EAST LANSING, Mich. — Many Michigan State University (MSU) students decided to leave campus and head home after Monday's deadly mass shooting.
However, for some students, "getting home" is much more than a short car ride.
FOX 17 told you Wednesday how a network of alumni and volunteers are helping students get home.
"I think just being in my own room, in my own house in another state, and seeing other things and everything around MSU right now is so sad," Karina Rodriguez, a senior at Michigan State, said.
Rodriguez is one flight away from going home to Brownsville, Texas.
"So, I am as far away as you can get from Michigan, and I don't get to see my parents very often," Rodriguez said. "Nobody knows I'm coming home."
Paula Reser and her army of volunteers, like Kellie Harris, are the ones who have made this possible.
"You know, I felt like what she was trying to do, it's just such a light in the dark time," Harris said.
Harris has driven more than a handful of students hundreds of miles to where they needed to go. Harris says she stands ready to help anyone else.
"We're going to be here to lift each other up and get out of this dark time, and Paula has been a huge part of that. So many volunteers have been a huge part of that, and I just couldn't be more proud to be a Lansing resident and just be here for this," Harris added.
"I never really thought that people were this generous, and I know ... that the world is full of generous people, but I have never felt so much, like, to support from my community; I got a sponsor for my flight home and then they even offered if I wanted to come back," Rodriguez added.
The student says she plans to spend a week at home.
"I think I just need, like, a good week just to kind of get things sorted and come back and try to feel it out," Rodriguez said.
So, with graduation in mind, this MSU senior has set her alarms ready to board a plane back home.
"Right now there's a huge cloud that kind of is over East Lansing right now, so even getting away from town right now has been helping a lot. Having conversations with people and not just talking about, you know, what happened has really helped. So I definitely think going home, even if it's just a week, having my parents and my siblings and my family, you know, will help a lot," Rodriguez said.
Harris and Rodriguez say they have made lasting friendships through this experience.
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