Elon students, faculty and staff gathered in Yeager Auditorium Wednesday night for a presentation about the fall break service trip to Bay St. Louis, Miss., Oct. 14-18. Details…
“I Am a Town Southbound — Breaking the Bubble: Elon Experiences Bay St. Louis,” included a documentary from the service trip and a panel of four students who told of their experiences. The event was sponsored by the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and promoted by the Public Relations Student Society of America.
Senior Greta Franklin, director of chapter and professional relations for PRSSA, said she hoped the program would motivate other students to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina. “We as a school have been very supportive of this cause, and the support needs to continue,” she said.
Dr. Smith Jackson, vice president for student life and dean of students, told the crowd how proud he was of the students who went on the service trip over fall break. “You could have done a lot of different things with your time there,” Jackson said. “But you chose to go. You chose to make a difference.”
The documentary included photographs and video of the people and places affected by Hurricane Katrina. Students on the panel said that although the photographs showed the damage, they did not portray the scale of the disaster.
“Pictures help, but they still fall short of the true experience,” said junior Nathan Rode, a member of the panel. He explained how all the debris and destruction in the area left him wondering where he should start.
“I found that there is no real place to start,” he said. “You just gotta dive right in and get your hands dirty and do what you gotta do.”
Junior Will Heins said he decided to go on the trip after speaking with his father, who is from New Orleans. Heins said there was rubble everywhere and it was not uncommon for students to walk 20-30 minutes before seeing a house that was still standing. But by sorting food and clothing, clearing debris and talking to people who survived the hurricane, he felt the students made an impact on the community.
“The intangible human difference that we made was something else,” he said. “If you guys haven’t been on a service trip, I really suggest you do it.”