In the wake of Hurricane Helene, one University of Delaware professor swapped his teachings for a student-run campaign supporting disaster relief efforts.
Anna Gleason, 21, and Riley Wren, 22, are both seniors at UD taking a PR writing course taught by Steve Momorella. When they got to class on Sept. 30, mere days after Hurricane Helene made landfall and brought death and destruction across the southeastern United States, their professor told them he had a change of plans for the week’s work.
Instead of continuing with their curriculum, Momorella divided his class into two groups, each picking an organization in Asheville, North Carolina, and creating a campaign supporting their hurricane aid.
Momorella is a former high school sports coach who has players now attending Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, about two hours away from Asheville. When they reached out to say they were safe and updated him on the devastation surrounding them, Momorella wanted to do something to help, and that’s when he called on his students at UD, Gleason said.