When Mykayla Garrison left Omaha in 2000 to attend Xavier University in New Orleans, she couldn’t have dreamt of the circumstances surrounding her return.
With Hurricane Katrina an all-too-recent memory, Garrison is trying to re-acclimate herself to Omaha. The third-year pharmacy student has enrolled as a visiting student at the UNMC College of Pharmacy.
“I’m lost, to be honest with you. Everything I have is gone,” said Garrison, a North High School graduate. “It’s like my life changed in 24 hours; I can’t really explain it. My family has welcomed, warmed and loved me, but it can’t replace what I built up in New Orleans, working all through college.
“At the same time, I can’t dwell on the things I’ve lost because a lot of people have lost a lot more.”
Garrison’s transition to UNMC courses will not be easy, but it has been eased by the fact that the Xavier and UNMC pharmacy programs have similar curricula for Garrison’s grade level. She has enrolled in courses dealing with the study of medication-based therapies, pharmacy law and pharmacy practice management.
“It’s kind of weird going to UNMC, but it’s OK,” Garrison said. “A lot of the faculty and students are really nice up there.”
Garrison was in final preparation to return to her Xavier classes when she went to work at a New Orleans retail pharmacy on Saturday, Aug. 27.
By the next morning, she and a friend had evacuated to the friend’s home in Greensburg, La., about 50 miles north of New Orleans. Because she didn’t think she would be away from the city for more than a day or two, Garrison grabbed just a couple of outfits for the trip.
“When the hurricane hit, trees were breaking, and there was no power and no water,” Garrison said. “I ended up going to Baton Rouge (a couple of days later) to call my mom.”
She saw on TV that the area surrounding her apartment – in the Kenner area of west New Orleans – was flooded. Gone are Garrison’s car and almost all of her belongings. Garrison realized that she wouldn’t be attending classes in New Orleans anytime soon.
She called the UNMC College of Pharmacy on Thursday, Sept. 1, and was on a plane to Omaha the next day. Early last week, she met with Charles Krobot, Pharm.D., associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Pharmacy, and Clarence Ueda, Pharm.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy.
Garrison said she’s eager to take classes because she wants to finish pharmacy school on schedule. Xavier has not said whether it will accept a transfer of credits, and although the university is officially slated to begin classes again on Jan. 4, Garrison doubts that will happen. She said she would return only if she must.
“I don’t want to return, but if I have to go back for school, then I’ll do that,” Garrison said. “New Orleans was not going to be my home anyway. I don’t think it will be the same. I have a lot of friends who don’t want to go back, either.”
Garrison said she lost no friends in the storm, and her heart goes out to the storm’s victims. She is trying to stay focused on schoolwork.
“My main focus is to stay on top of things and not get de-motivated, so to speak,” Garrison said. “I’m trying not to dwell on the things I’ve lost because a lot of people have lost a lot more.”