This website features a collection of stories, interviews and images from many individuals associated with the university and the community, as part of a reflection on Hurricane Helene and the year that has passed since then. It documents our response and recovery and highlights the partnerships at work to rebuild and prepare for future challenges. Also, this video previews an upcoming four-part series that documents the university’s response.
This is a remarkable project of the University Communications team, and I appreciate all it took in the moment, and now a year later, to document this pivotal time in our history.
Message from Chancellor Heather Norris: September 26, 2025
Tomorrow marks one year since Hurricane Helene struck our community with unprecedented force, leaving devastation in its wake — from which many are still recovering. It was the biggest storm to hit our area in generations.
Amid the mud, water, landslides, lost homes and the lives that were torn apart — and lost — in Western North Carolina, our mountain community found the gifts that are most clearly revealed during times of extreme loss.
Like many, I find myself recalling the first hours and days of that incredible time. My most vivid memories are of those who were on the front lines — saving lives, clearing destruction, restoring power, cooking and serving meals, helping communicate critical information, mucking, mopping and repairing, but most of all, supporting one another.
This was all while, in those first minutes, hours and days, many of us were separated from our own families, not knowing their fate.
From the first moments of responding to immediate crises, to the long days, weeks and months of recovery that have followed, I remain heartened by the strength of community that is our university — and that extends into the High Country, the western region of our state and far beyond.
Countless acts of kindness, courage and collaboration marked the response, and Mountaineers — staff, faculty, students and alumni — came together with members of our High Country community, stepping up in remarkable ways and embodying the Mountain Strong spirit at the heart of our region.
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 5 to 8 p.m., Appalachian State University welcomes members of the App State and High Country communities to gather for a Community Appreciation Meal at Central Dining Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
A year ago, Central Dining Hall became a place of comfort, where members of our campus and Greater High Country community came together during a time of crisis for a much-needed hot meal in a facility with access to electricity, phone service and Wi-Fi. But much more than that, it provided important connections to family, friends, classmates and neighbors — as well as with those in the world beyond our crisis.
We've continued to offer these meals to our community, as our way of saying “We are stronger together,” and we are so pleased to welcome students, faculty, staff and our High Country neighbors back to Central Dining Hall to connect, share stories and celebrate the spirit that carried us through.
We’re building back stronger, together.
Heather Norris
Chancellor
At tomorrow’s Mountaineers football game against the Boise State Broncos, our football program will honor App State alumnus, football All-American and former head coach Shawn Clark with a No. 61 helmet sticker. Thank you to App State Athletics photographer Jon Pearl for this photo.
On Tuesday, I spent time with faculty and staff in Hickory during an App State Hickory Campus Connect event. These events are held regularly and are an opportunity for faculty and staff to spend time together and build professional connections in a relaxed environment. Thank you to Troy Tuttle in University Communications for joining us and capturing this photo during the event.
Last September, the university was closed for two weeks in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The staff of App State Campus Dining, along with volunteers from across the university, worked throughout the university’s closure to prepare and serve hot meals to campus and community members in need, free of charge. Over 80,000 meals were served from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11, 2024. Troy Tuttle in University Communications took this photo, one of the many the University Communications team captured at the time to help document our stories and experiences.
