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Katrina in the Classroom Blown Away In the Big EasySlidell, La., Wednesday, Jan. 11 "It is part of our mission to be of service," McMillin explains, as cheerleaders practice their routines at one end of the Slidell Jr. High School gymnasium, while Susquehanna students work, assembly-line style, at the other end. The clothes project has become McMillin's mission, and this morning she organized three of the four teams into a finely tuned machine that sorts, folds and boxes the donated clothing for shipment to local distribution sites. The mother figure of the group, and a parent of a college student herself, McMillin takes 10 minutes from her steady work pace to reflect on the educational value of the trip. "This has been tremendous in terms of thinking about what it means to give service. We've had a lot of conversations about who we are helping and the notion that we're not even able to help the poorest of the poor. But if we can help people who are then going to be the ones who respond to the neediest families -- teachers, pastors and so forth -- then we're really doing a service," she says.
"Another life lesson they are learning is what it means for the infrastructure of a society to break down. There are things that you take for granted that do not happen smoothly here. They've learned what it means to walk into a Denny's restaurant and find out that, if there's only one cook on, it's really hard to feed 23 people," McMillin says. The education team, in particular, is seeing how schools act as a community builder. "The group has come away with an incredible knowledge of what a school means to a community, and the ways in which the school is a safe haven for these kids in crisis, and what an important role that plays, above and beyond the larger educational purpose," McMillin says. The societal issues haven't gone unnoticed either. "There are big implications here in terms of socioeconomic class and the structure of society that they're seeing," McMillin says. This stark reality hit the students head-on this afternoon when, as a group, we toured the lower Ninth Ward -- the predominantly poor, predominantly black neighborhood destroyed when the Industrial Canal levee broke. We walk down deserted streets as if walking through a graveyard -- solemn, silent and utterly shocked at the complete devastation stretched out before us. A single word or phrase could never describe what we're feeling. "It's like a crazy collage of confusion, sadness, anger, sympathy and more -- a gumbo of feelings and thoughts," says Denise Hughes '07. In a sense, we are experiencing the emotions of the people who live here. As we wander through the desolation of the Ninth Ward, we're breathing the story of Hurricane Katrina, experiencing it on a visceral level and making the story our own. Kyle Pheasant '06 spoke to this point the first day we were in town. Driving across Lake Ponchartrain Sunday night, he said, "You see this huge body of water, and when those levees broke that water had nowhere to go but to a lower elevation. And those lower elevations were places like the Ninth Ward, and it had devastating effects. You don't get to see that kind of stuff on TV. That's why this is just as valuable as anything I've ever done." It is a sentiment that crosses my mind more than once today, my last here in Louisiana. I am reluctant to go home, disappointed that I cannot make a bigger impact on these people's lives and wishing I could stay on to help the group finish their good works. * * * In the days following my return to campus, I would learn that the team completed their cleanup efforts at Dauterive's and Arnold's houses, distributed garbage bags full of new shoes and socks to affected children in St. Tammany Parish Public Schools, cleared damaged trees threatening homes as far away as Mississippi, organized all but a small pile of the donated clothes in Slidell Jr. High gymnasium, and began deconstruction on a third family's home. By all accounts, the trip was a huge success, one worthy of the investment made by alumni who supported the trip through earmarked gifts to the universitys annual fund drive. The group's experience also motivated others to join the relief effort in the Gulf Coast. Susquehanna's second hurricane response team (which included several volunteers from the January trip) traveled to Louisiana over spring break, and another service trip is being planned for the summer. But perhaps the trip's greatest accomplishment was not the tangible results of a completed work assignment -- or even the inspiration the team has given the next wave of volunteers -- but rather the value they discovered in making connections, both to the people of Louisiana and each other. This became abundantly clear on my last night in the city. Following a day of tedious work at Slidell Jr. High and heart-wrenching discoveries in the Ninth Ward, the group took some much needed down time in the French Quarter, dining together at a Cajun restaurant and listening to music by a one-man acoustic band in a Bourbon Street bar, nearly devoid of other customers. Everyone danced and sang in chorus to classics like Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama and Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. No longer was this a group of seniors and underclassmen, faculty and administration. We were human beings united in a mutual cause, bound by everything that New Orleans struggles to find -- a cohesive voice, a singular mission, a shared passion.
Earlier in the day, Bowling said, "I love everyone on this trip, and I think we're all going to stay friends when we go back. It almost makes me cry. I've been a part of so many teams, in sports and stuff, but the morale and camaraderie on this trip is something that I've never experienced before. It's something really special." Perhaps Giannine Della Rocca '09 summed up this closeness best when she wrote in the group journal: "I began this trip with two friends and I left with two dozen." Other entries also pointed to lessons learned during the trip. Bowling wrote that the trip reinforced the importance of relationships over material possessions. "Success and prosperity should never be measured by money or material items, but by how we use our lives to impact and help others," she said. Others noted the resilience of the human spirit. "I am not a risk taker," wrote Dalton, "and I went on this trip wondering how people react when life changes so much -- and not of their choosing. But I learned that life does go on and it is amazing how strong and resourceful and optimistic these people are." Susan Musser, secretary in Susquehanna's Blough-Weis Library, observed the incredible potential of our students. "I have met people from SU that have made me aware that the youth of today will be great leaders of tomorrow," she said. Dalton illustrated a similar faith when she wrote: "I would entrust my life to every single member of this trip; they are that caring and concerned and genuine." But within the pages of the group journal, the team was only cautiously optimistic about the impact they made and reluctant to leave the job undone. "I can't believe our last day of work is complete," wrote Kathryn Richter '06 during their last night in Louisiana. "It felt weird leaving the neighborhood for good this afternoon. I feel like we should go back tomorrow, as if our work here is only beginning instead of ending." Even now, with another hurricane season fast approaching, the work is far from complete. It is a disheartening thought. Yet the insight these young men and women gained from the experience, then put to work, can be an inspiration to us all. "If a picture can tell a thousand words, being here can tell a million," said Christopher Wiegand '06. "We can take pictures and share our stories, but it will barely scratch the surface of the experience. I am thankful for being able to leave my sweat and heart here."
Members of the inaugural hurricane response team learned that the Gulf Coast's road to recovery is a long one, and there is much work to be done. Generous alumni gifts funded that trip, as well as the second service team's travels in March 2006. A third team of students and faculty/staff will travel to Louisiana in late May; interested alumni, parents, and friends can designate contributions toward that and future service trips by clicking here. Below are links to several organizations where you can learn about ways that you may be of help: |
