Neil Muir has been fascinated with meteorology since Hurricane Frances hit Florida when he was on vacation. Says Neil, “I watched the hurricane move slowly up the coast on TV. It amazed me how all that energy can be tightly compacted into one large storm system. After the trip, I went home and [started researching] hurricanes.”

 

Neil brings a calm, thoughtful demeanor to the Argonaut team, and he stresses listening to others as an important quality he is able to bring. This same thoughtfulness has also allowed Neil to thrive as a peer mediator at his school. As pointed out by Mrs. Schad, a teacher at his school,  “a true indication of Neil’s dedication to services is his participation in our peer mediation program.  The students who choose to become peer mediators undergo all day Saturday training and forfeit their free periods to conduct the mediations with students in conflict. Neil is always willing to mediate conflicts and has the respect of the students with his calm, sensible manner. He has also become a student trainer for new peer mentors.”

 

Before becoming a Monster Storms Argonaut, Neil has previously studied and followed The JASON Project’s Rainforest at the Crossroads. Not a stranger to exploration, Neil goes to Jamaica every year, where he enjoys observing a range of wildlife that he doesn’t get to see at home. “I have gotten used to most of the animals. Large cockroaches are still my main problem though,” Neil says.

 

Neil is a 9th-grade student at Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY.  He is a member of Royal Rangers and participates in cross country, school musicals, class advisory, gospel choir, and baseball.

 

 

Finally, it was flight time. We all piled into four vans and waited for the control tower to give permission for us to drive onto the tarmac. It was done just like a normal airport, and our flight was delayed for half an hour. But at one-thirty, we set out for the runway. It took at least 20 minutes to get to the runway. When we got to the runway, everyone took their places. It was time to launch!

 

At two o’clock, the Aerosonde took off. It was so exciting to see the plane finally take off after three long days of learning about and working with it. We were all surprised at how high the little plane could fly. It could have easily been mistaken for a much larger plane. I knew it could fly, but I didn’t think it would fly so well. My favorite part was when it landed. It flew around in a downward spiral slowly, and then lined up perfectly with the runway. Those Aerosonde pilots are skilled. Watching the flight was like becoming an Argonaut all over again. It was really cool, and I will never forget it.  

 

What really has interested me this whole week is that we all come from different walks of life. We come from California, Oregon, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, England, and Italy. It was really interesting to find out how other people live. What also surprised me is that we all are almost alike. We have fun with jokes, we’re athletic, and we can all concentrate on our work. 

 

What it’s like to be an Argonaut: 

I guess you really want to know what it feels like to be an Argo, right? Well, it is the best fun you can ever have. For example, on Tuesday, we went to a quarry to swim. We were all introduced to wet suits and snorkels. They are supposed to keep you warm in cold water, but that didn’t help me. I was shaking like I had a seizure. But Argos never give up; we adapt. They put a second layer on me with a hood. I looked like, well, fill in your own blank. But needless to say, it did keep me warmer, so I was able to skin dive. 

 

Another first for me was to working until 10 o’clock at night. This is a day in the life of an Argonaut. You wake up at six, have breakfast at seven, get orientation at seven-thirty, do the activity of the day from eight to noon, have lunch, do more of the activity of the day from one until six, have dinner, and then go back to our office from seven to ten. It was all work all day, with nothing but bathroom breaks. It drove all of us crazy, which drove our teachers crazy, but it was the best fun we’ve ever had.