Nicholls State University remembers when the category four hurricane blasted through the city of New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, with winds of 160 miles per hour and a storm surge of 28 feet, leaving 1.3 million people with no where to go.

Nicholls opened their doors to more than 900 Katrina victims from all over the New Orleans area who could not get back into their homes. Stopher Gymnasium was transformed into shift housing for evacuees for several weeks. Over 1,000 people from Thibodaux and surrounding areas volunteered at Nicholls to help by donating food, water, blankets, pillows and toys to families that lost everything in the storm.

Lady Pierson, library specialist, was one of the volunteers helping during the difficult time.

“I would come for as long as I could and did what was needed,” Pierson said. “It all went on for several weeks. It changed the life on campus and shifted a lot of classes.”

Organizations such as the National Guard, Red Cross and Hope for Animals worked together to help as many people and animals as possible. After the National Guard found animals, they would turn them over to the Hope for Animal’s shelter, where they would be provided food and shelter until their owners claimed them.

The National Guard helped identify lost children and sheltered many New Orleans policemen until they were rested enough to go back to the underwater city and continue to help others.

“One of the most memorable things I saw was when my friend and I went to the Speech Department to look at the lost children to see if we could help identify any of them,” Pierson said. “She recognized a little boy from a picture on her neighbor’s fireplace mantel and the National Guard was able to return him to his family.”

The gym became a victim of damage from all of the people; beds and coolers were dragged across the basketball court.

“The entire gym floor had to be replaced after the evacuees left,” Jolene Knight, library specialist, said. “There were scratch marks every where.”

Many businesses and churches around Thibodaux provided help for victims at the gymnasium, as well as Betsy Cheramie Ayo Hall where a special needs shelter was provided.

“The churches would cook humongous pots of red beans and rice for all of the victims in the gym and Ayo Hall,” Pierson said.