"I felt this need to come here and tell people about what I'd seen, what had happened."

Freshman Nethra Samarawickrema '08 had nothing short of a life-altering spring semester. A native of Colombo, Sri Lanka, she was at home when the 2004 Asian tsunami struck the nearby coastline. Within hours, she went from a college student on a break to a relief worker on a mission.

Samarawickrema entered the effort as an experienced volunteer. She'd previously worked with villagers caught in the crossfire of Sri Lanka's 20-year Tamil insurgency. "I knew what conflict was like, what war could do, but this was something beyond that," she said. "I'd gone to these beach areas since I was a kid, and now I couldn't recognize anything."

Samarawickrema worked at the scene until classes called her back to the United States. "It was really tough coming back," she said. "But I knew I had to do it. I felt this need to come here and tell people about what I'd seen, what had happened."

Back in Ithaca, Samarawickrema became a leader in the College's tsunami relief effort. Working with a diverse group of students, faculty, administrators, and staff, she helped coordinate fund-raising events and educational seminars. Eventually she became a spokesperson for the cause, putting a personal face on the disaster. "I never expected to go to college and become a public speaker," she said. "But so many people came to me and asked, 'How can I help? How can I donate?' It was all very spontaneous."

Ultimately Ithaca's tsunami relief effort raised $11,000, which at Samarawickrema's urging was donated to IUCN, the World Conservation Union. She recommended the organization after working with it personally and seeing how effective it was at rehabilitating devastated villages near her hometown.

A psychology major before the disaster, Samarawickrema is now pursuing a major in culture and communication. The change is largely due to her experience in the relief effort. "My goal was always to work in some sort of humanitarian field, and I want to make a bigger contribution now," she said.