Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Virginia Tech students provide Katrina aid
By Anna Guastello
The Collegiate Times (Virginia Tech)
05/26/2006

(U-WIRE) BLACKSBURG, Va. — Forget Acapulco, parties on the beach and sleeping until noon. Virginia Tech students are finding alternate ways to spend their spring and summer vacations. This past spring break, 30 Virginia Tech students, along with 28 students from North Carolina State University, traveled down to Pascagoula, Miss. to aid in Hurricane Katrina relief and more students are planning to go again this summer.

"(I went on the trip because) I felt like it was a good opportunity to do something not selfish," said Jenny Crowall, sophomore mechanical engineering major.

The students went through the New Life Christian Fellowship. For the week they were there, the students did everything from tearing out floorboards to building houses to collecting donations. The work that they did was with a local church, whose goal was to fix 1,000 houses in the area. Along with physical help, the students were also there to offer emotional support to the victims.

"We were there if they needed someone to talk to. Many people haven't had time to talk about how the hurricane made them feel," said Kelly Parker, junior human development major.

Many of the victims were thankful for the help they received during the week. One of the women they helped was an elderly woman named Mildred. Her house, which had been built by her late husband after World War II, was badly damaged. However, she refused to let her house be torn down, so the students spent three days doing whatever they could to fix it up.

"At the end of the trip, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said she had thought she would never be able to live in her house again," said Annie Maines, junior ocean engineering major.

While they were there, the students also helped fix up living arrangements and a cafeteria for the volunteers that would come over the summer.

Maines would recommend volunteering with Katrina relief to anyone who was interested.

"It was definitely the most rewarding spring break I could have ever had. I made so many amazing friends and (the work you do) is life- changing to some people," Maines said.

Other students would also recommend going on this trip.

"Honestly, it is an experience everyone should go through. Just spend a few days there and see what you can do. Use your abilities to help out," Parker said.

Virginia Tech students are currently planning another trip down to Pascagoula to continue helping out. The trip will take place the week after graduation, starting May 14, 2006. A recruitment drive is being held Tuesday, May 2 and Wednesday, May 3 to try and get as many student volunteers as possible.

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