People banded together to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina in the days, weeks and months following the disaster. The rebuilding is still occurring, and helping hands are still needed.

Denise Wilson, UW associate professor of electrical engineering, took it upon herself to create an opportunity for UW students to provide assistance to the Gulf Coast.

“Learning the issues at the academic level while spending time on the ground working on houses and getting to know local people and their stories is a great combination for internalizing a broad educational experience,” Wilson wrote in an e-mail.

This quarter, Wilson and 12 students are participating in her creation, Impact of Katrina on Technology and Infrastructure, in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

“I believe this program to be a great opportunity for students to obtain hands-on exposure and time-relevant training in the complex myriad of issues that made Katrina the disaster and tragedy that she was for the United States,” Wilson wrote.

The study abroad course was open to students of all majors.

Junior Charlene Reyes described the program as one that “takes volunteering to another level.”

“This is a study abroad program that really takes you out of your comfort zone and throws you into a different environment,” Reyes said.

The small town, comprised of six square miles, was named after King Louis XI of France when claimed by French explorers in the 17th century. It is also the oldest established community on the Gulf Coast.

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast, becoming the worst natural disaster ever to occur in the United States. The category five storm touched the ground east of Bay St. Louis.

According to the Bay St. Louis Rotary club Web site, not only was the infrastructure destroyed — electricity, water, roads, communication — 80 percent of the homes were destroyed as well.

Nearly 8,000 inhabitants are in need of support, and this small group of UW students and faculty are there now to help aid in the rebuilding.

The students will not only be rebuilding houses but also learning about technology, natural disasters and emergency response.

“We have all been working on different work sites, slowly becoming experts on painting, tiling and dry-walling,” Reyes wrote. “Hopefully soon, we are going to start wiring.”

Wilson partnered with the Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center to make this course possible.

“I think professor Denise Wilson’s goal of involving students in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast is positive on many levels,” said Michaelann Jundt, director of the Carlson Center. “Students are learning skills while contributing to the reconstruction and [the students] have an opportunity to learn from Professor Wilson, people in the community and from each other.”

Jundt seemed optimistic there will be more service-oriented study abroad opportunities similar to this in the future for diverse areas of study.

This course will be offered in a condensed version as a three-week-long, August 2007 exploration seminar.

Reach reporter Michelle Zimmer at news@thedaily.washington.edu