To study political science, Sean Hood moved to New Orleans after Katrina and enrolled at Loyola University. To help rebuild New Orleans he became a student leader, serving on the board of directors of LUCAP, Loyola’s student-led community outreach program.

Many of Sean’s Loyola classmates have felt the same calling and have tied their educational experience with their desire to help others and the “opportunity to rebuild a city,” a combination which, according to Sean, “is unheard of elsewhere in the country.” Many of Sean’s classmates are also Outreach volunteers.

Hood came to Outreach in 2008, volunteering as a high school teacher assistant, tutoring students one-on-one, facilitating group activities, and observing alternative teaching methods. While initially appalled at how behind many of his students were, Sean also recognized their potential and more importantly, their desire. Sean says he doesn’t pity the students because they are not looking for pity. Rather, he says, “They are looking for someone who will put forward the effort to help them succeed.” The reward for Sean is the almost “exponential improvement that students make in their studies.”

Sean added, “The smiles are a pretty good reward, too.”

Currently, Sean is working on the St. Bernard Project to help residents of “da Parish” continue to rebuild. This helps bring residents closer to the homes they remember. This project goes out Saturdays from 9 AM to 4 PM.