As I was sitting in my science classroom in high school visiting with the teacher and my fellow classmates about Katrina and the devastation that the hurricane was leaving behind I thought to myself \"that I would truly never be affected by this disaster.\" For at that point in my life, I lived in Iowa and never thought that I would ever have the chance to visit a place like New Orleans. After three years had passed I had the opportunity to attend the University Of New Orleans for an education and play basketball for the Lady Privateers\'. On my visit to the University I had the chance to view the arena which was in the process of getting rebuilt. As I listened to the horrifying stories that the coaches were telling me about I just could not image what they must have felt like. They discussed the fact that the entire team was moved to Texas and had to attend school there along with taking some internet classes. They mentioned the many struggles that they endured together, which drew their team closer than they could ever be. Every since the storm the Athletic program at UNO has been fighting to survive or stay afloat; between recruiting players to dealing with budget cuts that are affecting everyone. However it was amazing for me to experience the re-opening of the arena during my junior year at UNO. The seniors were very inspirational in their display of the true meaning of \"team\"; they were freshmen the year the Katrina hit. I felt honored to call these seniors my teammates due to their loyalty to the community and the school by waiting three long years just for a gym to call their own.