Elon University students and staff have organized dozens of service trips to the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, and as the nation marks the storm's 10th anniversary this summer, campus leaders and alumni reflect on how they, too, were shaped by its destruction.
Just days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, a group of Elon University students approached Smith Jackson, vice president of Student Life and dean of students, to lobby for an institutional response.
The storm had devastated the Big Easy and other parts of the Gulf Coast. Within weeks, a group of more than 40 students, faculty, and staff were en route to help Bay St. Louis, a small community an hour east of New Orleans.
Elon was one of the first groups to arrive with volunteers camping on the grounds of Our Lady of the Gulf, a small Catholic church in the community of about 8,000 residents. In the first year alone, Elon groups visited the area 10 times for service activities. They were joined by groups from across the country and worked alongside local families who shared their stories.
As the nation this summer marks the 10th anniversary of the storm’s landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, those involved in early efforts to help with rebuilding say the hurricane was a pivotal moment in their own lives.
“This event seemed frozen in time for them in many ways,” said Jackson, who accompanied one of the original groups. “They spoke often of what they did after the first few days and of the devastation and power of the storm. For them there is ‘before Katrina’ and now ‘post Katrina’ as they begin to rebuild their lives. Many students, faculty, and staff who went were touched by the stories they heard and the experiences they shared.”
Carolyn Byrne ’09 was in the first group to travel to Bay St. Louis. She now serves as the VISTA coordinator at North Carolina Campus Compact.
“The opportunity to volunteer in Bay St. Louis with Elon Volunteers! just a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina remains ones of the most significant experiences of my life,” Byrne said. “This student-led Alternative Break opened my eyes to privilege, policy, community, and true service for the first time. I felt it was my responsibility to give back because I had been fortunate in life.
“The seed planted in that moment impacted my major selection, internships and involvement at Elon. I’m now able to better understand the systems that make me ‘fortunate’ and am pushed to give back in different ways.”
Elon’s Alternative Breaks Program has continued its long-term commitment to helping rebuild the region for the past decade. During Spring Break 2016, an Alternative Break group will again travel to New Orleans to continue rebuilding houses for families in need – the 38th Elon group to assist the area since Katrina.
In recent years, Elon volunteers have worked with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, which engages local youth and other volunteers to help rebuild houses that are then sold to local teachers. Its system helps to rebuild the community as well as the property.
“Elon University has shown a dedication to the long-term recovery of the Gulf Coast unlike most institutions, and its students are amongst the very finest individual leaders we’ve encountered,” said William Stoudt, executive director of Youth Rebuilding New Orleans. “As the 10 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina comes and goes, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans is proud to call Elon a partner, and we look forward to what we can continue to accomplish together.”
Hundreds of Elon students, faculty and staff members have dedicated their time, energy and efforts over the past decade to help rebuild homes and lives in the Gulf Coast region. They have made relationships with other volunteers, experienced life in local communities, and worked alongside people from all over the country.
Most importantly, Jackson said, is the impact they have had on the people of the Gulf Coast.
“In speaking with local community members, what was once again clear is that the perceived blessing of Elon’s presence in this community is more spiritual than physical,” Jackson said. “While they appreciate assistance in helping to physically restore their homes and community, it is knowing that someone outside their community has not forgotten them that is most healing. “
Students, faculty and staff interested in getting involved with work in New Orleans or any other Alternative Break can visit the Alternative Breaks Program website or email Evan Small at esmall@elon.edu.
– Information submitted by Evan Small, assistant director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement