Four years ago, LSMSA alumni came together to provide disaster assistance for Baton Rouge-area members of the LSMSA community who had flooded. Three years ago, they did the same for those in Texas affected by Hurricane Harvey. And last week, they once again gathered supplies, tools and non-perishable foods and headed to southwest Louisiana to do the same in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.
These generous alumni include LSMSA Foundation Trustee Paul Carter from the Class of ‘91, who drove from Dallas to Lake Charles and offered assistance and supplies to those affected along the way. When he arrived at the home of his classmate Merisa Pasternak (‘91)’s parents five days after the storm, Paul singlehandedly removed tree branches from their roof then tarped it.
Paul is just one of many who is contributing to these efforts, whether through manual labor, purchasing in-demand supplies like gasoline, gas cans, tarps and water, sending items through an Amazon wish list, and sharing needs and availability among networks.
“The recovery efforts spearheaded by Paul Carter, Denee Deloach Koonce and Mike Huguet, among many others, shows that the Eagle community comes together in both good and trying times,” the LSMSA Alumni Association Board said. “Thank you to all who have given your time to assess and clean up, contributed financially, opened your homes, or have been a listening ear in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.”
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Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) is the preeminent state-supported residential high school with competitive admissions for Louisiana's high-achieving, highly-motivated sophomores, juniors, and seniors. As a public school, there is no tuition to attend, and assistance from the LSMSA Foundation ensures the program is available to all qualifying students regardless of family financial need.