On September 20th, 2017, a catastrophe impacted the island of Puerto Rico.This natural disaster known as Hurricane Maria impacted thousands of people on the island in a devastating way; particularly impacting those who once resided there but now no longer do.

Here, at the University of Dayton, many students who call the island of Puerto Rico their home were heavily impacted by this disastrous storm. Though they reside here in the states, the unknowingness of their families and loved ones affected on the island, was something heavily felt throughout campus, even to this very day.

Through this new project, I aim to provide a platform for those students who were impacted. I hope that by seeing their images and reading their stories, those who also reside within the University of Dayton campus and beyond can react and feel the emotions of that horrific day from those individuals who were personally impacted.

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Adriana F., a pre-dentistry senior at the University of Dayton agreed to articulate her memories from Hurricane Maria to me.

Read her statements below:

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"I’m from Guayama, located in the south of Puerto Rico, but I no longer live there. I moved to Columbus with my family before becoming a freshman here at UD in the summer of 2014."

"Our culture described in one word is exotic - full of beautiful beaches, natural forests, lots of places to visit, and awesome food.

The community that I lived in on the island is not too big, but what sticks out the most in Guayama is our public plaza. It was voted the most beautiful, public plaza in PR. It is basically a space with benches, trees and a fountain in the middle.

Sometimes there are fairs in the plaza with small concerts, or people just go there to relax and enjoy the nice weather while eating ice cream from the local homemade ice cream place around the corner."

"When I heard about the hurricane, I was here on campus.

The hurricane impacted everything from the plaza to the houses. Malls and grocery stores were torn apart - even my high school, which was renovated, was flooded, and every new equipment installed was lost.

It was really shocking and sad to hear about the hurricane because although I do not live there anymore, I still have family and friends that reside there. And just seeing such a beautiful place look so gray made me sad.

I immediately contacted my grandma because she lives alone and had to depend on her neighbors to get resources because she does not drive.

Life has changed for my family and friends."

"I have a friend who moved to the states with her family. My grandma went to Virginia with my uncle after the hurricane because she had health problems. It was better for her to go with my uncle so she didn't have to be alone.

Sadly, she passed away this past December from a stroke, but we were glad that she was safe and survived the hurricane and enjoyed her last months with my uncle instead of worrying about damages in PR.

I also contacted some other family members and friends but since the power was out and there were no phone lines, nobody answered. So basically we depended on Facebook to hear about family members and contacting other friends to see if they have heard from other people."

"Life at UD is similar to Puerto Rico in the sense of people being friendly and happy. That is what you will find in PR if you visit, just people that are friendly, happy and just proud to be part of such a beautiful and cultural community."

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To help aid those still impacted by Hurricane Maria, please visit the following link(s):

http://www.unidosporpuertorico.com/en/

https://give.internationalmedicalcorps.org