"The weather was actually lucky for me, because otherwise my situation could have been much worse than it was."
The "situation" that Christine Walsh, DePauw freshman, referred to is that on the morning of Jan. 6, Walsh was rushed to the Indiana University West Hospital by ambulance. Walsh, along with several of her classmates were staying in Crown Plaza Hotel after their 10:15 flight to Beijing was cancelled on Sunday morning.
While lying in the hospital for several hours, Walsh contemplated the turn of events. She realized that if not for the snowstorm, she would have been in the air of a seventeen-hour flight when her illness reached its peak of a 103-degree temperature. Walsh was told she had the H1N1 virus along with extreme dehydration.
As Wednesday approached, the students were filled with excitement, once again, for their departure to China. However, Walsh unfortunately was informed that she could no longer go on the trip due to her contagious state.
Walsh, completely heartbroken, drove back with her mother to her hometown of Crown Point, Ind. Walsh has been spending her days watching "Grey's Anatomy," and has accepted the idea that remaining in the United States was the best alternative.
Walsh confessed that not only was the weather a blessing, but also having a professor like Sherry Mou made the process much more comforting. Mou drove to the hospital to be at Walsh's bedside, and for that Walsh said she is extremely grateful.
First year student Julian Gonzalez also found the storm to be an exceptional beginning of his first Winter Term experience. Gonzalez arrived at DePauw at 8:00 p.m. Saturday Jan. 4 just before the 11.6 inches of snow hit Greencastle.
On Sunday morning, Jan. 5, Gonzalez, along with other DePauw students, teachers, and staff members, awoke to a snowfall that blanketed campus. Students were later informed that classes would be cancelled on the following Monday and Tuesday. For Gonzalez, this meant the next three days would be well spent socializing with friends and playing in the snow.
However, where the snow was a blessing to some, it was a strenuous hassle for others. First year student Morgan Cohen from Denver Colo. was attempting to fly back in time for classes on Wednesday morning. Cohen dealt with two flight cancellations on Sunday as well as Monday. Fortunately, Cohen found a flight that happened to be the only Southwest plane flying from Denver to Indianapolis on Tuesday evening.
"I was so surprised to see how much snow there was when I got here," Cohen said.
This snowfall extended her drive back to DePauw's campus, where she arrived around 1:30 a.m. Cohen said she is happy to be back at her "new home" and is "very thankful for the patience of her mom had," through this entire situation.