by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
UNM student Maddie Ellms was chosen from more than 2,000 applicants to help clean up hurricane destruction over Spring Break.
Ellms was part of Storm Corps, a collaborative project sponsored by MTV and United Way.
They sent 100 people ages 18 to 24 from all over the United States to Mississippi and Alabama from March 11-18.
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Sheila Consaul, spokesperson for United Way, said the idea for Storm Corps came from United Way's CEO after he visited the White House to discuss the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Ellms said she applied online.
"You had to answer two essay questions about what led you to apply, and then what you were going to do with the experience you had - how you were going to bring it back to your own community," she said.
She applied because she's in Alpha Phi Omega, a community service co-ed fraternity.
Ellms didn't have anything planned for Spring Break, she said.
She was happy to help rebuild homes that were destroyed by Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan in Alabama, she said.
"I just thought it would be more worth my time," Ellms said. "I didn't really have the option to go anywhere else. I would have been in Albuquerque."
Ellms had to pay for her transportation to New Orleans. From there, 100 people took a two-hour van ride to Biloxi, Miss. Then, they were split into teams. Ellms headed to Foley, Ala., in a van with 34 other people.
"Once we were there, everything was paid for us," she said. "In Mississippi they stayed in camps. In Alabama we stayed in an overnight camp with bunks and a dining hall. In Alabama the meals were provided by United Way."
She said the Mississippi team did more relief work like gutting houses, removing mold from houses and clearing away trees.
"It was difficult to see the things going on in Mississippi because the devastation is amazing, and it looks like the hurricane happened yesterday," she said.
The damage in Alabama wasn't as extreme, she said.
"In Alabama it was more of a rebuilding effort because they were hit the hardest by Hurricane Ivan a year and a half ago," Ellms said. "They are still rebuilding from that - they obviously needed a lot of help."
Ellms said she and the rest of her teammates rebuilt two roofs and completely rebuilt a house.
"They picked 100 really great people to go," she said. "It was an awesome experience, but it was hard to take sometimes, to think all this damage happened to people a year and a half ago and they still need help."
Ellms said one of the most memorable parts was meeting the woman whose house they were rebuilding. It had burned down during Hurricane Ivan.
"We talked to her and heard about how hard it was," she said. "Everyone was so appreciative of our help. It was a great feeling from them."
Student Nathan Lyons said he spent Spring Break in San Francisco, but he would definitely consider volunteering next time.
"That would be a pretty cool way to spend the break, actually," he said. "Get your mind off of school, you know?"
