Friday, Feb. 22, 2008
After tornado, CHS grad gets help from familiar faces
Friends, teammates respond in a big way with donations
By SANDRA ENGELLAND
Tobosa, a sophomore at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., and the valedictorian of Central High School’s first graduating class in 2006, was at a friend’s house 20 minutes away doing laundry when the storm hit.
“My roommate called, and she said, ‘Our room is gone. Our room is gone,’ ” Tobosa said.
The tornado, part of the most devastating storm system in more than two decades, killed 58 people in five states; 30 in Tennessee alone. Although Union University took a direct hit, with the tornado wiping out about 80 percent of on-campus housing, no one died. Nine students were seriously injured.
Tobosa’s father, Pat Tobosa, said, “It is just an awesome testament to the preparedness of the university.”
One of her roommates was in their dorm during the tornado. A resident assistant told all the students to go to an interior bathroom on the first floor of the two-story structure.
Students were not allowed back on campus until Feb. 7 to check on belongings. Tobosa said her dorm was off-limits. The walls and the floor of her second-floor room were gone. She could see some of her clothes strewn among the rubble, but officials decided to demolish the unstable structure without recovering anything.
“You have to see it to know that there is nothing you can do,” she said. “Until you see the magnitude of the damage, you don’t grasp the reality of the situation.”
Tobosa’s parents arrived in Jackson on Feb. 7 and, because classes wouldn’t resume until Feb. 20, they drove her back to the Keller area Feb. 8.
That weekend, her parents took her shopping to replace much of what she lost — clothing, school supplies, electronics. On Tuesday, she received a call from Central High girls’ soccer coach Melissa Forgy.
Tobosa was a varsity soccer player at Central during the 2005-06 season.
Forgy wanted to know how the Lady Chargers could help. Tobosa told her that she still needed a hairbrush, ponytail holders and small hygiene items.
“I didn’t want anybody to spend a lot of money on me,” Tobosa said.
Since the night of the storm, Forgy had been fielding phone calls and e-mails from concerned players, CHS alumni and parents who knew Tobosa attended Union.
She spoke to Tobosa the day after the tornado. “She told me her dorm room was gone; everything was gone,” Forgy said. “I sent out an e-mail saying, ‘She’s OK, but she lost all her belongings.’ ”
Many people expressed the desire to help, so when Forgy contacted Tobosa on Feb. 12, she decided to mobilize her teams to collect items for her former player. The junior varsity B-team collected hygiene items; the J.V. A-team, scrapbooking supplies (one of Tobosa’s favorite hobbies); and varsity girls got housewares.
The key was they needed them in two days, when Tobosa was scheduled to return to Tennessee. By Thursday, Forgy’s office was full. Alumni players had donated an iPod and a microwave.
“Once you’re a Charger, you’re always a Charger,” Forgy said. “It hit close to home, and it was a great opportunity for the girls to reach out.”
On Thursday, Tobosa had an amazing Valentine’s Day surprise: two carloads of items collected by the Lady Chargers. “I was just blown away because all I asked for was a hairbrush.”
In addition to the soccer teams’ generosity, staff members at the Natatorium, where Tobosa works as a swim instructor during breaks, and Central’s swim team (sister Kirsten Tobosa is a member), collected gift cards so she could purchase needed items.
Last weekend, Tobosa’s parents helped her move into an apartment close to campus. While more than 1,200 students lived on campus before the tornado, only a few hundred are currently housed there.
Life will be different because she won’t see as many of her friends outside the classroom. Her schedule has been changed because some buildings are too damaged to hold classes.
She still looks forward to playing on the Union women’s soccer team and continuing her studies to become an athletic trainer.
The storm has been a reminder that she and her fellow students are fortunate.
“I think everyone knows just how amazing God is in everything that happened,” Tobosa said. “There’s nothing you can do in the face of such devastation, but it’s going to end up being right.”
“I was just blown away because all I asked for was a hairbrush.”
– Meagan Tobosa, on items collected by friends and former teammates after her dorm was destroyed by a tornado
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