By Shaina Thompson, courtesy of Kent News
A diverse group of Kent Students traveled to Louisiana to bring relief to those hit by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. This group of twelve consisted of freshman Elizabeth Ridgway and Duneska Michel, sophomores Kieran Bretz, Monica Moszczyc, Phoebe Shepherd, Isabelle Vidro, and Adam Straub. Rhea Jensen, Ollisha Pamplin, and I were the seniors who attended the trip, along with Mrs. Sokolnicki and Ms. Hicks who chaperoned.
When the group arrived in New Orleans, many of us were astonished at how much work still needed to be done to get New Orleans back on its feet even though it had been almost four years since Katrina hit. The group was shocked to see how much destruction was left and couldn’t help but wonder where the government was in the effort. It became apparent that although there was a government program in place, it failed to aid many in their journey back to normalcy.
The Kent group was fortunate to work with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, who not only housed us, but organized an introductory lecture on the history of New Orleans and how badly it was affected by the hurricane. They also provided a flood tour of the lower ninth ward, where most of the devastation occurred, and the upper ninth ward, where we worked. The Diocese wanted to make sure we didn’t solely leave having completed an ordinary service trip with newly acquired hammering skills, but with the knowledge and full extent of the cause and how big our impact would be. The group even had a meeting on our last day of work to reflect on the work we had done, our cultural experience, and the knowledge we acquired. We learned not only about New Orleans, but about ourselves and each other as we formed a very close bond.
When it came down to actual labor, our project was to work on the house of a lady whom we called “Ms. Evelyn.” Many of us experienced our first paint job as well as all the different steps that must be taken in flooring before putting down tiles. We not only felt welcomed by the community, but also by members of the Kent community. Ryan Kirchman ’08 took a day to treat the group to an authentic New Orleans lunch on the worksite. A prospective student and her mother also treated us to our first experience of world famous Cajun food, while a member of the Garrity family invited us to a showing of a historical house. On our day off, we witnessed a park wedding with a live jazz band and vocals. We got an experience of a lifetime, and by being able to delve into the culture, we saw that although a lot of New Orleans is damaged, its culture still prevails. Ollisha Pamplin ’09 reflects that “not only did I get to do service, but I also got to experience a culture that I didn’t know existed on such a scale. I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity.”
