Planning and preparation
Katharine and I got together, discussed ideas for the trip, and advertised to attract some worthy participants. We also chose a staff adviser, Jenn Baron, who is the coordinator of Campus Kitchen here on campus. Together, the three of us determined the criteria in choosing our participants:
- What is your knowledge of New Orleans before and after the disaster?
- Why do you feel the need to become personally connected with it?
- What are some ways you could share this experience with Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, and the local area?
- What are some effective ways to share our story?
- Are you serious enough about this trip to come even if you were in a group of students you didn’t know?
The response was extraordinary. We received 40 applications and only had 15 spots available, making the decision process extremely hard (a total of 18 participants). We interviewed certain applicants in hopes of obtaining more information about why they wanted to get involved .
We made final decisions on applicants on Thursday, February 21st. and held our first meeting on Monday, February 25th. During the first meeting, we introduced ourselves and then read some information on Katrina. We also asked if anyone had been to New Orleans, and no one has been except for myself and our staff advisor, Jenn Baron.
We signed forms, answered any questions and/or concerns. At the next meeting, we are planning some group activities to get to know each other better, lay down some ground rules for the trip, provide a tentative schedule, and put together a travel list.