I bring up my view of the Superdome because much of what I do at night during my NODA internship is turn over and over in my head the experiences I am having as an outsider in post-Katrina New Orleans. The Superdome, for many outside observers, was the epicenter of Katrina's wrath; a roof over thousands of displaced and battered New Orleanians. My work with new first-year students and parents this summer in orientation programming at Loyola University has become just a part of a larger whole of understanding what happened in this southern pocket of the country nearly four years ago. 

I have talked with people in my office, as well as neighboring campuses, about what it was like to be here in student affairs roles before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. The narratives that have unfolded in these conversations are tinged with pride for the city and life as a New Orleanian, coupled with a profound sense of loss. One of my supervisors, a near 30-year resident of the city, lost his home, church, and sense of community that can only be built over the course of a lifetime. But still, he came back here because more than 20 years of service to the university had made Loyola his community too, and perhaps the only one he had left here. 

In the wake of disasters, both natural and manmade, student affairs professionals play a major role in response efforts. They coordinate evacuation efforts for domestic and international students, operate command centers for calls from the media and concerned families, coordinate mass counseling and support services for their communities, and in general, provide the glue that keeps our colleges and universities together. Crises are sorted through by student affairs administrators, and often, it is this group of people who become the architects of recovery on campus. 

In my work, I have experienced student and campus crises on a smaller scale. I've made late night calls to parents whose children have been sent to the hospital for injuries and alcohol poisoning, done rounds through darkened halls during storms and power outages, and been part of the conversation about campus grieving when students have passed away. But hearing the stories of New Orleanians who work in student affairs has given me a renewed and profound respect for our work and the caliber of people who take part in it. Because just as the Superdome was pieced together by great community and national efforts after the storm, the colleges and universities of this city been rebuilt and renewed by the hands of dedicated student affairs and faculty colleagues. 

Do you have stories about student affairs colleagues and their work in times of crisis? If so, please leave them in the comments section to continue conversation on this topic.