“The sky is the limit” is a good way to describe Kean University’s very own weatherman. Junior Michael Rizzo goes above and beyond to do the best he can. You may recognize him from the TVs all around campus.
Over the summer, Rizzo interned with News 12 in the Bronx, which was a great way to get the real feel of becoming a Broadcast Meteorologist.
“My experience at News 12 was amazing!” Rizzo said. “I was able to learn how to give a good, true presentation and none of that garbage that you get in school; a real personable skill that you can only learn by doing the job.”
But that’s not everything that his summer consisted of. Rizzo was offered the opportunity to travel across the country chasing down storms with Rutgers University. He said it was the best experience of his life. Rizzo really got to get up close and personal with the storms.
Rizzo’s interest in weather peaked during high school. He had always been fascinated by it and decided to do some personal research, which in turn, made him feel confident enough to choose Meteorology as his major.
“I love to see how things change from day to day; it’s almost like understanding nature for what will happen next,” Rizzo said. “I love the optic aspect as well, watching the skies, looking at clouds; I can name all the clouds in the sky if you asked me to! It’s a lot of fun.”
Rizzo’s head is not always up in the clouds. He is a very busy young man that gets involved with many events on campus. He is part of Sozio Hall Council, creating events for students living on campus. He works as a General Education Mentor (GEM), which involves guiding freshmen and offering customer service support.
Rizzo is also the coordinator for Keancast in the Earth Science Club. Keancast is a special weather channel for Kean University, where Kean Meteorology students forecast the weather for each upcoming week.
Rizzo sees himself working as a Broadcast Meteorologist on a TV station somewhere in the country, preferably close to home in the New York area.
To receive weather updates about any upcoming storm information, Rizzo encourages people to like Keancast on Facebook. Let Michael Rizzo be your trustworthy weatherman!