Pamela Waterman's biggest trepidation as she left for a three-week Red Cross volunteer stint with Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief efforts was the fear that the best of her ability wouldn't be enough to really help.

Otherwise, the 19-year-old Conquest native wasn't fearful of leaving New Year's Eve for an unknown situation in an unknown state.

Her parents, Carol and Cyrus Waterman, made up for their only child's lack of nerves on her volunteer trip to Biloxi, Miss., a casino and beach resort city that lost 5,000 of its 25,000 structures to Katrina.

“They can be nervous for me,” said Waterman, a personable 2004 Port Byron High School graduate.

The Watermans are not the only parents swallowing down nerves while sending their college-aged progeny for three weeks of volunteer work.

Waterman is one of 33 Keuka College students who are spending three weeks of their December and January breaks helping with Gulf Coast relief efforts.

The Yates County liberal arts campus of an estimated 1,000 undergraduates requires all of its students to spend 140 hours in a field period each year getting experience in a real-life setting of what they are studying.

The college calls it “experiential learning,” but in times of need, its students often select a philanthropic setting for their field period. After Sept. 11, nine students were sent through the Yates County Red Cross chapter to help with New York City relief efforts, said Tamara Day, an AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteer serving as Keuka College's community service coordinator.

Keuka's field period has an origin in service. During World War II, it was created so nursing students could continue their studies while providing medical care.

Waterman, a childhood education major, completed a field period in a Weedsport Central School District fourth-grade classroom last year, but with the devastation of the two storms, she lighted up when she learned about the Red Cross deployment opportunity early this fall.

“Most of my friends are deploying because they want to help people,” said Waterman, a sophomore. “It's a cliché, obvious reason but we want to help people.”

The college values what their students learn by applying classroom knowledge to real-life helping experiences, said Sally Daggett, associate director for Keuka College's center for experiential learning.

“We seem to draw students that want to give,” Daggett said.

Waterman selected Keuka in part because of this kind of community spirit and its focus on learning outside the classroom.

There was some impatience on the part of students to be able to put their good will into action, but the Red Cross disaster volunteer process involves some in-depth, necessary training, Day said.

“As Americans we want instant gratification, and students wanted to go immediately, but we couldn't send them immediately so we started raising funds for the Red Cross,” said Day. The result was $1,000 and a truck full of clothes.

Most students will be able to get credit for their hurricane relief field periods, but one student went despite not being able to get credit, Day said.

The students prepared for their deployments over the past several months, completing training by Yates County Red Cross staff on Sunday evenings and during one all-day Saturday training.

About one-third of the students have already deployed.

One of Waterman's college friends is currently signing out rental cars for volunteers for her Red Cross deployment. Waterman was not told what she would be doing in Biloxi for her volunteer work, but she hoped to be able to do public relations, one of the training areas she completed.

Waterman was ready to do whatever she needed to do to help. Even the less glamorous jobs are important, Waterman said, because they are building blocks in a bigger effort.

Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net