Issue #16: Fall 2006

Predicting the Future

By Claire Morris

It’s a low-cloud morning in Greater Vancouver, and a film crew in Burnaby wants to know when the sun’s going to shine. They shot a “sunny” scene two days earlier and need to add to it. Meanwhile, in Saskatchewan, a contractor wants to pour concrete, but not if the clouds overhead are going to drop rain on his job site. Both film crew and contractor dial a phone number that’s routed to Vancouver’s Pacific Weather Centre, where the guy who answers their calls is Mark Madryga, BSC’86.

With his degree in Physical Geography, Mark has been employed as a meteorologist by Environment Canada for nearly 20 years. He’s perhaps better known as the weekend weatherman on Global BC television, where he’s worked since 1994.

So what leads someone to become a meteorologist? In Mark’s case it was simply following the career path he’d decided upon as a child.

“When we took weather in grade five, I thought, this is really cool, I want to be a weather man when I grow up. I would go home after school and tape the weather off the radio.”

Once he got to UBC (after two years at Cariboo College in his hometown of Kamloops), he realized that he’d have to take a lot of physics, chemistry and math. “But my keen interest in the weather kept me going,” he says. “Even when I struggled a little, I thought, I really don’t want to give up this plan.”

He admits that it’s a little rare for a ten-year-old’s career aspiration to be realized. It’s much more common for university students to remain unsure about their future.

Laura-Ashley Wright can relate to this. The 4th-year Land and Food Systems student came to UBC after a year of studying Arts at Simon Fraser University and a year of exchange at the University of Nottingham. She decided upon a Global Resource Systems degree program, which requires students to focus on an area of the world. Laura-Ashley has just returned from Botswana, where she worked in the areas of AIDS health and soil science. She’s developed an interest in conservation, but is also fascinated by meteorology. However, like Mark Madryga, she’s finding the physics courses a challenge.

Laura-Ashley met Mark last winter at the Science Career Expo, an initiative of UBC Career Services, the faculty of Science, and Alumni Affairs. The goal of the event is to demonstrate the value of a Science degree in the real world and to introduce career options. At the Expo, students hear professionals speak about their work, and can chat informally with them. When Laura-Ashley heard Mark talk, she found his advice extremely helpful.

“Instead of saying, ‘I made it through no problem,’ he said, ‘I had to work at it, courses are tough, but you get through them,’” she says.

She approached Mark after his talk and asked more about his career. “I was really impressed that he was so open to talking with students, because he is busy with two jobs and a family. Even just being able to talk with someone like Mark for a short time is enough to focus your thought patterns and suddenly, you could be on a new career path.”

Mark has not only given his time to UBC, but he has also donated to student awards. “My donations may not be substantial, but if there’s any way I can give something back to the university, I will. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have my degree and it was UBC that helped me get it. And I know what I give goes toward developing students and helping them into a career, which is important.”

Laura-Ashley has received some of these awards, and consults with the faculty of Land and Food Systems on developing programs, such as Tri-mentoring.

Mark would like to encourage other alumni to connect with UBC. “It doesn’t mean you are committed to a lot, but it makes a huge difference to students who are coming through the system. I know for myself, it’s very, very satisfying to help students along the way.” ¤