Five months after a devastating tornado ripped through Hackleburg, UNA student Sarah Paige Holmes still considers the storm-ravaged town her home.

The tornado outbreak, which tore through several parts of north Alabama, was the most destructive storm Holmes had ever encountered. She and her family had not been in their storm shelter for 12 minutes when the tornado struck and wiped away her apartment complex.

Holmes and her family felt a sense of shock and grief when they stepped out of the storm cellar to see the home they once loved and shared lie in rubble on the ground, she said.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I kept thinking it’s not really happening. You always think something like that would never happen to you.”

Holmes and her family gathered personal items, such as clothes, electronics and photos, from what was left of their home the night of the storm and temporarily relocated to Brilliant, about 30 miles from Hackleburg.

Adjusting to life at UNA since the storm has been positive for Holmes, who transferred from Bevill State Community College to the university this fall. Holmes said it had always been her plan to attend UNA this year, and the fact that she is able to live in Florence now provides extra relief from the devastation she experienced months ago.

“I love it up here,” she said. “It’s a great atmosphere, and it’s actually kind of helped me because I don’t have to sit in (Hackleburg) every day.”

In August, UNA secured a $15,000 grant through the Disaster Relief Fund for Postsecondary Education Students, which is an integral part of the Caring for the Pride fund.

Holmes was the first UNA student to receive a $1,000 portion of that grant, which she said helped her because the extra funds her family saved for her to attend UNA were spent on emergency necessities immediately following the disaster.

Bobby Schiavi, a freshman from Sparkman High School, was asleep at home in Harvest the day of the April 27 tornadoes. He realized the severity of the storm after being awoken by the sound of several trees snapping and crashing in his backyard.

One of the heavy branches from the trees struck his family’s house, causing damage to the roof. Schiavi said he was fortunate his home was mostly spared from the tornado in Harvest, but his friends and neighbors weren’t so lucky.

“It’s going to be a while before things are back to normal,” he said. “There are still horrible piles of debris and people still working every day, trying to rebuild and clean up.”

Like many area residents across the north Alabama region, Schiavi’s family was without power for more than two weeks and had little cell phone reception to contact others. Schiavi said the tornado that ripped through Harvest was sporadic in where it landed, but that the community came together to help each other during the storm.

“I feel lucky,” he said. “Anything anybody can do to help out would be appreciated. There are a lot of people who were not as lucky as me or others.”

Since August, Student Financial Services has awarded 15 varying amounts of the disaster relief grant to UNA students impacted by the April 27 tornadoes. Officials said the grant money is running out quickly, but students can still apply by calling 256-765-4278 to apply for disaster relief funds.