 2021 alone, more than 700 people were killed by weather-related causes. That number would be even larger if adequate weather forecasting were not present. Even so, weather predictions could be better. According to the NOAA, weather predictions for 10 days or longer are only accurate around 50% of the time. I want to be a meteorologist not just because of my passion for weather phenomena, but also because I want to help people affected by severe weather and improve storm prediction. To reach my goal I want to attend Iowa State University and major in meteorology. I am seeking this scholarship award because out-of-state tuition can be expensive and is not easy to pay for. Also, my parents, although kind and hardworking, cannot pay off the college tuition for all three of their children. Since I will be out of town I can't rely on my parents to provide me with food, housing, or help with car trouble. In order to pay for my education I am attempting to gain as many scholarships as possible before college. I will also reach out to my employer for possible tuition reimbursement opportunities. I am also cutting down on spending and transportation. Instead, I am studying more while listening to my favorite heavy metal bands so I can be ready for my first college classes. There is a large amount of creativity and diversity in heavy metal music. Some of my favorite bands are Pantera, System Of A Down, Slipknot, and Tool. Tool is probably one of my favorite bands of all time because their music always lifts me up when I'm stressed or in a bad mood. All four of these bands create an incredible sound that is unique to them. Similar to my desire to pursue a career that is unique to my interests while also helping people. All in all, my love for weather is fueled by my love for metal music. Every time I hear a song that I haven't listened to in a while, I think back to every summer when I would stand in the middle of nowhere and try to get pictures of a passing storm. I have a habit of associating specific memories with the music I was listening to at the time. To me, that's a good thing because then, I always remember my goal of becoming a meteorologist, to study the weather and help the people who are in the path of it. It makes me realize that my previous notion of associating heavy metal music with ferocious seas, jagged mountains, and steep cliffs was wrong. It lives in the plains with every cloud, every lightning bolt, and every howl of wind.

What drives me to work hard in school is the future I want for myself. I know that the tiny desks and the tasteless breakfasts at North Platte High School are all for a reason. Although Nebraska may seem unexciting at first, it is what made me who I am. I recognize that fact every time I see the occasional summer thunderstorm make its entrance. It makes me realize that my life in and outside of school must be dedicated to my future career in meteorology. In order to achieve my goals in meteorology I need to be ready for college and maintain good health in my mindset, body, and mental health. It is obvious that one cannot succeed academically when one lacks motivation. Success is dependent on mindset. I maintain this by remembering my end goals. Whenever I feel unmotivated or lazy, I remember the sole reason why I want to go to college in the first place. If I lack understanding in any of my classes, I immediately ask for help from the teacher or a friend because I know that my career in weather and meteorology is dependent on my academic skills. I also maintain my mindset by playing my favorite music when I study or do homework. This keeps me excited about schoolwork and ensures I don’t lose interest in what I’m doing. Physical health can be just as important for academic achievement. According to the CDC, being physically fit can lead to better cognitive performance in school. I maintain my physical fitness by eating healthy snacks when I do homework. I also make sure I never stay up late. This ensures that I can get a healthy amount of sleep. I maintain a healthy soul by taking care of my mental health. The best way I do this is by surrounding myself with friends who are good influences and care about my well-being. When I am overwhelmed by life I always either do activities with my friends or give myself a break from what I’m doing. All of these skills that I developed over time will help to make my life in college more relaxed and comfortable. The very thought of succeeding in college makes me hopeful that I will one day become a meteorologist. Learning more about the weather around me and being able to forecast it is the future that thrills me the most. The future I strive to obtain can be reached through the hard work that I do and the healthy lifestyle that I maintain.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been fascinated by the weather. I loved to watch VHS documentaries about severe storms whenever I got the chance, and I even made my parents take me “storm chasing” once. Even though we had just looked at some harmless, dark clouds I was still amazed by the beauty the atmosphere held. In the summer of 2019, I got my first camera, a Nikon D80. As soon as I got it, I took so many photos of the clouds and when I wasn’t doing that, I was taking photos of my two cats. Weather photography eventually became my favorite hobby and it was something I kept with me once I became a freshman in high school. This hobby made me even more eager to become a storm chaser when I was older. I didn’t know how I was going to do that. Therefore, I decided to do some research. I wanted to know what I would need in order to be a storm chaser and I learned that I need to have a lot of meteorological knowledge in order to chase dangerous storms safely and successfully. Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and the weather that is contained in it. I finally realized I wanted to be a meteorologist. This wasn’t just because tornadoes looked cool, but because the atmosphere and its patterns intrigued me. There was just one problem, meteorology is a branch of science that requires a high amount of academically rigorous classes. This includes science such as chemistry and physics as well as an unforgivable amount of math. In middle school and my first two years of high school, I hadn’t been very fond of science classes. Additionally, I struggled with my algebra grade in middle school. However, I knew that in order to pursue my career in meteorology, loving these classes would be a requirement. During math classes such as Geometry, Algebra 2, and College Algebra, I made sure to pay full attention during notes and always do my homework. After completing several math problems I realized that math was actually kind of fun. I liked to put together complicated problems and slowly find solutions. I found that the process was incredibly rewarding. Of course, some problems are more difficult than others but I am always excited to learn new things. I also began to like science a lot more because my teacher, Mr. King had a brilliant teaching style. These classes in both mathematics and science piqued my interest greatly. I also learned about math concepts that are used in meteorology such as trigonometry. With that being said, I don’t see a future where weather isn’t a part of my life. The atmosphere has had a major impact on me sometimes without me realizing it. Therefore that is why I plan to make Meteorology a part of my life. I consider science to be one of the most crucial career paths to our future. I make that claim because scientific discoveries have made improvements to the quality of our society. Such improvements include meteorology. In 1925, an infamous weather incident occurred when a tornado tore through three states resulting in hundreds of fatalities. This storm became known as the tri-state tornado. However thanks to advancements made in science, communities are able to get severe weather warnings a lot quicker. Science’s effect on public safety is why I consider it to be the most important career field to society.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been fascinated by the weather. I loved to watch VHS documentaries about severe storms whenever I got the chance, and I even made my parents take me “storm chasing” once. Even though we had just looked at some harmless, dark clouds I was still amazed by the beauty the atmosphere held. In the summer of 2019, I got my first camera, a Nikon D80. As soon as I got it, I took so many photos of the clouds and when I wasn’t doing that, I was taking photos of my two cats. Weather photography eventually became my favorite hobby and it was something I kept with me once I became a freshman in high school. This hobby made me even more eager to become a storm chaser when I was older. I didn’t know how I was going to do that. Therefore, I decided to do some research. I wanted to know what I would need in order to be a storm chaser and I learned that I need to have a lot of meteorological knowledge in order to chase dangerous storms safely and successfully. Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and the weather that is contained in it. I finally realized I wanted to be a meteorologist. This wasn’t just because tornadoes looked cool, but because the atmosphere and its patterns intrigued me. There was just one problem, meteorology is a branch of science that requires a high amount of academically rigorous classes. This includes science such as chemistry and physics as well as an unforgivable amount of math. In middle school and my first two years of high school, I hadn’t been very fond of science classes. To add to that, I struggled with my algebra grade in middle school. However, I knew that in order to pursue my career in meteorology, loving these classes would be a requirement. During math classes such as Geometry, Algebra 2, and College Algebra, I made sure to pay full attention during notes and always do my homework. After completing several math problems I realized that math was actually kind of fun. I liked to put together complicated problems and slowly find solutions. I found that the process was incredibly rewarding. Of course, some problems are more difficult than others but I am always excited to learn new things. I also began to like my science classes a lot more because of my teacher Mr. King. I found his lessons to be very motivational. These classes in both mathematics and science piqued my interest greatly. Although I haven’t yet found out how mathematical concepts are used in the field of meteorology, I'm not worried. I have no doubt in my mind that meteorology is the right career for me.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been fascinated by the weather. I loved to watch VHS documentaries about severe storms whenever I got the chance, and I even made my parents take me “storm chasing” once. Even though we had just looked at some harmless, dark clouds I was still amazed by the beauty the atmosphere held. In the summer of 2019, I got my first camera, a Nikon D80. As soon as I got it, I took so many photos of the clouds and when I wasn’t doing that, I was taking photos of my two cats. Weather photography eventually became my favorite hobby and it was something I kept with me once I became a freshman in high school. This hobby made me even more eager to become a storm chaser when I was older. I didn’t know how I was going to do that. Therefore, I decided to do some research. I wanted to know what I would need in order to be a storm chaser and I learned that I need to have a lot of meteorological knowledge in order to chase dangerous storms safely and successfully. Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and the weather that is contained in it. I finally realized I wanted to be a meteorologist. This wasn’t just because tornadoes looked cool, but because the atmosphere and its patterns intrigued me. There was just one problem, meteorology is a branch of science that requires a high amount of academically rigorous classes. This includes science such as chemistry and physics as well as an unforgivable amount of math. In middle school and my first two years of high school, I hadn’t been very fond of science classes. To add to that, I struggled with my algebra grade in middle school. However, I knew that in order to pursue my career in meteorology, loving these classes would be a requirement. During math classes such as Geometry, Algebra 2, and College Algebra, I made sure to pay full attention during notes and always do my homework. After completing several math problems I realized that math was actually kind of fun. I liked to put together complicated problems and slowly find solutions. I found that the process was incredibly rewarding. Of course, some problems are more difficult than others but I am always excited to learn new things. I had a similar experience with my science classes. Almost all of my science classes were taught by a teacher named Mr. King. One thing that I found interesting about his classes is that he didn’t just teach students about a specific subject in class, he also taught important problem-solving skills. I began to like science a lot more and found his class discussions exciting and motivational. These classes in both mathematics and science piqued my interest greatly. Although I haven’t yet found out how mathematical concepts are used in the field of meteorology, it doesn’t worry me. I have no doubt in my mind that meteorology is the right career for me. With that being said, I don’t see a future where weather isn’t a part of my life. The atmosphere has had a major impact on me sometimes without me realizing it. Therefore that is why I plan to make Meteorology a part of my life.