Some MBA students in the School of Management spent their spring break in New Orleans, helping ongoing efforts to rebuild the hurricane-devastated area.

It was the sixth consecutive year UB MBAs participated in renewal efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

This year, 18 current MBA students and two MBA alumni took part in the nine-day trip that focused on the St. Bernard Parish region of New Orleans. The volunteers worked on a number of projects, including installing drywall, rehabbing a church, potting 300 trees and planting 40 trees in a state park to aid in the prevention of salt water intrusion into the soil.

The MBA students who took part in the trip were first-year students Alex Bateman, Kristen Ilecki, David Kim, Mike Kinbaum, Marita Paradez, Brett Perla, Jeanette Russell Shepherd, Ghazal Taikandi and Landry Willard; second-year students Rachel Lawrence, Nick Notarius, West Richter and Brian Wagner; and JD/MBA dual-degree students Annmarie Cellino, Nick Dambrosio, James Macri, Chris Maugans and Bridget Riley. The group was joined by alumni Anthony LaRosa, MBA ’12, and Dave Loder, MBA ’12.

Operation Southern Comfort, a Syracuse-based initiative that has conducted 42 trips to help Gulf Coast areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, coordinated the volunteer work.

The trip was made possible through financial contributions from the School of Management Alumni Association, UB’s Sub-Board campus service organization and Mary Ann Rogers, adjunct assistant professor in the departments of Accounting and Law and Organization and Human Resources.