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From vet students who rescued pets abandoned in the wake of the storm to architecture students who are working on rebuilding plans, Ohio State students, faculty, staff, and alumni have reached out.

Here, a few Buckeyes tell their New Orleans stories.

Megan Conroy recently spent a week on a university-sponsored Alternative Break trip to Slidell, Louisiana, where she worked for Habitat for Humanity.

"Seventy students from Ohio State traveled to Slidell, to work with the East St. Tammany affiliate chapter of Habitat for Humanity, arranged in conjunction with the Ohio Union," Conroy says. "We worked on three different construction sites with a total of about 50 houses completing a variety of different jobs. From installing insulation, to painting, power washing, and building sheds, we spent five days doing anything that we could to help complete these houses for low-income families in the area. During the week we had the opportunity to visit the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, the portion of St. Bernard Parish that was amongst the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Seeing the damage that exists over two years later was astonishing; it was an eye-opening experience to see the tragic conditions in which people in America still live."

Professor Jennifer Evans-Cowley has brought groups of students from Knowlton School of Architecture to the Mississippi coastline since just after Hurricane Katrina hit. Her most recent trip was in early December.

"While other parts of the coastline that sustained major damage have received a lot of attention, there are numerous areas in the less populated centers that also have dire needs. We hope to address that," Evans-Cowley says. "Over the past two years, graduate students in the City and Regional Planning program have been working with rural communities impacted by the storm to develop long-range rebuilding plans. The Harrison County Board of Supervisors has adopted all of the plans created and has continued to invite OSU back to work with the County on its long-range planning needs through 2009. In addition, students from the Landscape Architecture program have begun to contribute by developing design solutions for the Pineville community and will be working with the County in 2008 on a plan for its 26 miles of beach." Read more about the students' plans.

Katie Flood is a veterinary medicine student and a member of the Shelter Medicine Club, which has worked with Animal Rescue of New Orleans since the storm.

“We're at around 11,000 hours of donated labor in Slidell.”
—Chris Smith, Alternative Break team leader, Habitat for Humanity

"We’ve suggested vaccine protocol changes that the area shelters have implemented," Flood says. "The students in the Shelter Medicine Club have witnessed first-hand that animals’ lives can be saved through proper sanitation, de-worming and vaccination. Knowing that we are making a real difference keeps us going back to offer our support whenever we can. There is still so much work to be done, and the core group of volunteers who are there every day are often exhausted."

Amanda Hardesty first went to New Orleans on a December 2005 trip of Ohio State volunteers; after her graduation six month later, she moved to the area to work on recovery efforts.

"During my time at Ohio State, I developed a strong passion for the industry, agriculture as a whole and now fisheries even more so. I studied the environment, with an interest in economics, which is a balance that is integral to the New Orleans region and their current experiences," Hardesty says. "At the Louisiana State University AgCenter (Extension Service), I have spent the last 18 months on a variety of projects and doing a wide range of activities. My primary responsibility when I first moved to the New Orleans area was to recruit, organize, coordinate, and manage volunteer groups that came to the LSU AgCenter from across the U.S. I frequently collaborated with other relief organizations to secure housing, provide meals, and tools. The scope of the volunteer work focused on agricultural and environmental recovery projects, such as helping fishing families or rebuilding parts of New Orleans City Park."

Chris Smith, now an Ohio State grad student, led eight Alternative Break trips to Slidell, Louisiana, during his undergraduate career.

"I've been to the New Orleans area eight times," Smith says. "My first trip was before the hurricane. I remember really liking the area, the people, the unique culture. I was back for the first time 10 weeks after the storm, and the change was drastic, obviously. Since then, each time that I've been back things have steadily improved; in some areas things are just about back to normal. There are still some heavily damaged areas that for a variety of reasons are not recovering as quickly, but overall a lot of progress has been made. Of course, there is still a long way to go. There are still families living in FEMA trailers, and others that have been permanently displaced from their homes. By most estimates, it will take at least 10 years for the communities, businesses, and residents to completely recover and rebuild. I have truly come to view Slidell/New Orleans as a second home. I feel connected to the people and places that I've gotten to know over the past few years. There is a real sense of common purpose that ties the people together, whether they are a life-long resident, volunteer, or even just a visitor."

Alton Willis, now a Knowlton School of Architecture graduate, came to Ohio State just after Hurricane Katrina hit his neighborhood; now, he uses what he learned at Ohio State to help rebuild his hometown.

"My research for a number of classes in urban planning has allowed me uncover valuable resources that I used to assist others back home in New Orleans, including helping my mother-in-law in renovating her house in the Upper Ninth Ward as well as informing a fellow educator from New Orleans Public Schools about a storm recovery grant for a church that her husband pastors," Willis says. "After graduating with a master's in City & Regional Planning this past summer, I became employed at DeJong, Inc., an educational facilities planning firm in Dublin, Ohio. A large portion of the my job has me involved in working on a Facilities Master Plan for New Orleans Public Schools. How ironic, considering that I was an educator in this school district before the storm."

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