As a TV reporter and meteorologist, I experienced some pretty incredible things in my career.
I’ve watched a tornado signature form on the radar and then minutes later, video of it actually happening from on the ground nearby. I walked on a hot summer day along a beach searching for part of a shipwreck that washed ashore and after the longest mile of my life, it appeared suddenly with just a few more steps away. The first rocket launch I covered at Cape Canaveral was emotional as I watched the explosion miles away and then a silver glimmer take off into the sky, only to moments later hear the powerful roar of a successful liftoff.
But the 2024 total solar eclipse in Dallas left me in awe and with unforgettable emotions like I’ve never seen or felt before.
Related: Annular solar eclipse 2024 — Everything you need to know about the next solar eclipse
My hometown of Parma just south of Cleveland, Ohio, was in the path of totality and I originally planned to hang out at my Mom’s house for this celestial event. But on January 10, I got a text message asking if I would be interested in serving as emcee for a solar eclipse viewing event hosted by NOAA, NASA, and the National Science Foundation at the historic Fair Park Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, TX.
As someone extremely passionate about both space and STEM and also who had worked hard her entire career to get such an incredible opportunity like this, I thanked God that it was happening and gladly accepted such an important role. In the months to come, the excitement continued to grow about both this event as well as the eclipse and I stayed as connected as I could learning as much as possible about what to expect and how the country was reacting to it. I wrote more than half a dozen stories on different topics from early weather prospects along the path of totality to local events being planned and even got a whole different perspective on how different cultures like the Navajo Nation viewed eclipses. But one question at the end remained in my head — how was I going to personally experience this rare event?
As I got settled into Dallas two days before the main attraction, in addition to attending media events and doing a run-through with the speakers and performers for the show, I kept going back in my mind to what being part of witnessing a total solar eclipse would mean to me. Sure, I was professionally going to be accomplishing so much as the master of ceremonies for an event put on by some of…
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