Brackett (right) sits at the news desk and prepares to deliver a weather report.

Valparaiso University senior meteorology major Aaron Brackett has taken his first on-air job as a television meteorologist at WREX-TV, the NBC affiliate in Rockford, Ill., months before his graduation date.

Brackett’s new duties have him commuting on the weekend from Valparaiso to Rockford, where he forecasts the weather and delivers his reports on the weekend 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

“A typical night consists of looking at the latest weather model runs, analysis and satellite loops to get an overall feeling of what the big forecast issues are. I then make my forecast for the day from many different sources of information. By 6 p.m., I need to be ready to go on the air,” Brackett said. “After the news, I update the station’s weather blog, update the radio forecast and make sure the Web site forecast is current. Before the 10 o’clock news, I check for changes in the models and adjust my forecast as needed, check to make sure the graphics are ready, and prepare to go on air again.”

Brackett’s weather blog can be viewed at http://addins.wrex.com/blogs/weather/. He says Valpo’s meteorology program prepared him for the job by allowing him to learn both inside and outside the classroom.

“From Valpo’s in-house weather studio to our convective storm chases, I think it’s the added out-of-classroom experiences that gave me the edge,” said Brackett.  “When I went into the interview with my resume DVD in hand, I felt confident that I was comparable to others with previous on-air experience thanks to our weathercasting classes and our top notch educational curriculum and staff.”

The chief meteorologist at WREX-TV, whom Brackett got to know last summer, encouraged him to apply for the weekend weather position in late summer.

“After getting advice here at Valpo’s meteorology department from Dr. Bart Wolf and Dr. Teresa Bals-Elsholz, I sent via e-mail YouTube clips of my summer internship as well as clips from our weather studio here at Valpo,” Brackett said. “The news director called me by 9 a.m. the next day asking for an interview. I went home the following Friday, and within three hours of the interview, I was hired as the weekend meteorologist.”

Brackett is continuing his studies at Valpo and expects to graduate in May. During his time on campus, he has served as director of Valpo’s Storm Intercept Team, weather announcer for campus radio station WVUR 95.1 FM and vice president of the Residence Hall Council. Brackett also was a sprinter on Valpo’s Division I track and field team from 2006 to 2008.

A Rockton, Ill., native, Brackett graduated from Rockford’s Lutheran High School in 2006.