RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech Athletics student-athletes, coaches and administrators spent Tuesday afternoon loading the football equipment truck with donations to support those impacted by Hurricane Laura at McNeese State and in the greater Lake Charles area.
 
Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, – directly south of Lakes Charles – as a Category 4 storm on August 27.
 
Student-athletes and/or coaches from LA Tech's baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, cross country, softball and volleyball teams all volunteered time to load the truck with baby supplies, pet food, bottled water and other needed items. Many members of the LA Tech Family and Ruston locals donated supplies to the drive.
 
"The first thing that comes to my mind is empathy," Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland said. "There are a lot of people around the country that are having sympathy for Lake Charles, but we on the other hand have empathy for them because we've been in their shoes.
 
"We know what it's like to be in distress and to have people come to your aid and to feel the love and to feel genuinely cared for. This is our opportunity to show Lake Charles love and go down there and make a difference."
 
Members of LA Tech's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) came up with the idea for Tuesday's donation drive. Conner Killian, a redshirt senior cross country runner and the LA Tech and Conference USA SAAC president, is a Louisiana native and remembers the impact Hurricane Katrina had on his hometown of Metairie, Louisiana, as a child.
 
"I was very young, but I do remember [Hurricane] Katrina," Killian said. "I remember the devastation it brought there, and knowing what a Category 4 hurricane is capable of, I know what kind of destruction is down there.
 
"When they see that trailer pull up, it's going to make peoples' hearts feel really good. People in Lake Charles are going to be very grateful for it."
 
In April 2019, LA Tech began its own rebuild after an EF3 tornado roared through the area in the early hours of April 25. The storm caused major damage across Ruston and caused severe damage to LA Tech athletics facilities, including its baseball, tennis, track and field, softball and soccer complexes.
 
"It's really important for the community and Louisiana in general," senior volleyball player Molly Watkins said. "We went through the tornado and even went through the hurricane ourselves, and it's been really rewarding to help out the southern part of Louisiana. It has more meaning because we had a lot of damage last year as well."
 
As the loaded truck heads to Lake Charles on Wednesday, the LA Tech Family hopes McNeese State knows that Ruston has its back.
 
"Any time we have time to give back and to help a community that has been through so much in the storms, it's definitely something that we all relish and are excited that we are able to do," head volleyball coach Amber McCray said. "We saw firsthand of the importance of this, having help in these times when we had the tornado last year and people reached out to us.
 
"It was our opportunity to give back and spread a little bit more love, which is what the world needs right now. It's always something we're going to try to do."

Louisiana Tech Athletics would like to give a special thanks to Gentry Trucking for donating their time in driving the truck to Lake Charles.