Leading with compassion: Alum guides hurricane relief efforts at her school

In the heart of the flooded streets, Diana (LoConti) Krupyak stood in the cafeteria of Florida's Gulf High School, surrounded by towering piles of donated goods. “It was really unlike anything I had ever seen before,” she reflected, a mixture of disbelief and gratitude washing over her.

After hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated the Tampa Bay area, Diana—a  Heidelberg alumna and long-time Gulf Coast resident—felt compelled to help. The 2012 graduate, now wife and mother of three, found herself not just a teacher, but a point of hope for families struggling to rebuild.

Diana shared that many homes and vehicles in her Port New Richey community took on between 4 to 8 feet of water. Hurricane Helene had already created a disaster for many residents, and one week later, Hurricane Milton brought even more devastation.

“We were worried about damage to our own home during Helene and as we sat there that night watching all of the updates on social media—people posting their homes flooding, trying to escape neighborhoods, people rescuing others on kayaks and boats. We felt extremely fortunate that our home was spared,” she recalled.

‘These are our kids’

Immediately after Helene hit, Diana didn’t hesitate to jump in. “These are our kids. This is our family,” she said, recalling her determination to step up. Alongside her husband and colleagues at Gulf High School, where she serves as the Assessment Coordinator, she approached the administration to coordinate relief efforts. The response was swift and stunning.

Diana’s efforts led to a huge hurricane donation drive at the school.

“I got up that next morning and the first thing I did was start texting with a few others at my school to see if they were interested in working with me on this project. We then went to administration, and it just snowballed from there.”

Overwhelming relief response

Word of the donation drive started spreading via social media and several nearby schools joined the effort. The school opened its gym on Sunday. “When we arrived, there were already people waiting to donate and the donations just kept coming in,” Diana said.

Soon, the community started to arrive to receive much-needed necessities. Diana estimated that about 50 volunteers—students, alumni, retired staff, district personnel, and others—came together to sort items. The donations were organized by category, from clothing and food to household essentials and kids' supplies, allowing families to find exactly what they needed with ease.

The response continued, with donations pouring in well into the following week. "I did not expect this level of support from our community. It was overwhelming," Diana shared. “Many were hugging the volunteers, thanking us, some were crying. It was really unlike anything I had ever seen before.”

Hurricane Milton: A Different Focus

Unfortunately, Hurricane Milton hit shortly after the initial drive, causing additional damage and increasing the number of families in need. Now, Diana and her family were forced to transition from helpers to having to evacuate themselves.

“We were extremely lucky that we had minimal damage with both storms as we returned. We were very fortunate,” she said with gratitude.

Post-hurricanes, Diana’s school family continues to respond to the needs of students and their families. Donations are still pouring and there’s more work to be done.

“Unfortunately, Hurricane Milton came so quickly after that we are now starting many of these processes over. We now have additional families that need assistance, so we will be continuing to collect items and try to help as much as we can,” Diana said. “I continue to get messages and emails from individuals asking if they can drop off donations, so now that we are back in school I plan to continue collection efforts to assist families as they indicate need.”

To further aid the relief, the Pasco Education Foundation donated around $10,000, distributing funds to local schools to support hurricane recovery efforts.

A lasting impact

As the community works to rebuild, Diana hopes this experience leaves a lasting impact on her students, who are no strangers to hurricanes but have now experienced one uproot their lives.

“This has been extremely eye-opening for many of our students,” Diana said. “I hope that they continue to lead with compassion and help others when they can.”