Months after superstorm Sandy brought devastation upon much of the Northeast, two freshmen from Holy Cross H.S., Flushing, continue to bear the consequences.

Fortunately, they don’t have to do it alone.

Daeon Pierce and his family evacuated their Valley Stream, L.I., home before Sandy. They came back to find their home destroyed from an electrical fire. Pierce lost everything in his room.

Eddie O’Malley met Sandy personally when the storm flooded his Breezy Point home. When the family heard a rescue boat approach their house, he said, they realized this was their chance for survival.

“So we just took the dog and hopped on,” he said recalling the event. “It was very frightening.”

O’Malley stayed at his grandmother’s apartment with his family, and Pierce stayed in his friend’s house until their families could figure out something more permanent.

With the confusion and anxiety of dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, O’Malley said he was grateful to return to school.

“I’m just happy to be around people,” he said.

Being back in a school environment afforded the students a sense of structure amid the chaos. However, O’Malley said he was grateful that the structure was a little lenient when he had to miss a couple of assignments. Pierce said the most difficult assignments are the ones that require Internet connection, because he then has to rely on his friends for help. However, both say their goal is to stay on top of their academics.

“I don’t want to feel like I am taking advantage of it,” Pierce said.

In order to help them achieve their goal of a return to relative normalcy, the school community pitched in. Each student was asked to fill out a survey when he came back to school in order to let the administration know who was most  in need of help. Father Walter Jenkins, C.S.C., president, said 30 families were deeply affected and eight students lost nearly all their possessions.

When Father Jenkins discovered what had happened to Pierce and O’Malley, he did not hesitate to offer help.  He and Andrew D’Angelo, director of campus ministry, took the boys shopping. They were able to buy new jackets, clothes, shirts, shoes and even Angry Bird pajamas. Pierce also got a pair of eyeglasses.

“It was good that they took me shopping because I didn’t have anything but what I was wearing,” Pierce said. “It was awkward at first, but it was fun.  It was good to know that people were there for me in school.”

The teachers took the boys out for cheeseburgers afterwards.

“That’s how I knew that they were for real, that this is a family community,” O’Malley said of the understanding and respectful generosity he received from the entire school body. Both students said their teachers and peers have been providing them with invaluable support throughout the ordeal.

D’Angelo also had to evacuate his apartment in Howard Beach when it was flooded. He stayed in the friary at the school until he found his footing again. He said seeing how the students support each other and the support he received from the entire community has confirmed what he already knew about the school.

“We are a community, in the face of adversity and on every day,” he said.

Father Jenkins said the school also benefited from the generosity of people around the world. The school has received over $125,000 in financial contributions for the support of the families who were directly impacted by the storm. It is this generosity that has secured that not one student would have to leave Holy Cross because of the disaster.

Contributions came from many sources, including from many schools in the Holy Cross Network. The Congregation of Holy Cross, Moreau Province of Brothers and Priests, which operates Holy Cross H.S., donated $25,000. The Holy Cross Sisters at Angela Hall, a retirement facility adjacent to Holy Cross Academy in Kensington, Md., took up a collection among the retired sisters and sent in $300.

“I can say, although I am not surprised by people’s generosity, I am deeply moved,” Father Jenkins said.