As the massive Hurricane Irma approached the Antilles, including our island of Puerto Rico on Wednesday, September 6, everyone’s anxiety was palpable. We made our preparations, bought all the necessary utilities, and established our emergency plans. But even in the midst of this mayhem, I can’t help but feel a little bit of pride for that person that’s been coaching us from the very beginning. And oh, do we know her: we have heard her voice on the radio and recently, constantly seen her on Facebook Live. She’s our very own meteorologist: Ada R. Monzón.
Ada is the first female meteorologist in Puerto Rico, and the only one who possesses the seal of Professional Meteorological Certification for the Media from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). Not only that, but she is also the founder and president of the Board of Directors for the EcoExploratorio: Science Museum of Puerto Rico and gives her full support to the Meteorology Program at UPRM.
The boricua from San Juan studied at the San Jorge Academy, where she was the president of the National Honor Society. She then finished her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a focus in Physics at the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras (UPR-RP) Campus, and obtained her Master’s in Meteorology at the Florida State University (FSU). Though she wound up leaving Puerto Rico in pursuit of her higher education, she returned and launched her career on the island. She has worked in numerous news channels and is currently (as of September 4) a member of WIPR-TV, where she reported about Irma’s trajectory. Monzón has many accomplishments, but her most precious one, I think, is the respect she has gained from her people.
Hurricane Irma devastated the islands of Barbuda and St. Maarten. The hurricane also affected the northeast side of Puerto Rico, especially the towns Culebra, Fajardo, and Loíza. After Puerto Rico, it affected Cuba, and it’s currently making its second landfall in the state of Florida as a Category 3 hurricane.
For any information on Irma, you can follow Ada Monzón in Univision Radio WKAQ-580 am, LenteViral, Noticias 24/7, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.