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Service in the Wake of Hurricane Harvey
Seven EHS students, along with assistant chaplain the Rev. Timothy Seamans and science teacher Kathleen Caslow, lent a hand in hurricane-ravaged Southeast Texas during spring break.
Joined by several local alumni, the Episcopal group partnered with Friends of North Rosenberg, a community branch of a global service organization whose mission is to alleviate poverty.
Said Seamans, “We didn’t go to Houston with an agenda. Friends of North Rosenberg and Episcopal Relief and Development plugged us in so that we could understand what the real needs of the community are.”
Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc on the already impoverished community of Rosenberg, and the EHS group was primarily tasked with demolishing and clearing devastated home sites so that rebuilding can begin.
Arabella Dixon ’21 said, “Every day the whole crew got up at 6:00 am and went to work — a time in which I would normally be tired and grumpy — but then I realized that this is what I was here for, to help others. We worked long hours doing hard labor, but somehow the group kept a positive attitude. As a 14-year-old I had never felt God’s presence, but there I did.”
“It was a real eye-opener for our students,” added Seamans. “It created, I think, a sense of fulfilling their civic and spiritual responsibility. It also gave them a sense of gratitude for not having to live that reality, and gratitude for the ability to make a difference within it.”
Arianna Otoo ’21, whose Houston-based brother Mike Otoo ’15 joined the group, echoed Seamans, “As a student at Episcopal, in which we have facilities and services that define privilege, it felt like a moral obligation to help the less fortunate. Ultimately, the trip allowed us to have fun while also doing good, and I hope to be able to make the most of these opportunities in the future.”
The students — McClain Brooks ’21, Arabella Dixon ’21, Christopher Kim ’21, Debby Lee ’21, Nina Moore ’20, Arianna Otoo ’21, and Karen Zhang ’20 — also benefited from connecting with alumni and a past parent on the ground.
“For the students to see alumni who are so supportive and are so excited about you being an Episcopal student, and about you being a student who has sacrificed a week of your spring break to go and make a difference in their community — that means a lot,” said Seamans.
The alumni and past parent who both served alongside and hosted the Episcopal students for meals and activities were Kalee Blackburn ’04, Kinjal Changela ’05, Tony Chase ’73, Chris Joseph ’03, Ransom Lummis ’80, Peter Maffitt ’59, Rita Neagli P ’14 ’17, and Mike Otoo ’15.
Said Seamans, “I think this trip showed the best of what Episcopal can be, both past and present.”
