By: Brent Page

I was 20 years old one month before my 21st birthday, a student at Southern University in Baton Rouge, when Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast in late August.

It’s strange how a single event can split your life in two. Before Katrina, I was worried about midterms, student loans, and what I’d wear to the football game, and the Perfect 10 party. After Katrina, I was worried about whether my family had survived the storm, and whether I had a home to return to at all.

For students like me, Katrina wasn’t just a storm on the news. It was a personal earthquake, shaking every part of our lives: home, family, school, and mental health. Baton Rouge became a refuge for thousands fleeing New Orleans and the surrounding parishes, and the Southern University campus transfor

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