“I’m not looking forward to winter.”
– Matt Martinson, 20, on coming back to college in Wisconsin

Twenty-two students displaced by Hurricane Katrina have enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for the fall semester, officials said.

UWM will likely admit only through the end of the week, said Beth Weckmueller, director of Enrollment Services.

“We could have 30 to 40 students coming,” she said. “It’s not going to be in the hundreds.”

Weckmueller said that there are three types of displaced students who have enrolled at UWM: those who are Wisconsin natives; those who have extended-family ties; and those who ended up in Wisconsin staying with a friend.

Matt Martinson, 20, is originally from Whitefish Bay. He was planning to begin his junior year at Tulane University in New Orleans in the school of business.

He said that UWM has been friendly and accommodating. And, he said, the weather has been pretty good. “(But) I’m not looking forward to winter.”

Martinson said that he left for Baton Rouge during the evacuations before Hurricane Katrina hit land.

He said that most of his friends had not arrived on campus when the hurricane hit. He packed his duffel bag and brought his laptop to Baton Rouge.

Lynetta Coates, 22, left New Orleans on Sunday, Aug. 28, for Dallas.

“If I didn’t leave then, I would have been stuck in New Orleans with everyone else,” she said. “I’m just blessed to be out of all of that.”

Coates was planning to attend the University of New Orleans. She said that she lost everything and that the transition to Milwaukee has been difficult.

Coates said that her family moved around a lot when she was a child, but that she lived in Milwaukee for a couple years and still has family in the area.

“Even though I’m from Milwaukee, it still doesn’t make it any easier on me,” she said.

Both Martinson, of Tulane, and Coates, of UNO, said they are hopeful that they can go back and attend their respective college in the spring semester.

“I’m hoping and praying that they can repair New Orleans,” Coates said. She said that she’s worrying about how UWM courses will transfer. And if the UNO is not back running for spring, Louisiana State University, UNO’s sister college, would be an option for her.

Displaced students originally planned to attend colleges that were in the areas hit by Katrina. The colleges include Delgado Community College, Dillard University, UNO, the University of Southern Mississippi, Tougaloo College, Tulane and Xavier Universities.

Both Martinson and Coates said that UWM has been warm and welcoming to help fulfill their needs.

Students who wish to donate can contribute to the UWM Emergency Relief Fund, which provides some financial support for items such as textbooks, clothing and personal items.

It is a general emergency fund, so any funds not used this year will go toward helping students who are experiencing life crises in the future.

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