Above: Damage as seen from inside an art classroom in Smith Hall on the Perkinston Campus after Hurricane Katrina ripped off the roof of the building and destroyed much of the brick exterior.

A special exhibit commemorating the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and its employees and staff is currently on display at the Willis H. Lott Learning Resources Center at the Perkinston Campus.

The exhibit features photography, news clippings, publications and memorabilia documenting the devastation of our nation’s worst natural disaster.

Visitors will get a chance to visually learn about the impact of the storm on Mississippi coastal cities, from Bay St. Louis to Biloxi. Also included in the exhibit is photography presenting Hurricane Katrina’s destruction on the Perkinston Campus.

“Having the Hurricane Katrina exhibit allows visitors locally and across the state to see how the storm changed our national history,” said Dr. Brenda Rivero, assistant dean at the Learning Resources Center. “We are thankful for our MGCCC faculty and staff in sharing their personal works to educate others on how Katrina tremendously impacted our local communities and state.”

A photo of the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge on Highway 90 after the tidal surge from Hurricane Katrina destroyed it.

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, and caused devastating destruction to Mississippi’s coastal counties and extensive damage throughout the state. The 34-foot storm surge wiped out more than 60,000 homes and businesses, with an estimated 350 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places destroyed. It killed 238 people in Mississippi.

MGCCC and its employees were not immune to the devastation wrought by the hurricane. The college had extensive damage to all its campuses; enrollment dropped dramatically, taking years to rebound; and many college employees were personally impacted in the worst way. Despite the devastation, MGCCC employees returned to work immediately, helping clean up and readying campuses for a restart of the fall semester.

The Katrina exhibit at the LRC was made possible through contributions from MGCCC employees Lynn Deegen, Philip Dixon, Don Hammack, Richard Kopp, Genelle Lott and Vanessa Ritchie.  Special thanks are offered to Kiersten Famularo and Chris Anderson for creative design.

The exhibit is free and open to the public until October 1, 2015. Visitors may view the display during normal operating hours. For more information about the exhibit , hours of operation or the Willis H. Lott Learning Resources Center, email pklibrary@mgccc.edu or call (601) 928-6259.

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