Six students from this college's journalism program spent a week in the hardest-hit areas of the Gulf Coast, interviewing dozens of residents to find out how they are faring. What they found were families crammed into tight quarters and communities unbowed by hardships.

Journalism students (left to right) Julie Ann Sanchez, Amber Whittaker, Joseph M. de Leon, Charles Cima, Mandy Derfler and César G. Rodriguez pose Dec. 28 outside the Superdome.