Doing what she does best, local weather chaser Jenny Hagan is in southeast Saskatchewan covering the intense spring snowstorm.
With over 3000 followers that follow her coverage closely on her Facebook page Jenny Hagan Lost In Sask, you might be surprised to learn that Hagan used to be pretty nervous around a camera.
According to Hagan herself, about four years ago she wouldn't even step in front of one. Combining her passion of chasing storms with an interest in reporting, Hagan stepped firmly out of her comfort zone, and it has worked out tremendously.
Her commitment to chasing bad weather has opened up tons of opportunities, such as a recent public speaking opportunity at Chaser Con Canada 2023. Talk about leaving your comfort zone even more.
At Chaser Con 2023 in Olds, Alberta, Hagan did a speech on 'Perseverance in Canada's harshest winter climates' (Photo via Jenny Hagan Lost in Sask on Facebook) For someone who admittedly got over being nervous in front of a camera, speaking in person was a completely different animal.
"Anybody can probably relate that public speaking is terrifying. To get up in front of close to 100 people, and do that for the first time, that was definitely a little bit nerve-wracking."
Most people might find chasing intense weather as the most nerve-wracking part of the job. For Hagan, using an activity like chasing weather was a great way to grow as a person in the realm of media.
"It was kind of (about) how I used chasing winter storms to expand my knowledge on forecasting and grow myself as a reporter." said Hagan.
Sharing a little more about Chaser Con itself, it's a yearly event for people interested in severe weather to get together and learn a bit more about it from experts in the field. People from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC were at the event.
"They usually have a chaser panel for people who do chase storms, and then also a media panel for people who are more on the meteorology side." shared Hagan. She talked about some of the big names in attendance. "There was David Spence from Alberta, who has been with CTV since...forever. Recently retired, so he was one of the main speakers on the media panel and he kind of gave an aspect of what has changed from that side of the media since the 70s until now."
Hagan is one to never stop learning, growing and adapting; believing that you can do things that scare you (as a shining example).
Anyone interested in viewing the Chaser Con 2023 proceedings can check it out below, with Hagan coming in around the 1hr 17 min mark.
Sat, Apr 20, 5:00 PM
