As attention has turned to Hurricane Maria and the destruction it left in Puerto Rico, the recovery from Hurricane Harvey is ongoing. A volunteer army mobilized in the immediate aftermath of that storm, and now more volunteers are traveling to Texas to rebuild. On Tuesday, with the support of private donors, a group of construction management students from Utica College will head south, tools in hand.
Construction Management Professors David Dubbelde and Dimitar Todorov sifted through the tool shed last week, gathering supplies for the trip to Houston to help rebuild after Hurricane Harvey.
Twenty seven students will pack into a bus with their air mattresses and hard hats to take the long drive down to Texas. The students will spend three days helping people who have lost their homes, businesses and personal belongings after the natural disaster.
Dubbelde says this trip will open students’ eyes, and expose them to something they have not dealt with before.
“I think they’re gonna see firsthand what a real disaster looks like,” Dubbelde says. “Pictures wont, are not worth a thousand words in this case.”
Senior Justin Ramsden is an exception. As a volunteer fireman he’s helped with disaster relief efforts, but nothing like this.
“I’ve seen some of the devastation a hurricane can produce, but being a category 5 I can only imagine it’s annihilated down there and people should be devastated,” said Ramsden.
Ramsden thinks his classes have prepared him for what the group will be doing in Texas.
“Through some of the coursework we’ve had we’ve learned different building materials, different loads and dangers and what to look out for,” said Ramsden.
The students anticipate hard labor, but say they’re ready for the challenge. While the professors will be bringing their expertise, sophomore Mike Delia will bring his muscles.
“Cutting sheet rock, pulling up floors, depending on how big the house is or how high the flood waters were, it could be we are going up into ceilings, ripping sheetrock out of there,” said Delia.
The effort is being coordinated through a group called Samaritan’s Purse, which needs tools and building material to put the city back together. So after the students leave, the college will donate the tools they brought with them.
“They didn’t want food, they didn’t want blankets, they didn’t want water,” Dubbelde said. “They said we need tools because of the nature of what they’re doing down there.”
Dubbelde is a Houston native who knows first hand what the flooding and destruction is going to look like.
“Personally, I’ve got family down there, my daughter lost everything in their house,” he said. “They had five foot of water on the first floor.”
The storm also destroyed some of his daughter’s most valuable belongings.
“I spent all summer building this china cabinet for her and now that china cabinet’s ruined, it’s gone,” Dubbelde said. “So practice makes perfect.”
Taking a week off from school and life at home is a sacrifice, but Justin Ramsden says the benefits are worth it when it comes to assisting those who are victims of a situation beyond their control.
“It’s all about going down there and showing unity, showing the affected individuals that you know we may be from different parts of the nations but we are one nation and we do care,” Ramsden said. “We help each other.”
Although the nature of the work may still a mystery to these students, the one thing they do know is their time spent in Houston will be well worth the trip.
Briana Greco is with the New York Reporting Project at Utica College.
