Superstorm Sandy Can’t Stop Stranded Bonita Students … by Jaelon Davis – BHS ’13

November 8, 2012

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Jaelon assists Amanda from Long Beach, N.J.

Last week, my family and I traveled to New York City to visit Columbia University and St. John’s University as I prepare to apply to colleges this month.

The day before we were scheduled to leave New York, all transportation was shut down, and our flight was canceled, rescheduled, and canceled again, as superstorm Sandy hit the entire Northeast.

At first, I was nervous, and upset that I’d be stuck in my hotel room for a week. Then we saw more guests arriving. Many were other stranded travelers. Even more were families who were evacuated and lost everything.

Since these children were missing Halloween (most kids’ favorite holiday next to Christmas), my sister Alexis (BHS ’15) and I decided to set up a Halloween fun station for kids here in the hotel breakfast room, letting them color, do face painting, and get popcorn and candy.

The parents and children were so very happy! We met families from Germany, France, and Brazil. One French family said that this was their first Halloween, and the kids were so overwhelmed, they gave us hugs and took our picture.

After hearing us talk to a Long Beach, New Jersey boy about the “water that came into his house,” a retired LAUSD teacher said that our teachers and parents taught us well, and that they would be proud to hear of what we’d done.

So, we decided to share some pictures and this story with you, now that we have Internet again! We are stuck till the weekend , but look forward to getting home safely. We are grateful and proud to represent our community and our school in such a good light, and hope that we made you Bearcats proud too!