{"id":82254,"date":"2024-10-11T11:12:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T16:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=82254"},"modified":"2024-10-11T11:12:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T16:12:52","slug":"fhsu-online-students-impacted-by-hurricane-helene-share-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=82254","title":{"rendered":"FHSU Online students impacted by Hurricane Helene share experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By ALICIA FEYERHERM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Media Network<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Fort Hays State University\u2019s physical campus is far from the path of Hurricane Helene, some FHSU Online students have felt the devastating impacts of the storm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou never think something like this will happen to you, until it does,\u201d said Emily Harrison, a school psychology graduate student studying with FHSU Online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrison is a special education teacher in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. In addition to teaching, Harrison works on a farm seven days a week in exchange for cheaper rent on the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina, rural Spruce Pine is not used to hurricanes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you live at the coast, you’re able to prepare, and your infrastructure is prepared for that kind of damage,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cOur community in the mountains definitely was not.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Hurricane Helene made landfall, Harrison\u2019s world was upended in just a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, September 24<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day started like any other. Harrison completed her farm chores and went to work at an elementary school in Burnsville, North Carolina. While at school, it was announced that the school would be closed on Thursday and Friday due to the incoming storm. At first, Harrison welcomed the unexpected time off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was jumping up and down excited to have a couple days off work, and now there was no way for anyone to anticipate that our lives would be completely changed,\u201d Harrison said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday night, the power went out, a precursor to what was to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We were lucky enough to have a generator, but everyone else was without power. The whole area was just dark,\u201d Harrison said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, September 25 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Thursday night, the storm had intensified. Harrison struggled to sleep, listening to the howling wind and the sound of trees crashing to the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was like every time you heard the wind pick up, you were just waiting for something to hit the house,\u201d Harrison said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, Harrison got out of bed and took down all the photographs on her walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was just trying to make sure nothing would crash down on us,\u201d Harrison said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, September 26<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the morning, Harrison woke up and went out to do farm chores. Seeing the farm in daylight, she was able to really see the destruction of the hurricane for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n