Tulane University Junior Jeffrey Collins had only lived in his New Orleans ground level apartment two days when Hurricane Katrina roared up the Gulf Coast aimed at Louisiana.

“We were told to evacuate,” said Collins. “I’ve been through seven hurricanes down there, so I thought leaving was pretty good idea.”

At midnight on Sunday, Aug. 28, just hours before Katrina made landfall, he and seven friends hastily packed up a few belongings and jumped into a couple of cars and headed for Texas.

“I grabbed some pictures, my computer, camera, clothes and left,” Collins said. “My apartment is probably under water and my things are gone, but I’m okay with that. It’s all just stuff…it can be replaced.”

After several days in Houston and Dallas and hearing about the destruction of New Orleans, Collins figured he’d better come up with another plan for his junior year. “We figured we didn’t have a school to go, with Tulane right downtown.”

So, he headed home to Wilmington. “I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d do, but once I got here things worked out great,” Collins said.

He is now one of seven students from universities in Louisiana enrolled at UNCW. He can’t say enough good things about UNCW.

“Incredible is the only way to describe how we’ve been treated,” Collins said. “Everyone here has bent over backwards for us. Every administrator, every professor keep asking if there is anything they can do for us. It’s amazing.”

Collins’ mother is Dr. Edna Collins, an interim chair for the department of curricular studies in the education department. He readily admits his transition here has been easier than most students, but doesn’t think he’s been given any special treatment.

“Everybody, including the students we’ve met, is great to all of us,” Collins, the mechanical engineering major said. “We’ve all been made to feel incredibly welcome here.”

“They’re a really great group of students,” said Anne Marie Bell, associate director of admissions. “They’re very enthusiastic. They’ll do fine here.”

The seven students from Tulane and the University of New Orleans are registered at UNCW as visiting students, meaning they’re not here to earn a degree, Bell said. “And due to these unusual circumstances, we tried to streamline the entry process. For instance we didn’t require transcripts.”

“They’re wonderful young people,” Bell said “I’m glad we could do our small part to help them.”

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors will waive all tuition and fees for students uprooted by Hurricane Katrina. “The seven students won’t have to pay anything to attend UNCW this year,” said Emily Bliss, UNCW financial aid director. “Yes, it is unusual, but then we’ve never taken in hurricane displaced students before.”

The campus bookstore is also offering a helping hand. It is giving the new students their books and supplies for free, if they want them, said store manager Tanya Szulak. “We’re glad to help,” Szulak said.

“That’s great,” said Collins, when told about the waived tuition and the bookstore offer. “I certainly didn’t expect anything like this…it’s a very nice surprise.”