Ashley Lonergan is a sophomore biology major. Over spring break, she took part in a service trip to New Orleans sponsored by the Office of Student Leadership and Civic Engagement. She hopes her story inspires readers to consider attending service trips or volunteer in their local area. She believes that a little service here and there can make a huge impact on the world.
“Where ya at?”That’s how they greet people down in New Orleans. Over spring break, nine NSU students went on a service trip to New Orleans to help Hurricane Katrina victims. We learned that help comes in many forms; sometimes, something as simple as asking someone how their family is can make a world of difference to that person.
We worked with Camp Restore, a nonprofit organization that fosters volunteers and sponsors volunteer projects around New Orleans. They provide the volunteers, like us, a place to sleep, homemade meals everyday three times a day, and, most importantly, the places where we were going to work.
The people who work at Camp Restore are also volunteers and are dedicated to helping the community. I found it to be touching that everyone was truly grateful to have us there. Not a day went by that we didn’t hear a thank you.
For me, this trip is difficult to put into words. I originally decided to go because I’ve been interested in doing something like this but I always put that thought on the backburner.
When I heard across this opportunity, I knew I had to do it. When the day arrived, I was so excited, despite having to wake up at 4 a.m. When I arrived at Camp Restore, I saw the camp-style rooms with rows of bunk beds and immediately ran to the top bunk. I couldn’t wait to start working the next day.
On our first day of service, we worked on a new location for a community commitment center. Nicole, the person in charge, was so appreciative of what we were doing. At one point, I was having so much fun tearing down walls and cleaning up debris, that I didn’t understand why she was thanking me for having fun.
Tuesday was Mardi Gras, which I had always wanted to experience. On Tuesday morning, it was just above freezing and it rained the entire day. Normally, that would discourage people but, of course, that wasn’t going to stop us.
Luckily, that didn’t slow the people of New Orleans down either. The city was so full of energy and it seemed nothing could bring them down. It was a very memorable day, to say the least.
Wednesday was our next project, and we were all excited to work on a horse ranch. I was so excited because I love being around horses. There we met Ann, an incredible woman who has been through so much and continues to do so much for her community. One thing that really stuck out to me is that she helps drug addicts and alcoholics with rehabilitation, despite the fact that she lost her second child to a drunk driver. Hurricane Katrina took a lot from her but she returned to the city to help others and rescue the animals.
Ann taught us that when a huge disaster like Katrina happens, many people don’t consider animals as victims even though they are. It was an honor to help someone like Ann with her barn of 30 rescued horses. We did normal barn responsibilities like cleaning the stalls and grooming the horses.
Throughout this trip, we got to meet wonderful people who do so much for their community and the city they love. They each have incredible backstories about how they came back after the devastations of Katrina. It was very inspiring to hear it. It’s different to hear these stories from people who actually lived through it and to see how after nine years the people of New Orleans are still so sensitive about it.
Another amazing part of the trip was not only growing as an individual but also growing as group. The company really can make the trip and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to go on this trip with. I have made memories to last me a lifetime. This trip has had a major impact on me and has motivated me to take on community projects here.
