Displaced, tested, but undeterred — five Xavierites recall how they held on to their education, community, and Xavier spirit in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf South. On August 30, levees breached, hitting New Orleans with a force that forever changed the city.

For Xavier’s Class of 2006, senior year was supposed to be a time of joy, celebration, and anticipation for what was to come. Instead, it became a school year defined by displacement and loss. Scattered across the country, Xavierites found themselves in unfamiliar classrooms and temporary homes, uncertain whether they would ever return. Yet even in the midst of chaos, their stories are filled with extraordinary perseverance, deep bonds of community, and the unshakable Xavier spirit.

Five members of the Class of 2006 look back on “The Katrina Year” with stories that remind us that while the storm reshaped their paths, it could never tarnish their determination — or the legacy of excellence they carried forward.

A Senior Year Like No Other

As students prepared for the fall semester, few could have predicted the extent of the crisis that would unfold. Hurricane Katrina seemed to arrive with little warning. Some Xavierites evacuated in time, while others were caught in the city as the levees failed.

Headshot of Angel Bradford

Angel Bradford ’06, Surrogate Coordinator and Religious Affairs, USAF Air Guard, had just begun her year as Miss Xavier. She recalled how her family urged her to “hunker down” instead of evacuating. The decision led to harrowing days stuck near Charity Hospital, wading through chest-high water and waiting for rescue.

“We were trapped for a week, each day trying to survive, wondering when help would come,” Bradford said. “On day five, we were rescued — only to arrive at the Superdome with thousands of angry and hungry evacuees.”

Kimberly Morgan West attending a Xavier Memphis alumni Chapter event

Kimberly Morgan West ’07, Senior Program Manager at RISE Memphis, Inc., then a senior living across the street from campus, remembered leaving only hours before landfall with her twin sister KaToya. After enduring a terrifying evacuation on the Lake Pontchartrain bridge and days of searching for her young nephew, who had evacuated with other family members days before the sisters, she learned her apartment was a total loss.

“We literally lost everything,” West said. “My nephew’s baby pictures, his birth certificate, even his first lock of hair. We thought we would be right back. Katrina was definitely life-changing.”

The sisters spent the semester at Lemoyne-Owen College in their native Memphis, where they were received with open arms and an article in the campus newspaper.

Morgan sisters featured in The Magician, Lemoyne-Owen College’s campus newspaper

 

Finding New Community

For some, evacuation meant beginning an entirely different semester hundreds of miles away, as displacement became the reality for thousands of Xavierites during a year of record enrollment with 4,100 students.  

Tey Harper during her “Katrina year”

Tey Harper ’06, now employed by the Department of Homeland Security, evacuated to Atlanta, where she enrolled at Spelman College. The adjustment was not easy, she said. She faced challenges academically and personally, but she found support in the Spelman community.

“The Deltas took us in, and they were so sweet,” Harper said. “You remember energy, you remember vibes, and they just had such a great vibe.”

Headshot of Byron Young, M.D.

Byron Young, M.D., ’06, Child, Adolescent, and Adult Psychiatrist, attended the University of Houston during the fall 2005 semester. Though grateful to be near family, he recalled frustration with the financial burden placed on displaced students there. Still, the experience left him with perspective.

“It went from this magical senior year to just trying to make it at this point. But if anything, it made us bond together… We made our way out of no way pretty consistently,” Young said.

Malik J. Muhammed Walker, Ph.D. visiting Washington, D.C. to see his mother, who moved there as a result of the hurricane and has been there ever since. 

 

For Malik J. Muhammed Walker, Ph.D., ’06, Class Advisor at NYU and Adjunct Assistant Professor at CUNY, continuing his studies meant enrolling at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, where he recreated his transcript from memory to prove his academic standing.

“I basically had to form it from memory, write out my entire transcript by hand,” Walker said. “At one point, when asked where I lived, I didn’t feel right filling out the address slots because I didn’t know if I had an address to return to. For those months, the dorm in Houston was my permanent residence. It really affected everything that I understood about how the world worked, specifically what I considered home or something stable, but it [also]created this really sharp focus on what I wanted…momentum that made it such that I could get through my master’s and Ph.D.”

Returning to a Changed Xavier

Xavier experienced millions of dollars in damages as rising waters touched every corner of the campus, entered buildings, flooded vehicles, damaged electrical and educational equipment across various majors, and mold and near-irreparable damage took hold of everything in sight. Employees lost homes, several of them not able to return to New Orleans, and the alumni community suffered three known deaths with the passing of Arthur Simmons ‘42, Gertrude Farve August ‘42, and Joseph W. August ’52.

When Xavier reopened in January 2006, the campus and city bore those deep scars. Nearly three-fourths of Xavier’s student body returned to complete their studies at the university. Trailers served as makeshift offices and even homes for faculty and staff, while reminders of loss surrounded the returning community.

“Those of us who returned found it quite challenging to pick up the pieces of normalcy. Many of our friends already enrolled at other universities to finish out the year,” Bradford said.

Harper recalled how the city’s changed landscape made the return bittersweet.

“It just felt so good to be back. But people who grew up there… they didn’t have pictures; they didn’t have memories,” she said. “It is still very disheartening to know that a lot of those people don’t have those things”.

The altered city reshaped campus life and underscored the weight of scarcity.

“There was this cloud of depression, even as I tried to push through it and to try to maintain friendships and momentum in finishing my degree,” Walker said.

Spirit and Legacy

Despite immense challenges, the Class of 2006 carried forward, determined to finish strong.

Homecoming was held on Feb. 18, 2006, where Bradford was officially crowned Miss Xavier.

“Thinking about it still makes me teary-eyed,” Bradford said. “I could never thank them and the universities enough for showing such love and support. “We were working with a tighter budget to make [our] Homecoming happen. We found creative ways to make the year special, because this was a special class. Homecoming was beautiful.”

Throughout the modified school year, the students leaned on one another. They celebrated the 79^th Commencement ceremony on Aug. 11, 2006, with a keynote address by then-Senator Barack Obama. Bradford completed her studies magna cum laude, and Young finished cum laude.

“Making it to graduation was extra emotional because we defied the odds, we still finished on time, and we didn't let Katrina take our XU Spirit,” Bradford said.

West, who, like several other students, completed her studies the following year, summed up the perseverance of her peers when she recalled her graduation in 2007.

“On graduation day, I cried because it was such a struggle. It was just such a story behind getting that degree,” she said.

Two decades later, memories of Xavier’s “Katrina Year” still spark an unspeakable pain of loss and community. As New Orleans remembers the storm that forever changed its landscape, Xavier University of Louisiana pays homage to the class of 2006 for their enduring Xavier spirit that gave hope for a renewed university and city.