Riding Out The Storm

People were talking a little about the storm before it hit—but no one seemed too concerned, I just wasn't. I think most of us just assumed it would blow over because a hurricane in the mountains seems impossible. But when it finally slammed into Tampa at top speed and didn't slow down, it was on its way to the mountains, things got serious—fast.

I was still on campus when it hit Boone. Power flickered then went out. Water became unsafe to drink, all I had was a microwave so boiling water was going to be difficult. Then dining hall shut down, and I didn’t eat for 24 hours ( I was starving) because they can't cook without electricity. The next day, they opened back up with take away meals to help both students and the local community, but the line for food got long fast, it was was over two hours long. That’s when it hit me—this wasn’t just an inconvenience. This was a disaster.

I called home and told my family I thought I should come back to Charlotte. But the problem was that no one really knew if the roads were even safe for them to come get me, and honestly, that made it all feel a little more real—and a little more scary. I quickly looked up if any buses were still running and, by some miracle, there was one leaving Boone heading to Charlotte in 20 minutes. The stop was right on campus. I grabbed my backpack, and quickly took a screenshot of my ticket just in case, and left.

Pic Of Ticket

Good thing I did. When the bus arrived, the Wi-Fi was down and I couldn’t pull up the ticket—but I had the screenshot. That small decision ended up being a huge one.

Once I was on the road, I looked out the window and really saw how bad things were. Trees were down everywhere. Boone’s Walmart was flooded. Cars were stuck or abandoned. There were even students literally canoeing through the streets (I’m not joking—that really happened). Apartments were destroyed. Mudslides blocked the roads. It looked like a scene from a movie.

Local Walmart In Boone

Three hours later, I made it back to Charlotte. And not long after that, App State announced that school would be closed for nearly three weeks.

But sitting at home didn’t feel right. I kept thinking about the people who didn’t have the option to leave—families, kids, and even students stuck in damaged housing. I even thought of going back up to volunteer. But after some thought I decided to help co-organize a donation drive at Moss & Black (where I help out behind the scenes). We collected supplies like bottled water, non-perishables, toiletries, blankets—whatever people could spare. The response from the Waxhaw community was incredible. We delivered everything to drop-off sites that were flying, driving, and even horse backing supplies into remote areas that had been cut off.

It went on for two weeks, and I’ve never been more proud of the people in my hometown. It reminded me that even in the worst moments, people show up for each other.

This whole experience taught me a lot about being prepared, thinking on your feet, and staying calm when everything feels chaotic. But it also taught me about the kind of person I want to be—someone who doesn’t just get through hard things, but looks for ways to help others through them too.