In Giving We Receive

WSU Students’ Community Service Stretches from Winona to New Orleans

From students to faculty, individuals to groups and athletes to nursing students, Winona State University knows the importance of giving back to the local community. Every year, community members organize hundreds of service ventures and participate in countless charitable activities, from Habitat for Humanity building projects, to Garvin Heights restoration, to cooperative programs with the Winona Public Schools, to the work that Rochester nursing students perform with immigrant healthcare.

But the reach of the WSU community doesn't stop at the Winona city or county border. It doesn't stop at the Minnesota state line either. When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in late August 2005, forces mobilized. Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity, collected more than $1,000 in donations. Students from Dr. Tammy Swenson Lepper's Persuasive Communication class held a fundraiser, “Midwest Mardi Gras,” which raised more than $1,000 for hurricane relief.

Instead of sending money, Richard Schneider, professor of accounting, sent himself. In February 2006, Schneider traveled to Mississippi to work at VITA sites, explaining applicable tax provisions and deductible expenses for volunteers. Schneider also worked with a crew cleaning up a collapsed garage. “It is in giving we receive, and in receiving we give,” Schneider said.

In March 2006, twenty students continued the WSU tradition of service learning and civic engagement by traveling to New Orleans, La., to assist in hurricane relief efforts. These students were no ordinary volunteers.

For seven weeks prior to the trip, the students participated in a class entitled “Insights and Implications: New Orleans in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.” The class was designed to help students attain a deeper understanding of the complex ramifications of the disaster.                 The students studied the city of New Orleans, and discussed aspects of Hurricane Katrina: the national response, the media coverage and the difficulties it created for New Orleans and its people.

Dr. Joan Francioni, professor of Computer Science at WSU and a New Orleans native; Dr. Tamara Berg, professor of the WSU Women's and Gender Studies program; and Ann Smith, professor of Computer Science at SMU, created a syllabus that would address the complex cultural, social and economic issues of the city.

Readings included an account of the 1927 Mississippi River flood and contemporary media articles  Francioni felt that the breadth of reading would provide students with both a historical overview of the city and a contemporary snapshot of life in New Orleans.

“Through the reading and studying they've done, they understand New Orleans at a deeper level than strict tourism or volunteering,” said Francioni.

During spring break 2006, March 11-19, the students and their professors embarked on a service learning trip to New Orleans. Accompanied by carpenter Jay Kohner and WSU professors Cindy Killion, Dan Lintin and Emilie Falc, the students traveled south to build on their newfound knowledge, to serve the community and to experience firsthand the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of New Orleans.

WSU junior Lisa Stuhr observed that New Orleans was much worse than she expected it to be. “It's seven months later, and it looks like the hurricane went through yesterday.”

The students volunteered at three work sites: New Orleans City Park, St. Michael's School for Exceptional Children and the residence of Geraldine Daunoy, whose son attends St. Michael's School.

At St. Michael's School, which assists developmentally disabled students, the group focused on maintenance of the grounds and building. While the school retained minimal physical damage from the hurricane, it suffered staggering losses in terms of student enrollment, staffing and fundraising abilities.

At Daunoy's house, which had been flooded with four feet of water, the students pulled down sheetrock, ripped out insulation, and removed cupboards, the bathtub and even the kitchen sink. They salvaged everything they could, bleaching personal mementos and repeatedly washing six boxes of clothing.

According to social work major, Lee Ann Fleischfresser, the students' work in New Orleans felt at once significant and insignificant. “What we did was small compared to what needs to be done, but knowing that, as a group, we were able to accomplish something makes for a bigger and brighter picture,” she said.

Jill Wieme added, “You don't rebuild a city as a whole. You rebuild it neighborhood by neighborhood, house by house, person by person.”

Advertising major Nicole Van Tassel said that her prior volunteering experience didn't prepare her for the situation she faced in New Orleans. “The  work I've done pales in comparison. This experience was intense, life-changing.”

Amanda Kaufman agreed. “A lot of times, volunteer work affects only a small portion of people. In New Orleans, volunteering affects everyone. Katrina hit all of them.”

While many students admitted to being awestruck when witnessing firsthand the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, they agreed that the people they interacted with in New Orleans and the stories they heard were what impacted them the most.

“Watching people on the news is detached. Actually talking to people face to face brings a whole new perspective,” said Van Tassel.

“In the news coverage of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina, there was talk of demolishing what's left of the city and abandoning it. Given the scope of the disaster and the setting of the city, I somewhat agreed,” said biology major Joe Sand. “But then I went to New Orleans and realized that this city is people's lives. There's no easy solution.”

Education major Jenny Nelson added that hearing personal accounts of Katrina's destruction put a face on the disaster. “You can see a house that's fallen down, but you don't know the story behind it. When you see a stranger cry and hear his story, then it's not just a house, it's a person.”

Since returning from New Orleans, the students have made it a point to share what they learned. “Even though it's hard to convey the experience, we need to share what we know because people don't know what's going on,” said Junior Nursing major Erika Staub. “They're very curious, but at the same time misinformed. Some people think the work is all done, that the city's fine.”

Van Tassell agreed, “It's hard for people to understand what we felt, what we went through. It's easiest just to tell them to go down there, to do some service work.”

According to Francioni, the class taught the students life lessons. “Learning so much about the city beforehand helped them understand more while they were in New Orleans. In turn, their experiences in New Orleans help them understand more out in the world,” she said. “Often you go into an experience like this thinking you're going to change someone else's life. Instead, you change yourself.”

Last Modified: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 9:51 by Brooke Sherer