Marketing and…Meteorology?

Travis Roberts, Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing at Bluefield, serves the university by overseeing traditional admissions and enrollment as well as public relations and university marketing.

Roberts also has another talent – meteorology. Roberts, who graduated from Bluefield College in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, completed a broadcast meteorology program at Mississippi State University and earned the Seal of Approval from the National Weather Association. He initially served the community as a meteorologist at WVVA, a local news station, before returning to Bluefield as a staff member.

“My transition from WVVA to Bluefield University was really a shift from one kind of service to another,” Roberts said. “In television, especially during severe weather, you know what you do matters. Covering tornado, flash flood, or even winter storm warnings live on the air is intense, but it also means you may be helping people stay safe and make good decisions in a dangerous moment.”

Roberts said that his work at Bluefield is as meaningful as his meteorological work, but in a different way.

“At Bluefield, the impact is different, but I believe it is just as meaningful. Now I get to help students make decisions that can shape the rest of their lives,” Roberts said. “I also believe in the mission of Bluefield University. It is a Christ-centered learning community developing servant leaders to transform the world. That mission means a lot to me, and it is one of the reasons I believe our work is so important.”

There are many similarities between his work as a meteorologist and his role at Bluefield, said Roberts.

“There’s actually a lot of overlap with meteorology. You’re looking at trends, trying to forecast outcomes, and making decisions without perfect information,” Roberts said. “And in both roles, you have to explain things in a way people understand.”

Roberts, however, keeps his passion for meteorology alive, which he has had since he was young.

“I got interested in weather when I was a kid,” Roberts said. “I remember hearing a snow forecast and then watching it actually happen. That stuck with me. As a teenager and adult, I was always looking at maps, radar, and weather discussions.”

Roberts now runs a successful meteorology YouTube channel, which allows him the opportunity to share his meteorology knowledge. Called “Weather With Travis,” this regularly updated channel discusses national weather, long-range outlooks, major pattern changes, and high-impact events such as major winter storms.

“It started as a hobby and really just gave me a way to talk about the weather again. Over time, it has grown into a channel with more than 49,000 subscribers and millions of views,” concludes Roberts.