Growing up in Hingham, MA, Colleen Hurley ‘16, like many youths in the South Shore town, enjoyed boating with her family. She was inquisitive and had questions about when their trips would be interrupted due to the weather. It would lead her to her love of the field.
“I was definitely interested in weather at a young age,” says Hurley, who received her BS in meteorology and minors in mathematics and professional communication at Plymouth State. “I was an inquisitive kid, so I wanted to know how everything worked. We boated a lot and would get caught in many storms. I wondered why it happened and how we can predict the weather better so we wouldn’t get caught.”
Hurley’s career path to becoming a meteorologist began to come into focus when she excelled in math and physics—two necessities for the position—in high school. The idea of doing it on television jelled during her PSU internship at Channel 7 in Boston, between her junior and senior years, when her confidence in front of the camera grew.
She further honed her skills on campus as a member of the Panthers Forecasting Team, which provided forecasts for University-related activities and events, and as a weekend weather broadcaster for WPCR 91.7. Other activities included participation in the school chapter of the American Meteorological Society and in Common Ground, PSU’s environmental awareness and sustainability club.
Like many television newscasters, Hurley started in a small market (Rapid City, SD) before making her mark. She worked her way up to become chief meteorologist in her next position in Utica, NY. It was quite an accomplishment as a mere 13 percent of chief meteorologists, and only about one in five meteorologists overall, are women.
“When I became chief (meteorologist) I knew outreach, such as doing school presentations, was important to get that visibility out about females being a minority in the field,” Hurley says. She was in Utica for a little more than three years before coming back to New England as a staff meteorologist at WMTW, the ABC affiliate in Portland, ME.
Lourdes Avilés, chair of the meteorology department, isn’t surprised that her former student worked her way up to the top. “When she was here, she was excellent with a great attitude,” Avilés says. “Everything she did she did very thoroughly. She was also a good classmate.”
One of the things that impresses Avilés most is Hurley’s commitment to passing on her knowledge. Hurley often visits schools in the communities she covers as well as coming back to PSU to talk to students in the program.
“She is an excellent role model for students who want to be on TV,” Avilés continues. “In the past, she has come here to give students advice on how markets work, how it is to work in a newsroom, different rules from station to station, etc.”
PSU has produced a great deal of meteorological talent. Some program alumni include Ken Barlow ’84, chief meteorologist in St. Paul, MN, formerly at WBZ in Boston; Gunnar Consol ’21, 44 News, Evansville, IN; Josh Fisher ’09, business development manager for Weatherzone in Australia; Chris Gloninger ’06, three-time Emmy winner, climate change reporter, and chief meteorologist, Des Moines, IA; Alex Libby ’19 of KARK-TV’s Arkansas Storm Team in Little Rock; and Chelsey Priest ’08, formerly of ABC6 in Providence, RI.
“The program at Plymouth State is amazing,” says Avilés. “We have the latest technology, and the faculty truly cares about the students. And with the beautiful campus, when a prospective student comes here it is hard to say ‘no’.”
“I owe a lot to Plymouth State,” Hurley adds. “The class sizes are perfect to get individualized attention from the professors. There are great connections and the alumni community who are still around New England were super helpful and nice. It makes a huge difference.”
