FAA Internship Elevated Meteorologist in the Making

An FAA Internship led collegian Ellie Hojeily to present her research on convective weather to the American Meteorological Society.

The research FAA intern Ellie Hojeily conducted landed her at the American Meteorological Society’s 2023 Annual Meeting where she presented her convective weather analysis.

For the past two summers, the Plymouth State University student has interned with the FAA’s Aviation Weather Division at the William J. Hughes Technical Center.

“My first day [Randy Bass, Acting Manager of the Aviation Weather Division,] asked me what kind of projects I wanted to work on,” recalled Hojeily. “I told him ‘thunderstorms and convective weather.’”

Ellie was tasked with comparing the performance and accuracy of two Traffic Flow Management Convective Forecast (TCFs) versions. Hojeily’s research has identified TCF accuracy improvements, boosted confidence in the forecasts, helped operators avoid convective weather, and improved NAS safety.

“Ellie is exceptional, a rock star,” said Starr McGettigan, manager of the Weather Engineering and Evaluation Branch where Hojeily spent part of internship.

Bass encouraged her to submit an abstract of her initial findings to the American Meteorological Society’s Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology Conference, and Hojeily found herself lecturing via videoconference at its January 2022 event.

Returning to the Aviation Weather Division last summer as a Gateways intern, she continued her convective weather research virtually at the Technical Center. The Gateways Internship Program provides students in colleges, trade schools and other qualifying educational institutions with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore federal careers while completing their education, and can be completed virtually or in-person.

“Despite living in Massachusetts, I still found myself completely enriched in the Center’s activities,” said Hojeily. “With how well the Gateways Program translated remotely, I truly felt like I was a part of the Tech Center.”

Marshalling her latest findings, Hojeily submitted a technical paper, which the AMS accepted and subsequently invited her to design a poster and present it in-person at its 2023 Annual Meeting in Denver in January. Hojeily jumped at the encore opportunity.

Her poster and discussion addressed the unpredictable impacts and risks of convective weather on the NAS and the necessity of generating accurate, trusted forecasts for use by FAA traffic flow management specialists, air traffic controllers, and commercial airline planners.

“It was a bit nerve-racking at first,” said Hojeily. “A poster session focuses on questions and answers with the presenter, rather than the presenter giving a lecture about their work,” said Hojeily. “It’s a more personal experience where you’re speaking one-on-one about your work.”

Despite the butterflies, “the nerves evaporated” as she engaged inquirers and found “joy and confidence” not only talking about her work but learning about similar research conducted by others. She expressed gratitude to her collegiate friends and fellow FAA interns who supported her in Colorado.

“Jason made sure (the virtual internship) worked,” said Hojeily. “He made sure we met regularly, checking my progress. I think as long as you have a committed team working on it, virtual internships work very well.”

Jason Baker, an FAA research meteorologist and Hojeily’s mentor during the internship, recognized a distinct advantage of a Gateways internship with Hojeily’s success. Specifically, an intern can work on a project sporadically, perhaps during semester breaks, and advance an assignment. Then, across a summer, the previous, incremental research can more quickly lead an intern to final outcomes.

This spring Hojeily will complete her first year as a graduate student at the State University of New York, Albany, studying atmospheric research, with a focus on air pollution monitoring and impact in New York City. She’s also a student member of the AMS Aviation Range and Aerospace Meteorology Committee, alongside Bass, Flowe, and other FAA colleagues.

Recruited and retained as an intern twice, Hojeily doesn’t know yet what this summer holds, other than graduate studies take precedent.

“Returning to the FAA is on my radar, but it depends on what research my SUNY advisor has planned for me,” said Hojeily. “Ideally, I would like to come back.”

If you are interested in an FAA internship, go to faa.gov/go/interns to learn about the various student programs and how to apply.