Last June, right after the school year ended, eleven other students, two teachers and I went to New Orleans for five days to volunteer for the St. Bernard Project, a community-based nonprofit with an ongoing mission to rebuild houses in the beleaguered St. Bernard Parish that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and to help the affected families get back on their feet.

We made the trip as part of our school's community service requirement. To graduate from the BFS Upper School every student must complete a CAS project, usually started in their junior year.  CAS stands for Community, Action, Service, and is a component of the internationally recognized International Baccalaureate diploma program.

My classmates Hannah LaBonte, Luis Umana, LeoKaupert and I planned and organized the trip.  First we met with Upper School Dean and our CAS advisor Dori Dietz to discuss ideas and dates.  We also gathered information about New Orleans’ history, the city’s culture, and, of course, Katrina and its aftermath.  Lastly we decided what leisure activities our group would be able to squeeze in after our volunteer work was complete. Before we left, the four of us presented an information session for the other eight other students going on the trip and their parents.

Our first day in New Orleans we were given an orientation from St. Bernard Project leaders about the area’s wetlands and about exactly what happened when Katrina hit.  The next morning we divided into two groups and got to work on five houses already under construction.  We sanded surfaces, and primed and painted walls.  The work itself was not incredibly strenuous, but as anyone who’s visited Louisiana will tell you, the heat and humidity leaves one exhausted by day’s end.  After five days we were more than ready to head for home.

However we were still excited to experience the city and learn more about Katrina during our free time.  We visited the French Quarter, walked along the New Orleans Riverfront, went on a ghost tour that was far from scary, and ate some tasty ice cream.  We also saw the new levee in the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward and the many lots that remain empty to this day.

It’s disheartening to know that Hurricane Katrina hit five years ago when you see so much devastation and learn firsthand how much work remains to be done.  But the foremost thing I took away from my experience is that  New Orleans is resilient; the city and its inhabitants are bouncing back.