|
Vol. 38, No. 18
|
 |
1-9-2008
By: Kristen Convery Back to New Orleans
During their trip to New Orleans for the BCS National Championship Game, a group of university representatives — including administrators, trustees, coaches’ wives, and students — teamed up with Louisiana State University representatives at the area Boys and Girls Club, where they renovated two baseball diamonds destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
It wasn’t the first time Buckeyes have reached out to the Big Easy. Since Katrina hit, Ohio State has had a strong presence in helping the region rebuild.
Here, a few Buckeyes tell their stories. For the complete story, see osu.edu.
Megan Conroy recently spent a week on a university-sponsored Alternative Break trip to Slidell, La., 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.”
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’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.”
onCampus Home
|
