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Forecasting Her Future

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Joyce Wong鈥檚 WIL Co鈥憃p Journey

Posted by Meredith Murray on August 24, 2026 in Student news

Growing up in Hong Kong, Joyce Wong considered typhoons a part of everyday life. When storms came in, her family would check the TV to see if school was cancelled, and neighbours would tape their windows.

鈥淚 remember walking through the sheltered corridor from my apartment to the convenience store to get ice cream while leaves swirled wildly outside. It was all completely normal to me.鈥

After moving to Halifax as a teenager, Joyce became fascinated by the varied maritime weather conditions. 鈥淗alifax's weather can change so dramatically between morning and night that I started checking the radar and forecasts just for fun,鈥 she says.

In summer 2023, the Hammonds听Plains/Upper Tantallon wildfire

JoyceWong_ECCC
Photo provided

broke out the day of Joyce鈥檚 high school prom, causing significant damage to the area. That same summer, she worked as an assistant lifeguard at a local outdoor pool, where she spent countless hours in the hot sun.

"That was when weather stopped being just intellectually interesting to me and started feeling like something that truly affects people's lives.鈥

Discovering a Career Path

Joyce first learned that meteorology could be a profession when she met a student studying it during her first year at 黄色直播. However, she didn鈥檛 consider it a potential career path until she came across the job posting for her current work term.

鈥淓verything clicked: the curiosity I'd carried since Hong Kong had been pointing somewhere all along.鈥

鈥淭here was a way to put my math and programming background to work on something I'd cared about for years, and I wanted to figure out what's behind the large datasets and patterns that shape our weather and beyond.鈥

Work with the Meteorological Service of Canada

Joyce is working as a Health and Air Quality Data Analysis and Climatology Assistant with the Health and Air Quality Forecasting Service team at the Meteorological Service of Canada. Her primary duties relate to the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), Canada's public scale for communicating how air quality may a铿ect one's health on a given day.

"Because air quality is shaped by the weather, our team is responsible for how the AQHI is forecast by the same meteorologists forecasting the weather,鈥 she says. 鈥淒ay to day, that means working with the air quality data, drawing insights from it, and building tools that make it easier to monitor.鈥

One of her main projects involves enhancing the team鈥檚 AQHI indicator dashboard, which tracks how well their air quality forecasts perform against a service standard over time. Joyce also sends wildfire and smoke briefings twice a week and has taken on a range of smaller tasks, including redesigning the wildfire dashboard鈥檚 bilingual glossary.

She finds the work extremely fulfilling and is excited to see what she can contribute by the end of her work term. 鈥淚'm about to start working on a heat dashboard to bring heat-related information together in one place so it's easier to follow at a glance,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t's early days, but I think it could be a genuinely useful tool.鈥

Joyce is grateful to her manager and supervisor for providing her with the opportunity, and to her coworkers for welcoming her into the team. Their career paths have shown her the depth of possibilities within the field. 鈥淕oing to work alongside people who have built careers in the field I'm working toward has been a real privilege.鈥

鈥淭heir willingness to teach me and to share their stories means a lot.鈥

ECCC Meteorology Award

Shortly after accepting her job offer, Joyce discovered the ECCC Meteorology Award, a national scholarship for BSc students. The deadline was the next day.

鈥淚 confirmed my eligibility, wrote the essay, and reached out to my professor and teacher asking if they'd be willing to submit reference forms on very short notice,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hey were incredibly kind and came through without hesitation.鈥

Earlier this month, Joyce learned she was selected as one of six recipients. 鈥淭he award is valued at $5,000, which covers a full semester of my tuition,鈥 she says. 鈥淏eing recognized nationally for my commitment to this field, especially as someone who didn't find their way to meteorology until third year, means more than I can fully put into words.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 deeply grateful to my professor and teacher. Without their generosity and trust in me, none of it would have been possible.鈥

What鈥檚 next for Joyce?

Joyce is keeping her options open for her final work term. During her final year, she plans to apply to master's programs and the federal government's Meteorologist Operational Internship Program. 鈥淚'm looking forward to exploring meteorology further, learning as I go, and applying what I know to contribute to something meaningful.鈥