After an F5 tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo., in 2011, it left one Harding student without parents or a home. The storm resulted in $2.8 billion in damage and the loss of 158 lives.
Quinton Anderson, a freshman at Harding, was a victim of this tragedy and has been overcoming the challenges created by that fateful May afternoon.
“I looked up to my left and saw sky and I knew the roof was gone, and as I was realizing the roof was gone, the back wall I was sitting against came down and smashed me, that’s the last thing I remember,” Anderson said.
A classmate and friend of Anderson from home, Ryan Snyder, said he immediately texted all of his friends to see if they were OK, but Anderson was the only one who did not text back.
Once he was found by a neighbor he faced seven hours of triage to treat multiple injuries including: a fractured skull, shattered orbital bone, shattered vertebrae, cuts and abrasions, decompressed lungs and a lacerated spleen. Even after a year he has to wear a shin guard to prevent agitation to the skin grafts on his leg.
The extreme devastation created by the storm received media attention and community outreach. Thousands of volunteers poured into Joplin to help, which drew the attention of the national government.
President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech for the graduating class of 2012 one year after the storm and personally addressed Anderson. With themes of perseverance and hope, the speech was personal and provided many stories that showed the outreach given to the people of Joplin.
“We can define our lives not by what happens to us, but by how we respond, we choose to carry on,” Obama said in the speech.
“I’m not a fan of his political stance, but it was pretty awesome, it’s a privilege that he addressed me,” Anderson said. “He’s a nice guy.”
Snyder said that Obama’s visit will be something he will always remember.
“He gave a really good speech and he made a point to shake most of the graduates hands,” Snyder said. “That’s something all of us will be able to talk about for the rest of our lives.”
Today, Anderson studies cellular and molecular biology. He is coping with his loss but is pressing on.
“After the storm, there were different realizations, and I decided to come to Harding,” Anderson said. “There’s only one way to go in life and that’s forward. If you don’t go forward, you’re just going to keep falling down again and again.”
