From passing interest to passion: A
SOARS success story
 |
Christopher Castro |
Christopher Castro is proof of the value of a summer internship. Growing
up in Oklahoma, he liked to watch storms, but he didn’t think
of weather as a career path. He enrolled at Pennsylvania State University
as a pre-law major in 1993, but a summer internship in the civil rights
office of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office convinced Castro that
law was not for him. “I thought, why not do something that you’ve
always had a passing interest in and that still has a connection to
society?” He switched his major to meteorology, a decision he
now compares to “jumping into a pool without knowing how deep
it is. It was risky—very risky.”
In 1996, a year into his new major, Castro had a very different kind
of summer internship: UCAR’s Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric
Research and Science program. SOARS gives college students from underrepresented
groups the experience of life as a scientist. Each student, known as
a protégé, comes to NCAR or another participating lab
for research projects over the course of three summers, with
intensive
mentorship guiding the protégé toward graduate school
and a science career.
For Castro, the SOARS experience (along with his coursework) had the
opposite effect of the law internship: “I got really passionate
about climate and climate change.” While in graduate school at
Colorado State University, Castro joined the 2004 North American Monsoon
Experiment as a rawinsonde (weather-balloon) operator and site translator
at Los Mochis, Mexico. On completing his Ph.D. in 2005, he joined the
University of Arizona because of his interest in the local climate
and also as a place where his bilingual ability and cultural sensitivity
would be useful.
Castro is the first SOARS alumnus to land a faculty post. “Don’t
be afraid to take risks,” he advises young people, “because
you’ll grow more than if you always take the safe path. Your
life may have more ups and downs, but it will be more rewarding in
the end.”
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Atmospheric
Research and Drought in the Southwest -
Castro talks about teaching and research (University of Arizona)
(2 minutes, QuickTime movie) 
New
Voices: Chris