University of Delaware senior Sanaa Burke was hooked on studying the weather from an early age — it’s hard to escape the extreme beauty and power of the weather when you grow up in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Every time hurricane season arrived at her home in Saint Croix, she knew it was time to gear up. 

“That's been my entire life. Every summer, just keeping on my toes about the weather that could come early,” Burke said. “That's probably why I love the weather. Because I've lived through so much, I think it's not only do I have a love for the weather, but I've also experienced it.” 

Burke, who recently graduated with her degree in meteorology and climate science with a minor in geography in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment, said that her academic love for weather began during a sixth grade science class, when a lesson on cloud types and formations set off a lifetime of curiosity. 

“That really caught my attention. After that class, I would go outside and try to identify different cloud types,” Burke said. “Then, my mom got me a weather station and we would put that outside of our house to keep track of the weather. I just loved it ever since.” 

When it came time to choose a university, Burke said UD made sense because, in addition to offering a major in her desired area of study, her uncle, aunt and cousins had all attended UD. 

At UD, Burke was a co-president of the Caribbean Student Alliance, a member of the American Meteorological Society student chapter and a Climate Scholar. 

Through her involvement with the Caribbean Student Alliance and interactions with UD’s Center for Intercultural Engagement, Burke met many other students from diverse backgrounds and learned about different cultures. 

“The Caribbean Student Alliance did a collaboration with Student Diversity and Inclusion and Student Events where we held a ‘Hot takes over hot plates’ dinner where we were able to feed the community with Caribbean cuisine while talking about stereotypes and gender roles in the Caribbean,” Burke said. “I love being able to educate people, and I think that Registered Student Organizations are one of the best ways that you can do that here at UD.” 

Burke also completed an undergraduate research internship with Shuai Wang, assistant professor of meteorology and climate science, on cyclones and isolated precipitation events that accompany the cyclones that make landfall in the eastern United States. Having a hands-on undergraduate research opportunity will help her as she starts at Penn State in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in meteorology. 

Burke credits the closeness of UD’s meteorology program for the opportunity to report live on Fox Weather during Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2024. 

“It's a small major, and all of the upperclassmen know each other pretty well,” Burke said. “We share the same space and have the same classes, so you run into the same faces over and over again.” 

During a group chat with some of the other meteorology majors, Burke said it looked like Ernesto was going to make direct impact on Saint Croix. 

A UD alum working for Fox Weather was on the group chat and asked Burke if she would go on the air to talk about the storm and local preparations. 

“I ended up doing three days for Fox Weather: the initial day, the second day right before the storm made impact and then a follow up after the storm made impact,” Burke said. “Without the connections I formed, I would not have had that Fox Weather opportunity. I ended up going viral back home because it’s not often you see someone from the Caribbean or from the Virgin Islands do something like that. I'm still taken aback by the opportunity and when I think about it, it doesn't feel real. It was amazing.” 

Highlighting her home was important to Burke, and she wants people to know about the exciting opportunities the Virgin Islands offer. 

“We have three different islands: Saint Croix, Saint Thomas and Saint John, and we have three carnivals a year because each island has its own,” Burke said. “The carnivals are so much fun. But I encourage everyone to come here because the beaches are beautiful, the food is amazing, the music is great, and you'll have a great time.”