Alexis Calomese, 20, moved to Oak Grove after Hurricane Katrina hit her hometown Gulfport on August 29, 2005.
“We moved to Oak Grove two years after Katrina because it took them a while to get our new house ready,” Calomese said. “We moved in on January 1, 2007.”
During the time of the move, she describes the move as a rough and depressing time for her family.
“A few people I knew had died at the time," she said. "Eventually you get used to it, make new friends and get over it."
She had been playing basketball since she was six years old and quickly became apart of the basketball team at Oak Grove.
"I love basketball. I saw it as a unity, my teammates were my family,” she said. “It’s more of a life style than a sport.”
The love she had for the sport did not change after she busted her knee during a summer practice which caused her to sit out her senior year.
“A teammate and I ran into each other and my knee bent backwards and once I fell I heard a pop sound and felt the pain,” she said. “I knew then it was over for me.”
After graduating in 2012, she began attending the University of Southern Mississippi majoring in mass communication with an emphasis in broadcast.
“I’m not majorly involved on campus because I have a family at home,” she said. “I got married on May 7, 2013, and I also have a 11 month son named Caiden Sims.”
With the hopes of graduating from USM in December 2016 she is ready to see where her career will take her.
“I tell myself that the sky is the limit,” she said. “I don’t want to set any goals because I feel like I don’t want to limit myself to one thing when I can have the opportunity to venture off.”
The 11th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is August 29th.
Myka Barnes
“We moved to Oak Grove two years after Katrina because it took them a while to get our new house ready,” Calomese said. “We moved in on January 1, 2007.”
During the time of the move, she describes the move as a rough and depressing time for her family.
“A few people I knew had died at the time," she said. "Eventually you get used to it, make new friends and get over it."
She had been playing basketball since she was six years old and quickly became apart of the basketball team at Oak Grove.
"I love basketball. I saw it as a unity, my teammates were my family,” she said. “It’s more of a life style than a sport.”
The love she had for the sport did not change after she busted her knee during a summer practice which caused her to sit out her senior year.
“A teammate and I ran into each other and my knee bent backwards and once I fell I heard a pop sound and felt the pain,” she said. “I knew then it was over for me.”
After graduating in 2012, she began attending the University of Southern Mississippi majoring in mass communication with an emphasis in broadcast.
“I’m not majorly involved on campus because I have a family at home,” she said. “I got married on May 7, 2013, and I also have a 11 month son named Caiden Sims.”
With the hopes of graduating from USM in December 2016 she is ready to see where her career will take her.
“I tell myself that the sky is the limit,” she said. “I don’t want to set any goals because I feel like I don’t want to limit myself to one thing when I can have the opportunity to venture off.”
The 11th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is August 29th.
Myka Barnes