For me, my area was pretty greatly affected and was one of the most rescued places in Houston. It came into Kingwood really fast. One day it was dry and then the next day there was six or seven feet of water. It was pretty hard to visualize what it would be like based on the videos and pictures that I was seeing. I wanted to go down right away, but my dad thought it would be better if I could wait and bring down some teammates. So I was able to get three guys to come down with me and we got a lot of work done in three days. - Dalton Sulver
Sulver's family home ended up being unaffected by the flooding, but many in the Houston area were not as fortunate. He also had trouble throughout the storm staying in contact with his parents because they didn't have power to charge their phones and service in the area was spotty.
The initial part was shock and didn’t seem real. I had a conversation with my mom and she was there helping people and it didn’t even seem real to her. For me, I was just looking at pictures people sent to me and the videos on the news and it seemed like a dream, or a nightmare what was going on. My girlfriend’s house got like 18 inches of water and saw a video from their perspective of the water coming up to their house so it was crazy. I don’t think it really hit me until I saw pictures of the damage that had been done with the mold and the piles of stuff outside of people’s houses after they had taken out the drywall, carpet and stuff like that. - Dalton Sulver
There are a million ways to enjoy fall break, but what these four young men did was extraordinary. The stories and pictures we received while they were in Houston told the tale of their impact and it was clear to see that it was far-reaching. - Head Coach Jon Torpey
The personal stuff that Dalton was going through with his family and that his girlfriend’s house was basically knocked out. Everyone in that community was hit pretty hard. So when I heard that and knew that I had no real reason to go home, I figured I should use my break wisely and help someone out. - Tyler Stinson
The first day we helped a man tear down his house that had been, basically, picked up and moved by the flooding. We completely demolished his house. – Sophomore Patrick Boppel
The first day we arrived at the scene that we were going to be working at we were welcomed by this man named Fernando. He and his family lived in a mobile home that had been picked up and swept about 30 to 40 feet from where it originally was. It was completely ruined. So we demoed that mobile home because it was in the area that he was trying to build his new home. So we cleaned that up for him and then helped out with whatever else we could to help rebuild the house. He was rebuilding the house by hand so we moved some wood around for him and such. - Colin Zimmerman
The next two days, the group spent working at an elderly lady's home that had experienced severe flooding.
Tuesday we went closer to downtown and helped a 98-year-old woman named Mary. She was a very special lady and had a lot of attitude and was fun to be around. We helped her clean up her house and get rid of the junk that was ruined while separating the things that could be salvaged. We also prepared her walls to be sprayed to prevent mold. - Dalton Sulver
I don’t know what made her like me so much. When we first got there Dalton’s mom had Mary guess which one of the four of us was her son and Mary guessed me. Then she said I was cute and from Canada and she likes Canada, so we just hit it off with little jokes. Everyone else was being really nice to her, and obviously I was as well, but I was able to joke with her more and she must’ve liked that. - Tyler Stinson
The next two days, we helped out Miss Mary whose house got a lot of water moving stuff out and doing preventative stuff for mold. We pretty much did anything that she needed; we were there to do whatever she asked. It was cool to just be there and hang out with her because she was one of the nicest people I’ve met. - Colin Zimmerman
This chair is where she sits every Sunday to wait for her church bus to come. She is a religious person, so church is very important to her. She always waits in this chair by her fence. It was white before and really rusty and had some parts that were broken. I spray painted it black and walked her out to see it and she almost started crying. For me, I was just painting a chair, but it meant a lot to her. - Dalton Sulver
During their time in Texas, the quartet dropped off a check from the money the program raised for Hurricane Aid.
The check for the Red Cross was a surprise to me. The team raised money behind my back and gave me the check before we went down. It was special for me and a moment of realization and I was overwhelmed. Not only by their kindness, but also because the situation became real for me. It was special to be able to go to the Red Cross office and be the one that gave them the check and I know that that money will go to somebody who needs help. - Dalton Sulver
All four said it was an eye-opening experience, but also improved their trust in the program's brotherhood.
I think that me, Tyler, Dalton and Colin grew closer together and have a bond from going and doing that trip. It was cool to see how Houston came together. We learned you have to put your personal problems aside for a little bit to help the greater good and I think we all grew a lot from the experience. - Patrick Boppel
This is a really special group of guys. I know that all of these guys in this locker room will have my back if anything happens to me personally or to my family and that I can lean on them for support. We have guys on the team who have lost a loved one or faced something hard and we are always there to back each other up. Our team mantra this year is "Brotherhood" and I couldn’t put it any other way. I think that sums up what this program is really about. It’s a close-knit group of guys. It’s really special. - Dalton Sulver
I think the thing that I took away is to not take things for granted, as cliché as that sounds. I remember a moment when we were working at Fernando’s house where his son came home from school and didn’t have a home to come home to. He came back to a patch of framework and a demolished mobile home. It really put it into perspective how blessed I am to be here and to be on this team and have all the things I have to be content and comfortable. This trip helped remind me that all I have isn’t a given and that I need to not take it for granted. - Colin Zimmerman
Dalton and I have been hanging out a fair bit since I’ve been here. He’s very enduring and nice to me and has become a mentor to me because we are both exercise science majors. He was very helpful when I first got here and I spent time at his place, so when he asked it was an easy decision for me. - Tyler Stinson