Two Gulf Coast students enroll at OCC

They’ve traded one coast for another, traveling from Mississippi’s

Gulf Coast to Southern California’s Orange Coast.

Chris Goodson and John Lieu of Biloxi, Miss., both students at

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, have enrolled at Orange

Coast College this fall.

Goodson and Lieu arrived on campus last week after surviving

Hurricane Katrina. They’ve been able to secure a full schedule of

classes. Their tuition, fees and books for this fall and next spring

are being paid for by donations that have been given by local

community members to the Orange Coast College Foundation. Both young

men are working in part-time jobs on campus.

For the moment, Goodson and Lieu, who’ve been best friends for the

past three years, are sleeping on the living room floor of Lieu’s

aunt’s house in Fountain Valley. They plan to share an apartment in

Irvine.

Goodson, 18, and Lieu, 19, attended Gulf Coast’s Jefferson Davis

campus in Gulfport. The campus, located just a mile from

Mississippi’s beaches, sustained significant damage during the

hurricane.

“Some of the buildings are down to their foundations,” Goodson

said.

Goodson is starting his first year at a community college. The

pre-dentistry major was enrolled at Gulf Coast prior to the hurricane

making its landfall near Biloxi on Aug. 29. Lieu, a sophomore, is

majoring in business administration. Both now plan to graduate from

OCC.

Goodson hopes to either return to Louisiana to attend the LSU

School of Dentistry or to attend a University of California dental

school. Lieu wants to transfer to a California four-year university.

The duo drove to California after the hurricane. They’ve been

impressed by OCC’s beautiful campus and hospitable atmosphere.

“The people on this campus have been extremely kind to us, and

very helpful,” Lieu said. “They’ve gone out of their way to welcome

and support us.”

Goodson and Lieu say that damage to their hometown has been

extensive. Goodson worked at the front desk of a large tourist hotel,

and Lieu was a waiter and busboy at a beachfront casino.

“Everything is gone on the coast,” Goodson said with a sigh. “It

almost looks as if there’s been an earthquake rather than a

hurricane. You see huge chunks of concrete everywhere.”

Lieu’s family owns two homes in Biloxi, approximately six miles

from the coast.

“One of our houses was lifted up from its foundation and thrown

into the backyard,” Lieu said. “The other survived pretty much intact

but was flooded and had roof damage.”

Goodson’s house, which suffered less damage, is 11 miles from the beach.

Lieu drove with his girlfriend to Alabama to escape the hurricane.

Goodson elected to remain at home with his family to ride out the

hurricane. It proved to be an adventure.

“It was pretty wild,” he said. “It rained a lot, and the wind was

really blowing. You could hear things being ripped out of the ground.

Fortunately, my parents’ home survived. They plan to remain there.”

Goodson’s parents are happy that he took off for California.

“They’re glad that I’m back in school,” he said, “and I’m glad to

be back. I’m very grateful for the support that OCC and the people of

this area have given us.”

* JIM CARNETT is senior director of community relations at Orange

Coast College. Reach him at o7jcarnettocc.cccd.edu f7or (714)

432-5725.