On a volunteer trip one month after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Ashley Wright couldn't believe the town of Pass Christian, Miss., was still in ruins.
"I felt like I got dropped off in the woods and had to pick up trash," the economics senior said. "The town is just flattened. You look at a pile of stuff, and you realize that's three different houses and two cars and a playground all smashed together."
In September, Wright and Campus Crusade for Christ members from the University of Illinois volunteered in the town, located about an hour from New Orleans. The students were the first civilian group to go there since the hurricane.
On Nov. 18, Wright made another trip to Pass Christian with about 40 members of MSU's Campus Crusade for Christ. She was disappointed to see that not much had improved.
"It was hard to go back the second time and see that it didn't look any different," she said. "This big dramatic recovery effort didn't happen. It looked just as bad in November as it did in September."
The group helped families clear their yards to make room for the travel trailers they'd live in while rebuilding their homes or relocating.
"We stayed in a really big tent in a parking lot. It was kind of like the one you'd have a graduation party in," Wright said, adding that 150 other student volunteers slept in the same tent in sleeping bags and on air mattresses and cots.
ASMSU's Funding Board provided $2,800 for vans. Each volunteer paid about $30 for gas, and food was provided at a nearby shelter. ASMSU is MSU's undergraduate student government.
Marketing sophomore Rachael Brocker said seeing all the damage that still remained made her heart sink.
"It looked like the storm had hit the night before," Brocker said. "There was a lot of rubble and damage, siding all over the place, bricks, wood, their next-door neighbors' closet contents."
Sometimes the homeowners would work with the volunteers to clear out yards and houses, she said.
"I didn't cry as much as I thought I would because no one was really sad about it," she said. "It seemed like everyone's outlook was good, even though there's no telling how long it will take, how many years it will take to really bring the city back to life."
Some houses were completely upright, and for others, only their front steps remained, Brocker said.
Working with the homeowners got to be emotional, said Brandon Sethi, an ASMSU representative and a junior in interdisciplinary studies in social science and public policy.
Sethi said he worked with one homeowner on his property for a couple days and spoke with him about his experiences.
"We got to know a lot about the family," he said. "We shared meals together."
Volunteering in the disaster area meant more to him because it was the week before Thanksgiving, Sethi said.
"I figured I've got so much to be thankful for, I can afford to give up some time," he said. "People down there need so much help, it was the least I can do."
Wright said she plans on making another group trip around the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.
For more information, e-mail Ashley Wright at wrigh227@msu.edu.
