“Everyone just jumped in and did what they needed
to do,” said BGGA Director of Student Care & Housing
Lynda Hughes. “It was like a well-oiled machine.”
Hughes visited all of the houses in the first hour after
the storm calmed down only to find all the students
peacefully fast asleep as if nothing had happened.
Once the hurricane had passed and left BGGA with a
mess to clean up and no power in homes, the students
rallied and took pride in bringing their facility back
to order. All the local hardware
stores were bought out of
rakes and students got to work
cleaning up the facility and
There was a great
trying to restore order after such
a stressful time.
camaraderie and
“
they took such pride
in trying to get their
Academy back to its
former glory.
By Tuesday evening after the
storm, BGGA still didn’t have
power and it was unknown when it would be restored.
The kids were delighted to hear that everyone was
being packed up and taken to the nearby Disney
resorts to wait for BGGA to have power back again.
It also gave the students some downtime as a reward
for their strong sense of community before and after
the storm.
“I wanted the students to feel like kids again,” said
Hughes. “I know a lot of them were fearful going
through the hurricane. I was so proud of them all.”
The time spent at the Disney resort was enjoyed by all.
The students were able to go to Hollywood Studios,
“
“There were teams of students
lining the streets helping clean
up debris,” said Hughes. “There
was a great camaraderie and
they took such pride in trying
to get their Academy back to its
former glory.”
Disney Springs or relax by the pool on
Wednesday before a little normalcy
on Thursday and Friday as school was
back in session. The students then
commuted from Disney to school.
Being in charge of 70 students at a
different location provided a great
challenge to our housing staff, but
they all rose to the occasion and kept
things running like clockwork.
One week after the storm, the students and staff
returned back to BGGA, with power restored, with a
sense of relief that they could return to their normal
schedules and focus on bettering themselves in golf
and academics.
Hats off to the staff that were instrumental in keeping
the students safe and happy. A round of applause to
the students for weathering the storm with such great
spirit. We’re lucky to have everyone here at BGGA and
couldn’t be prouder of our students-athletes and staff.