Durbin joined the association this academic year as a way to gain networking opportunities. When she learned there was a vacancy for the region encompassing Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, she interviewed for the position and was appointed on the spot.

“I’m in charge of reaching out to the organizations at the schools (in the region) with job opportunities and networking events,” she says. “We also have a conference in March in New Mexico and a moot court competition.”

Durbin, who has family in Puerto Rico, says she was motivated to get involved with the Hispanic National Bar Association after Hurricane Maria struck the island in September 2017.

“I wanted to be connected with people who understand what I’m going through with the aftermath of that,” she says.

Durbin’s family is in the northwestern coastal town of Camuy, which was heavily impacted by Hurricane Maria. Her family was without power for 10 weeks, an aunt’s house was flooded and her grandfather lost part of his roof.

“In comparison, we were lucky, but it was still really hard,” she said. 

Durbin, who was in her first semester of law school during that time, says she was deeply impacted by the natural disaster.

“My world was turned upside down. I didn’t know if my family was alive for two weeks,” she said, adding that she saw images on social media of Camuy’s destruction but wasn’t able to reach family members because cell service was down.

Durbin went to Puerto Rico two months after the hurricane. Electricity was back on, but not reliably. FEMA came to her family while she was there and she says she was struck by the small resources provided: 10 boxes of food and one case of water for five people for two weeks.

“That has really shaped my path in law school,” she said. “I was really kind of unsure about where I wanted to go practice law. Since then, I’ve done a lot of research for my classes and I’m writing a journal article about the power crisis in Puerto Rico following the hurricane.”

Durbin plans to take the Puerto Rico bar exam and wants to practice human and civil rights there.

Smith, a University of Louisville School of Nursing assistant professor, recently returned from a two-week deployment to Puerto Rico where she provided medical care in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria with a federal (DMAT).

Part of the National Disaster Medical System, DMATs across the country are made up of physicians, nurse practitioners, paramedics and other health care professionals who leave their regular jobs and quickly mobilize to provide medical aid when local and state resources are overwhelmed after natural disasters or terrorist attacks. They also prepare to respond to major national events, including presidential inaugurations, if an emergency arises.

“Most health care providers want to jump in and help during a disaster, and that’s what we get to do,” said Smith, MSN, RN.

Smith’s DMAT, along with personnel from the U.S. Public Health Service and non-governmental agencies, set up a Federal Medical Station in Bayamón and treated 150 to 200 people every day at a similar station in Manatí.

“The patients were incredibly resilient. They did what they had to do to survive,” Smith said. “Their infrastructure is gone and it’s going to be a long time before the island recovers from the storms.”

Traffic lights and electrical poles were gone, buildings were destroyed and trees were scattered. Still lacking electricity in their homes, some patients needed power to operate ventilators and feeding tube machines. Most were treated for conditions related to mold exposure, including pink eye, asthma, nausea and vomiting. Critical patients were stabilized and transported by the Army to local hospitals.

Smith takes pride in caring for disaster victims as well as bringing relief to fellow medical personnel who reside in the ravaged areas.

For 15 years, she has been a member of the DMAT based in Jacksonville, Florida, which last mobilized after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Her first deployment was to Pensacola, Florida, after 2004’s Hurricane Ivan where her team supported a badly damaged hospital that was depending on generators and had no running water.

“The hospital staff were taking care of patients while not knowing if their families were okay or if their homes were still standing,” Smith said. “We came in the middle of the night to set up and started seeing patients the next morning. The staff were so relieved that we were there to help. We told them, ‘Go home. Take care of your family. Take care of yourself.’”

Smith’s DMAT could be re-deployed to Puerto Rico after Thanksgiving.