Rather than lazing about like the rest of us during our all-too-short winter break, twenty-six GW Law students travelled to New Orleans where they generously volunteered their time for one week with the Student Hurricane Network.  The students worked in New Orleans between Christmas and New Year's Day, making this is the fourth year that GW Law has participated in the program.

According to Student Hurricane Network President Chris Yook, half the volunteers did pro bono work with the Louisiana Bar Foundation.  There, Yook said, students "worked on various legal research projects, some of which involved domestic violence issues, family law issues, and Medicare enforcement issues."  Meanwhile, other students did physical volunteer work in the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, a neighborhood adjacent to the Mississippi River which Yook says was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Katrina and "where flood waters once reached the second story of most residences."  Volunteers in these areas helped to clean a damaged lot and removed debris from a home that had been damaged by fire during the post-Katrina rebuilding.

Elaine Cedrone, a second-year student, chose to do physical volunteer work in the Lower Ninth Ward.  "I had never done any type of service trip like that before, so I was honestly concerned about how helpful I could be," she said. "But there was work for people of all skill levels at each of the job sites."  Unfortunately, Cedrone saw that there is still much work to be done. "I was amazed at the extent of the devastation still remaining almost five years after Katrina, but at the same time so impressed by the courage and resilience of the people living in that neighborhood, who have such a strong commitment to their community," she said.  Cedrone intends to return to New Orleans with the Student Hurricane Network next year.

Kaitlin Donley, a 3L and Treasurer for the Student Hurricane Network, also chose to do physical labor.  "It was such a privilege to be able to share in one week of the effort to rebuild New Orleans.  The residents of the Holy Cross neighborhood opened their lives and their homes to us each day, sharing their stories as we worked side-by-side to rebuild their community.  The effort to rebuild New Orleans is ongoing, and every pair of hands can help.  We enjoyed the opportunity to pitch in - to paint, remove debris, build stairs, and ready houses for the next phase of rebuilding."

Those students who worked with the Louisiana Bar Foundation also enjoyed their experience.  Andrea Pons, a 3L, worked on Medicaid and Medicare legal research for an advocacy group.  "The trip definitely opened my eyes to public interest work, and I highly recommend the trip for all law students," Pons said.  "I felt the experience was very rewarding and educational for me personally, and I only wish that I had participated in this trip in previous years."

The Student Hurricane Network thanks the GW Law School Deans and the SBA for its generosity in helping to fund the trip.