Three weeks after Hurricane Helene demolished VSU and the surrounding region, students are still struggling to get their lives back to a normal school year.   

Many members of the VSU community were without power, water and other essentials for weeks and some are still recovering in a variety of ways.  

On Thursday. Sept. 26, Helene made landfall as a category 4 upon Florida’s Big Bend area north of Tampa, eventually working its way to the city of Valdosta, leaving devastation in its wake. 

Many students suffered financial burdens from the hurricane.  

“I was out of my job for over a week and I had to max out my credit card to be able to support myself,” said Gabby Lorentz, a sophomore exercise physiology major from Suwanee, Georgia. “I am now in a horrible financial position and scared about not being able to attend VSU next semester.” 

Lorentz was out of power for over a week and was forced to move in with her boyfriend’s family to ride out the storm.  

After the storm, VSU announced that funds were available for faculty, staff and students who were impacted by the storm through the VSU Cares fund.  

Other students, like Ava Wenkstern, a junior mass media major, found themselves stranded due to the storm.  

“I have lived in Florida my entire life and have been through countless hurricanes, but this one has been the worst,” said Wenkstern. “I stayed in my apartment for two days without power, until deciding to drive home. Not only was I all alone, but my ride home is now eight hours since my parents recently moved to Tennessee. It was very stressful.”  

Throughout the storm, VSU officials continually updated students about places that were serving food and providing warm showers.  

Some students stayed on or near campus and fought through the storm.  

 “I decided to stay in my college apartment during the hurricane,” said Emma Pruett, a senior communications major. “It wasn’t too bad going through it alone honestly. I lost power around 12:30 a.m. the night of the hurricane. I also was only without power for two days and had enough foods/snacks to hold me over.”  

Looking towards the future, some students feel that VSU should better communicate information about threatening storms.  

I think next time they should make everyone evacuate and leave. The last two years it seemed that everything was right up until the last minute on getting information out, which can be stressful,” said Wenkstern. 

Lorentz, like many students, is trying to have a positive mindset about the situation. 

“This was a horrible event, but we will be able to come back stronger … and hopefully things will be back to somewhat normal soon,” Wenkstern said. 

Written by Armone’ Gates and Ansley DeCenzo, Staff writers. Photo by Armone’ Gates.