News Release

Students, staff to aid Hurricane Katrina recovery

February 29, 2008

It began as a grand idea – the prospect of a 90-person camp in Gulfport, Miss., uniting Penn State students from across the Commonwealth around a national cause, Katrina Relief.

This March, the idea comes to fruition when six Penn State Harrisburg students and two staff members will join more than 60 others from the University to help residents clean up and rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The spring break program, organized by Penn State Erie, currently has 72 students, faculty, and staff from five Penn State campuses registered for the March 9 to 14 trip.

"For years, the Center for Service Leadership at Penn State Erie has organized off-campus service trips to various locations throughout the country, the most popular being the alternative spring break trips," said Craig Berger, coordinator of residence life, and one of nine to travel to Gulfport for the campus’ 2007 trip. "After last year, we knew we wanted to go back, but we also wanted to expand the program."

The expansion of the program has enabled the Penn State Harrisburg contingent to curtail their traditional spring break plans to lend a hand to the hurricane cleanup in the Gulfport area.

They include:

• Kayma Freeman, a freshman applied behavioral science major from Philadelphia/Archbishop Prendergast High School;
• Heather Galusz, a sophomore management major from Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central High School;
• Lucas Collins, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Carlisle/Carlisle High School;
• Kervens Dorcely, a senior majoring in psychology major from Brooklyn, N.Y.;
• Vanessa Knight, a sophomore communications major from Stafford, Va.;
• Diana Le, a freshman majoring in political science from Lancaster/McCaskey High School.

Donna Howard, Penn State Harrisburg Assistant Director of Campus Life and Intercultural Affairs, and Stephanie White, staff assistant in the Student Affairs Office, are the staff members accompanying the students.

In addition to the Erie and Harrisburg campuses, Penn State Brandywine, DuBois, and Lehigh Valley will be represented in the group. Each campus’ Student Activity Fee subsidized the travel and lodging for its respective participants so that each student pays only $300 for the weeklong trip.