Katrina remembered at MGCCC

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College music instructor David Knowles recited his Hurricane Katrina inspired poem “Requiem Tempesta” to the crowd gathered at the veteran’s gazebo at the college’s Jefferson Davis Campus.

“In the time it takes to say goodbye, it was over. The winds howled, the water surged, and it seemed like an eternity. But it was only long enough to say goodbye.”

The J.D. campus ensemble group “Coastal Vibrations” chimed in with a rendition of the song “The Seasons of Love.”

“Five-hundred 25-thousand 600 minutes…how do you measure a year?”

On Tuesday Gulf Coast measured the 365 days since Katrina plowed through South Mississippi with ceremonies at each of the three main campuses and at the college’s West Harrison and George County Centers. At Jefferson Davis, the year was measured by the positive things that have happened since Katrina’s landfall.

“Since the storm, we’ve tried to stay positive,” said Dr. Reggie Sykes, Jefferson Davis Campus president. “We’ve all had losses, and we’ve all gone through a lot, but we’re blessed to have what we have.”

Gulf Coast was the largest community college in Mississippi before Hurricane Katrina. The college, which is among the top 100 in associate degree producers in the nation, saw more than 3,000 of its 10,500 students withdraw after Katrina because of life circumstances. The homes of more than 200 Gulf Coast employees were either lost or uninhabitable. Despite those setbacks, Gulf Coast re-opened just 17 days after Katrina made landfall.

“I was part of a lucky minority that was able to go back to class,” said Cassie Alexander, J.D. Student Council president. “Everyone banded together after the storm. The school banded together as one force. The one thing I will never forget is the restoration of my faith in humanity.”

Pastor Nelson Roth of the Gulf Haven Mennonite Church in Gulfport also encouraged the crowd. His church housed more than one thousand volunteer workers after the storm and also took part in several clean up projects along the Gulf Coast.

“Good can come out of bad,” Roth said. “One example is how the greenery started coming back and began to bloom about six or seven weeks after the storm. It was almost like nature’s resurrection from the dead. Blessings can come out of hardship. As we look back, we see fear, loss and sadness. But as we move forward, we have confidence, assurances, and answers.”