Cover Story: Blown Away in the Big Easy
Katrina in the Classroom
Student Perspectives
WEB EXTRA: Discussions in a Disaster Zone

Alumni in Katrina's Path

Lindsay Lawer '04: Helping Katrina's Four-Legged Victims

"These are all Katrina dogs," said Lindsay Lawer '04, as she walked past dozens of barking canines housed in a makeshift kennel within the gates of an old amusement park in Metairie, La. "There's a lot of dogs that we see night after night lying in the same driveway, obviously waiting for their owners to come back. Four and a half months later, they're probably not coming back," said the former psychology major.

The night before, Lawer had, at best, four hours of sleep. She was chasing orphaned dogs through the streets of greater New Orleans until 4 a.m. It was a pace she kept up throughout the week she spent in January volunteering with an operation run by Animal Rescue-New Orleans and Best Friends Animal Society, a Utah-based organization operating the largest no-kill animal shelter in the country.

It was Lawer's second trip to Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina cut her deadly path through the Gulf Coast. In October, she cashed in all the vacation time she had accrued working at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., and came to New Orleans to help animals abandoned during the disaster.

This time around, Lawer purposely put herself between jobs so she could return to the animal rescue effort. With a couple job offers pending, she resigned from Geisinger so she had the free time to indulge her passion for working with animals. "This is absolutely worth it," Lawer said of her decision.

When asked why, she pointed out the powerlessness of these animals. "Their owners abandoned them. They went through a hurricane -- two really -- and then they're stuck in the city to fend for themselves. It's just got to be terrifying," she said.

To learn more about the animal rescue effort in New Orleans, visit Best Friends Animal Society's Web site at www.bestfriends.org.

Glenn Stoudt '76: A Fortunate Storm Survivor

When the hurricane passed and the flood waters receded, Glenn Stoudt '76 and his family found their Lakeview house in shambles. Five feet of water had destroyed the first floor of the historic house, and in the months that followed, the house was broken into twice by looters.

Despite the ordeal, the family counts itself lucky. Stoudt's job overseeing Rochester-Midland Corp.'s international division was not in jeopardy due to the disaster. They had the means to return home from their temporary stay in Houston and insurance to help them rebuild.

That is not the case for many New Orleans residents. "Probably 30 percent of the people in this neighborhood, which is a nice area, are uninsured," Stoudt said, noting that even more are underinsured. "I hate to say it, but I think the only thing that is going to help New Orleans is some sort of massive buyout plan. There's just no other way out for most people," he said.

Some monetary donations are seemingly not reaching those in need either. "Take the Clinton-Bush Katrina Fund, where's that money? I'm not picking on them," Stoudt said, "but none of these people in this neighborhood have seen anything directly from anyone, at any time. I don't mean to imply that something illegal is going on. It's just that the money is not reaching the people."

That is why Stoudt feels Susquehanna has taken the right approach to the relief effort. "The only way to really get to people directly is sort of a hands-on approach. If you can't physically be here, you find a way to fund somebody that can physically be here. That direct approach is really the way to go because the big money is somewhere else, and it might help rebuild infrastructure, but it's not going to help families. Rebuilding at the family level and community level is what we need," Stoudt said.

According to university records, about 30 Susquehanna alumni live in Mississippi and Louisiana. A third made their homes in areas severely affected by Hurricane Katrina. The situations of just three of these alumni exemplify the different ways in which lives were changed by the disaster.

When Hurricane Katrina came barreling up the Gulf Coast, Ann Sheppard '68 and her family were ready. Because her husband is part of a disaster recovery team for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Finance Center, they are practiced in the art of evacuation. "His team takes the data center to a remote location for functionality any time there is a hurricane in the gulf. We usually leave and come back in a day or two. Not so this time," Sheppard said.

Their Slidell, La., home, situated on a small bayou off Lake Ponchartrain, was completely destroyed by a wall of mud, water and swamp grass. They spent nearly five months in Philadelphia before returning to Louisiana in early February to live in a 30-foot FEMA trailer in the driveway of their damaged property. "Unfortunately there are not many other options. With so many people from within New Orleans left without homes, there is a shortage of homes and apartments anywhere in the vicinity," Sheppard said.

For several months following Hurricane Katrina, Raymond Ziegler '90 lived a thousand miles from his wife, Beatriz, and their four-year-old daughter. Although their New Orleans home and businesses were spared by the storm, their livelihood was not. "The loss of business to the region was difficult," Ziegler said. "We are both in tourism-related fields. I have a stage lighting company that specializes in convention rentals and depends on large conventions to survive. My wife owns a bed and breakfast that also depends on the influx of visitors to make its income."

After the storm, Ziegler took a temporary job in California while his family was displaced in Arkansas. Eventually, Ziegler was able to resume his business in Atlanta, Ga., and his wife was able to return home with their daughter, and reopened her bed and breakfast. But in the months that followed, Ziegler continued bouncing between Atlanta and New Orleans. "It's not fun, but I'm dealing with it the best I can," Ziegler said.

Jessica Lambert '02 was beginning her fourth year of teaching in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck. After teaching elementary school in Jefferson Parish for three years, she had landed a job as a reading interventionist at Woodmere Elementary School in Harvey, La. "We were in school exactly one week before the hurricane hit," Lambert said.

Woodmere Elementary was one of five schools in Jefferson Parish that suffered severe damage in the storm, and with enrollment down across the parish, lay offs are a real possibility. This uncertainty, coupled with the tragedy itself, prompted Lambert to return home to Pennsylvania and enroll in the elementary education with certification program at Bloomsburg University.

"Moving back to Pennsylvania was an extremely difficult decision. I love New Orleans and I want to help rebuild it. I still miss it terribly. However, I feel like this is such a good time to continue my education. And after finishing the graduate program, I can hopefully make even more of a difference if I return to New Orleans," Lambert said.

-- Victoria Kidd