On Thursday, Sept. 26, Wofford College was preparing for Hurricane Helene.
The forecast was for gusts up to 40 mph and about six inches of rain. No one expected the storm to track about 100 miles east of its predicted path, bringing wind gusts of 50-70 mph and cutting power to more than a million people in Upstate South Carolina, Western North Carolina and North Georgia. Rainfall totals exceeded 10 inches; 911 lines were down for days.
“It’s now been two months since we woke up to a very different-looking campus in the wake of Hurricane Helene,” says President Nayef Samhat. “We continue to be grateful that no one was injured.
“I’m still so impressed with our community and the care people offered to each other. Students shared their couches with their friends in residence halls without power. Our residence life staff worked around the clock to provide emergency housing and ensure the safety of students. The college’s grounds crews began the cleanup immediately so power could be restored. Wofford students, led by a huge contingent of student-athletes, joined faculty, staff and coaches to pick up debris and help clean the Burwell dining hall. Staff from AVI, our food service provider, braved the storm to ensure that students had food as soon as it was safe to leave residence hall rooms. Our community showed resilience, patience and remarkable good humor, even without the comforts that many of us take for granted, and I am deeply grateful.”
Here’s how Wofford weathered the storm and its aftermath. Special thanks to those who were willing to share their perspectives so the greater Wofford community can better understand the experience.
+ Students who remained on campus were patient and resilient when placed in temporary housing and dining facilities were relocated. They helped each other whenever possible.
+ AVI Foodsystems, the college’s dining services partner, adapted to power outages in Burwell by serving from the Mungo Student Center and Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
+ Faculty and staff joined students on campus for meals in the dining hall when most people in the Spartanburg community were without power or water.
+ The college opened spaces to the community for hot showers and device charging.
+ Faculty and staff called students from areas affected by the hurricane to check on them and their families and offer resources if needed.
+ At the request of Wofford families and alumni, the college established a Campus Recovery Fund to support the people most affected by the disaster.
+ Inspired by the tireless work of the college’s residence life staff and grounds crew, student-athletes led student cleanup efforts to speed the recovery.
+ The college’s Center for Community- Based Learning shared needs and solicited Wofford volunteers to support neighbors in the Spartanburg community.
+ Wofford’s fall athletics teams continued to compete but kept event operations minimal. This gave students who were on campus something to do and a semblance of normalcy.
+ The Center for Wellness and Counseling Services shared mental health resources.
+ Wofford athletics joined the Southern Conference in relief efforts, soliciting funds and supplies for the areas most affected by the tragedy. Other student groups participated in relief efforts as well.
+ Wofford opened its residence halls and athletics facilities to studentathletes from Montreat College and UNC Asheville.
+ The college’s social media accounts were used during the storm for emergency messaging. The campus community received 13 messages regarding the storm between Sept. 25 and Oct. 4. Parents and families received seven messages. Alumni received two messages.
+ Interim registration was postponed a week to allow students, faculty and staff time to recover.
+ Grounds crews and others worked very hard to ensure that students could see their families on campus during Family Weekend, Oct. 11-12, and so that alumni could return to check on their favorite people and places during Homecoming, Oct. 24-26.
BILL LITTLEFIELD
Director of facilities
NOTE: In addition to supervising the cleanup efforts, Littlefield spent his share of time with a chainsaw in hand.
“We prepped for a couple of days prior to the storm, just trying to secure items from the wind. I had three of our crew members stay overnight in case something happened. I received a call just prior to 4 a.m. saying that we had lost what we believe was the first tree. I arrived on campus around 4:30 a.m., and on my first pass through campus witnessed several trees come down, and, of course, this went on for the next several hours.
“As always during an event that affects the day-to-day activities of our campus, our priority in facilities is making sure things are safe for our students, staff and faculty.
“I was on campus for two significant ice storms, with 2005 producing significant damage. Neither of those storms came close to the damage that we had with this one. We still do not have a total number of trees affected by this storm, and it will take weeks to finish up the cleanup on and around campus. We also had some damage to a few buildings that we will be repairing.”
KENDRA IVINS
Director of residence life
NOTE: Kendra and the team in residence life worked around the clock to ensure the safety and comfort (as much as possible) of students. She continued to come to campus even as she worried about gasoline, something that became in short supply for about a week.
“As is the case in all our work, our first priority was the health and safety of our students and staff. Once we were able to confirm that everyone was safe, our next priority was meeting the basic needs of students: Finding them a safe place to stay with fire systems intact, aiding the college’s effort to communicate about meal locations and finding space for connection in the midst of the recovery efforts through programming.
“I am relatively new to the Wofford community, but I cannot imagine a better image of who Wofford is than watching everyone come together after the storm. If you walked around campus on Saturday, Sept. 28, you would have seen residence assistants who were not on call, coaches, athletics staff, facilities staff, administrators, fraternity brothers, etc., all moving mattresses at different points to provide options for all students in impacted residence halls. I talked with staff members who were impacted by the hurricane back home, but when they stepped on campus, their priority was helping to support students to their best ability. Wofford’s campus was shaken by the hurricane, but the people who make Wofford what it is were resilient, caring and ready to weather any storm.”
KYLE PARSONS ’26
Government major from Weddington, N.C.
NOTE: Parsons is a student-athlete on the Terrier football team. He was especially impressed with the chipper during the cleanup.
“When the storm hit, I was asleep in my dorm. I had noticed in the middle of the night that the power went out, but still I did not realize the impact of the storm was as great as it was. The campus took a hard hit, but I saw many people helping each other, and it gave me a lot of hope.
“I was extremely grateful to have the opportunity to help the grounds crew clean up. Since I have worked on the grounds crew during the summer, I knew many of the people, and they are very important to me. The experience allowed me to realize how much I cherish the relationships I had made with the grounds crew, and it allowed me to see how united our campus is.”
CHERIE TYGER
Resident director of culinary services, AVI
NOTE: Tyger pivoted when Burwell Building and the college’s main dining hall lost power. She led the AVI team to serve meals from the concessions areas in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium as well as Zach’s in the Mungo Student Center.
“I was at home when the storm began. We had an unbelievable amount of wind and rain just like everyone else. We were getting ready to come into work when the tornado sirens started going off and our power went out. We made our way into work, and it was very surreal. Keith and I had decided to take the highway, thinking it would be safer than the back roads. We were driving down the highway and dodging downed trees and driving over downed power lines. During the storm we were in Burwell, which was a little scary. The power had gone out at the end of breakfast. We were standing in Burwell watching the giant trees sway. We watched several fall, including one of the giant trees out front of Burwell that fell and grazed the front of the Alumni House.
“Campus was unrecognizable once the storm had subsided. I couldn’t believe how destructive the storm had been. There were trees down everywhere. It was hard to believe the campus could come back together so quickly. It was truly amazing to see everyone working together to clean up the campus. I think everyone was feeling like it was important to get back to some sort of normalcy as quickly as possible.
“We wanted to make sure that our campus community was fed, including faculty, staff and students. We wanted to make sure that no one would have to worry about how they were going to eat.”
DWAYNE HARRIS ’86
Director of campus safety
NOTE: Campus Safety is on campus 24/7, and the officers used this as an opportunity to continue to learn.
“My perspective mainly revolved around the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff. I arrived on campus about 6:30 a.m. on Friday to a little wind but nothing major. Within the hour, all hell broke loose! Wind gusts and rain were frightening. Campus lost power.
“One of the biggest challenges was getting students to get back inside. Many wanted to get out and see what was going on.
“Our main role during the aftermath was to diligently patrol to make sure students were safe. We opened our office locker rooms for showers as well as a place for others to charge mobile devices, etc. I commend our campus safety officers for the great job they did, because almost all of them left their families at home to deal with the personal effects of the storm to be here and make sure our students were taken care of.
“Having a hurricane emergency in this area is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and as a whole, the college responded admirably.”
DR. KAYE SAVAGE
Professor of environmental studies and director of the Goodall Environmental Studies Center
NOTE: Savage has been on sabbatical this semester in Swannanoa, N.C., one of the areas most affected by Hurricane Helene.
“When the storm hit, I was in Swannanoa, where I am renting a house for the duration of my sabbatical. As it rained, I saw the creek behind the house breach and flood across the yard but was fortunate that no water entered the house. Up the street from me is a steeper area where a landslide destroyed several homes and two people lost their lives. At the base of my road, there was extensive damage due to the rise of the Swannanoa River, which left an enormous wake of destruction and more loss of life, taking whole buildings downstream and leaving some people stranded amid the floodwaters.
“My neighborhood, Grovemont, responded very quickly. On Saturday, there was a team gathering in the neighborhood park, treating and dispensing water from a local spring. Those who had chainsaws set up a crew to clear trees. The next day, we set up a hub for distributing donated groceries, where I volunteered almost daily for the next two weeks. We also had a big community cookout where people brought down their perishable food and anyone who had a grill set it up, cooking for about four hours. The level of cooperation and support was incredible, and I feel so fortunate to have the capacity to contribute. We went 13 days without power and three weeks without running water; we now have running water, but it is bypassing the water treatment plant, and there is a boil notice.
“I’m still digesting the situation. My sabbatical project had a climate change focus already, but the emphasis was not on storm impacts. I’m sure that the storm will influence the trajectory of my work, but I am not exactly sure how yet. I am continuing to volunteer around the community. I also spent one day helping to clear brush at nearby Warren Wilson College, where the art department has provided me access to use some of its paper-making equipment this year. That’s on hold for a little while longer until its campus is fully operational again.”
JIMMY GARRITY
Head women’s basketball coach
NOTE: Garrity had a tree fall on his house, but his team was on campus for practices and conditioning, so he was here as well. He and the women’s basketball team spent time clearing a portion of Campus Drive.
“I was at our home in Spartanburg when the storm hit. I was worried about one particular tree on our property that had made it through previous storms and was hoping it would survive Helene. My wife, Jenny, and I were sitting in our dark living room without power when we heard a crashing noise of something hitting our house. When I went to check, the tree I was concerned about had snapped in half, hitting our house and damaging our roof. We immediately got several buckets and towels and began catching the dripping water coming into the house. As a few hours passed and the storm cleared, we were able to assess the damage. Over the next couple of days, we had several neighbors come together to help with the cleanup. We are grateful and feel lucky because it could have been much worse.
“When I arrived on campus there was so much debris on the ground. I was taken aback when I saw that several of the old and beautiful trees had fallen. These were some of the biggest trees on campus, and to see them on the ground brought a perspective of just how powerful Helene was.
“The following Monday, our women’s basketball team along with other athletics teams helped with the cleanup of campus. It was amazing to see our campus community come together with a purpose. From the start to the finish, it was impressive to look at the before and after pictures. I think it gave all of Wofford a sense of pride and belonging to a place that our students call home.”
LYN WALSH ’90
National business director, access & reimbursement for Syneos Health; president of the Wofford Alumni Association, 2014-15
NOTE: Walsh is always supportive of the college on social media, and she was one of the first graduates to comment when the college started using social media to share emergency messages.
“I was asked to share my thoughts about Hurricane Helene and the impact it has made on me, our Wofford campus and family and our greater community. I find myself at a loss. What words are appropriate to express the immense gratitude for all that was spared and rescued, while also acknowledging the unexpectedly horrific devastation and heartbreak? How can I give proper recognition to the thousands of everyday heroes and volunteers who continue to step up to help those in need? I’m afraid I will fall far short of what is deserved.
“I can say this with confidence: When you ask people about Wofford, the word ‘community’ always leads the discussion. We are a community of strength, intelligence, integrity and commitment. Many of our Wofford family throughout Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas were impacted by Helene. Members of our Wofford community need us, and we are called to use our talents and resources to help in any way we can. I trust that Terriers everywhere will continue to donate, volunteer and support. The road to recovery is long, but together we will conquer and prevail.”
COKER FORD ’25
Philosophy and psychology double major from Charleston, S.C.
NOTE: Ford was one of the students who lost power during the storm. He stayed on campus the entire time, and he and his roommates were relocated to temporary housing in their fraternity house.
“The night before Hurricane Helene, I thought things would turn out all right on campus. There was heavy rainfall, but the wind was not too bad. I live in the senior village, and I had a bonsai tree on the porch. A friend suggested I bring my bonsai tree inside, but I chose not to take his advice. When I walked outside the next morning, tangles of trees and branches covered the ground, but the bonsai tree was still upright.
“Being from Charleston, I am used to the occurrence of hurricanes. However, I soon realized that I had never been through a hurricane without the help of my parents. My friends and I scrambled to understand the situation. We were at a loss for what to do, but we did know to throw out soon-to-be spoiled food.
“After one night in the senior village without power, the college transferred students to temporary housing. Some people left campus, but my roommates and I decided to stay. When we got to residence life for our temporary placement, Dean Beth Wallace allowed us to be reassigned to our fraternity house, and we eagerly accepted the reassignment. We slept on couches and played cards. A friend in DuPré Hall let us take hot showers. Two of my friends who share the same birthday turned 22 on Sept. 30. We still didn’t have power, but we got to have a birthday meal with cake in the Kilgo- Clinkscales Alumni House, which did have power. Without a doubt, this was the highlight of our week.
“The first few nights went smoothly, and we could not have been more grateful for the dining staff who stayed and provided meals for those of us on campus. It got more challenging as the days went on.
“Friends started to leave, and we had more and more time with our thoughts. I called home to check on my family, talk about the hurricane and determine whether I should stay on campus. I couldn’t help but think about my bonsai tree, the first thing I have ever tried to grow. The more I thought, the more I realized this could be an opportunity for self-growth, and I decided to stay.
“As Wofford students, we are accustomed to the beautiful campus and numerous dining options. So, it’s a weird feeling when everything that appears automatic is suddenly gone. I realized how easy it is to take modern conveniences for granted. Considering all those affected by Hurricane Helene, as Wofford students, we were the lucky ones. To put it in one sentence: This was a test of simple living for myself and others who decided to stay on campus.”
MADISON BUSH ’27
English and international affairs double major from Fort Worth, Texas
NOTE: Bush writes for the Old Gold and Black student newspaper. She interviewed college leaders following the storm regarding hurricane response and damage. Read her story at woffordogb.com.
“The week following the storm, campus looked completely different. It was eerie seeing the damage done, the branches tied by wires to prevent them from falling and the various areas of campus blocked off by caution tape. The campus felt quiet despite the sounds of saws playing in the background.
“Fortunately, my dorm, DuPré Hall, did not lose power. I had a surprising amount of homework to do. This included readings, an essay and a take-home test from Dr. [David] Alvis. With my extra time, I opted to watch a new Netflix documentary. Some of my other friends with less work picked up crafts or other hobbies they didn’t have time to enjoy during a regular school week. My friends and I kept ourselves busy, though, painting banners for ZTA’s upcoming Pink Week and having movie nights together. Overall, I feel very fortunate that I was not seriously affected in any way.”
JENNIFER ALLISON
Registrar
NOTE: Allison was on campus most days in the aftermath of the storm preparing for Interim registration.
“When the storm hit, we were at home. We live near a wooded area. It was surreal hearing the wind, the popping of the tree roots and then the crashing of the trees as they fell. We lost three trees. They all fell away from the house, so we were very lucky. Just as surreal was that within a few hours, the sun was out, and we were walking around our yard picking up the sticks and branches. While we lost power for about a week, our home and family were completely fine.
“The sheer amount of destruction that occurred in such a short amount of time was truly astounding. Trees that had been there for decades gone — gone from the neighborhoods, gone from campus. It has been truly amazing how quickly the roads were cleared and power restored. From what looked like was going to take months, it was impressive what was accomplished in a week. No place was more impressive than campus. By the time campus reopened, it was hard to know where the trees had been. Facilities did such an amazing job at clearing the debris. Colleagues on campus were kind in planning dinners for those without power, offering their homes for showers and charging of phones and laptops. Friends offered the use of generators as power was restored in different neighborhoods. Driving was a little nerve-wracking without working traffic lights, but it got better as the days went on. People showed a little more patience and grace.
“Unfortunately, due to the closure, we needed to reschedule registration for Interim 2025. The new dates were not honored by the registration system, which led to another kind of chaos. Dropping everyone, wiping the entire registration set-up and rerunning registration were not what we wanted. Registration is stressful for everyone, which was doubly felt because of the previous week.”
DR. DANE HILTON
Assistant professor of psychology; associate editor of the Journal of Child and Family Studies; associate editor of the Journal of Rural Mental Health
NOTE: Hilton and his wife and four children were regular fixtures on campus in the aftermath of the hurricane.
“I spent the morning watching our giant oaks being tossed around, hoping they wouldn’t fall, which luckily, they didn’t. We live across the street from a nature preserve, and I did get to watch in real time as about five trees fell across our road and driveway. We were blocked in for 24 hours before some neighbors with chainsaws came and cleared the trees. I was thankful for wellprepared neighbors, because I was caught totally off guard by the effects of this storm.
“I was able to hitch a ride with a neighbor the day of the storm to try to find some ice. The damage around town was unbelievable. I felt like I was living in some sort of disaster movie. The street we lived on completely flooded across a good portion the afternoon of the storm. Neighbors who had lived in our neighborhood for 40-50 years said they had never seen the street flood before. At one point, a fire hydrant on the street was completely submerged except for the very tip. As someone who loves trees — having grown up in the foothills and spent a good portion of my adult life in Western North Carolina — it was very sad to see some of these great, old trees on campus taken out by the storm. I hope some folks more creative and skilled than I can do something with these immense logs all over town.
“Wofford’s campus was a refuge for my family throughout the week after the storm. We were out of power for almost seven days, so we came to campus every morning to charge phones, communicate with family and allow the kids some down time. The biggest blessing was being able to get a hot meal at Burwell once it opened back up. It was great getting to see other Wofford community members during this time, to swap stories of what we had been through and generally be encouraged by others who had all gone through this experience.
“Unfortunately, the storm hit right as my lab was scheduled to begin a federally funded clinical trial, so we are still dealing with the effects of canceling classes and students being gone on our research schedule. I am working with our director of counseling and accessibility services, Perry Henson ’96, on this project, and she has done an awesome job of responding flexibly as the intervention leader and catching us back up. It looks like we will be able to finish the intervention as planned before the end of the semester. We lost over a week of material in class, and unfortunately the students are bearing the brunt of that. In lowerlevel courses, like research methods, it’s not possible to cut material, so we’re having to make up time in other places. As we have seen with the cohort of students who have had to respond to a lot of things out of their control in the past five years, they are adapting admirably and doing just fine!
“I found the effect of this shared experience on our community to be very encouraging. People came together in an amazing way. I got the chance to meet my neighbors across my neighborhood that I just haven’t had the opportunity to cross paths with. We are all so busy all the time, driving around in our cars and staying in our homes, that we don’t get to organically run across new folks anymore. This was the first time in the three years I’ve been here that almost everyone was outside of their home at the same time, allowing us the chance to talk, offer help and get to know one another.”
STEWART WINSLOW
Director of horticulture and landscape design
NOTE: Winslow started working with Roger Milliken on the Wofford campus 35 years ago.
“Over the years, many new trees were planted annually to replace the older ones, preparing the campus for the future by creating a more sustainable landscape. In those 35 years, we have experienced some ice storms, but none were as severe as Hurricane Helene.
“In the days leading up to Hurricane Helene, we had numerous planning conversations with tree cleanup contractors to ensure that the aftermath of the storm would be managed efficiently. Department meetings were held daily to prioritize safety. News and weather experts provided regular updates, highlighting the storm’s potential impact. Most weather experts were predicting the storm would move to the west of our area, but we knew we needed to be prepared. I left campus at 8 p.m. that Thursday night, went home and packed two weeks’ worth of clothes in suitcases, ready to roll out (my power was out for over two weeks).
“At 4 a.m. on Friday, the wind began to howl through the trees, and I loaded my truck, getting soaked from the heavy rain. I was receiving texts from the grounds crew: one tree down, then a minute later, another tree down. I arrived at work around 6:30 a.m. after a very scary drive to Wofford. By the time I arrived, five trees had already fallen.
“I stood in the entrance to DuPré Hall and watched. This view was protected from the wind and trees. By 9 a.m., most of the devastation was over, and it was extensive. Trees were uprooted, debris was scattered everywhere and there were power outages.
“I took a 24” x 36” site plan and used push pins to indicate the trees that had fallen. By noon, I had placed 70 push pins on the map, representing the trees destroyed by the storm. As soon as it was safe, the grounds crews were out, beginning the massive cleanup effort. Tree crews (outside contractors) were on site by 10 a.m. The first focus was making sidewalks safe and passable. By dark that night, most sidewalks were open. As we continued to survey the damage, we discovered more trees that didn’t or wouldn’t survive. By then, the number of lost trees was up to 130; 10 acorn street lights were destroyed.”
“On Tuesday, four days after the storm, we walked the campus with Dr. Bruce Fredrick, retired Bartlett Tree director of research. His primary focus during his career has been on disease research and tree risk management. We toured the entire campus with two other arborists from Bartlett out of Charlotte, N.C. After we spent time with them, we knew there was even more work to do.
“After the cleanup is complete, we’ll be in the prime time for replanting since trees will be dormant. We’ve reached out to Dr. Mike Dirr, one of the top tree experts in the world, who remarked, ‘What an opportunity to enhance the campus and to add more diversity to the landscaping.’
“While we’ll miss some of the big trees, we’ll be planting stronger and greener ones. The trees planted over the past 35 years will now have more room to grow.
“One of my favorite trees on campus was a willow oak in front of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. It didn’t survive the storm. About 150 students came to help with debris cleanup, and many helped with this large tree. I later counted 125 rings marking its years.
“As we clean up, the campus is brighter. Wofford is going to be better.”
LISA AND ELI ROBINSON
Parents of Lockhart Robinson ’27, Marietta, Ga.
NOTE: The Robinsons sent the college a nice email of thanks for the communications surrounding the hurricane. They attended Family Weekend just a few weeks after the hurricane and were amazed that the campus was recovering so quickly.
“As out-of-state parents, we were significantly concerned and worried about student and staff safety, as well as potential damage to the campus. We felt powerless but trusted the college to handle the situation responsibly.
“We were able to communicate regularly with our daughter, Lockhart. Frequent check-ins eased our anxiety, and Lockhart reassured us that the college kept them informed and had clear safety protocols in place.
“The college’s updates were absolutely amazing because they were timely and transparent. These communications provided a sense of connection and peace of mind during the uncertainty. We asked our daughter if she wanted to come home, and she preferred to stay at Wofford, which says a lot about the college.
“We were truly impressed with how Wofford managed the situation and how the Wofford community pulled together and made such an amazing impact on the school and community after being hit by such a horrible storm. The hurricane reminded us of life’s unpredictability, but the college’s proactive approach kept us reassured.”