Boston College Athletics
Day 1: 2105 Devlin S-AFE Trip
January 06, 2015 | Devlin Student-Athlete Formation & Succe
Seventeen BC student-athletes have traveled to New Orleans to rebuild homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina as part of the Devlin S-AFE Service Immersion Trip. Each day, student-athletes on the trip will write about the experience.
Day 1
After flying from Boston to Atlanta on Sunday, we finally arrived to our destination, New Orleans, where we're staying at the Youth Rebuilding New Orleans Volunteer Bunkhouse. We spent the rest of Sunday evening enjoying a delicious dinner, learning about each other's spirit animal and getting to know our fellow student-athletes during endless games of Hearts, Spoons and Catchphrase.
At 6 a.m. on Monday, our group attended orientation for the St. Bernard Project. The St. Bernard Project (@StBernardProj) is a New Orleans-based non-profit that puts families back in their homes with the help of volunteers like us.
During orientation we learned more about the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina that hit in New Orleans in 2005, and the continuing relief efforts that have followed.
After orientation we arrived at the house we will be working on this week, located on Marais Street (#SBPMarais), in the Lower Ninth Ward. We spent the day painting, installing insulation and learning how to put up drywall. It was incredible to see how well we worked together through each task. While driving around New Orleans, we got a sense of the ongoing need for volunteer help in rebuilding the city. We saw abandoned homes and empty lots.
In the afternoon, Tulane University opened the doors to their weight room, which gave us the opportunity to do some prep work for our upcoming spring seasons. We ate dinner at the Bunkhouse, which prepared by New Orleans locals James and Jean who have been involved with the Devlin S-AFE Program for the past seven years.
After dinner, we went to Rock n' Bowl. With the exception of Keady (Segal, men's soccer), we realized that we should stick to our own sport.
We are really excited to go back to our work site tomottow, visit the Hurricane Katrina Museum and try some authentic New Orleans cuisine. Check back tomorrow for another report.
William Boosalis (Senior, fencing
Lizzie Bohan (Freshman, sailing)
Leah Settipane (Junior, field hockey)
