Updated Sep. 24, 2019 2:05 PM
Most college students working part-time jobs keep a steady eye on the clock, waiting for their shift to end. But for Satchel Smith, a shift during Imelda's flooding in Beaumont, Texas, became a 32-hour, life-changing experience.
"Meet Satchel. He is the only employee here at Homewood Suites in Beaumont," Angela Chandler, a guest staying at the hotel during the devastating flooding, posted on Facebook. "He has manned the phones, answered each of our questions, ensured that we have had a hot cup of coffee or tea, and helped serve us a hot breakfast. He has handled this situation with grace, kindness and a beautiful smile on his face."
21-year-old Satchel Smith poses for a photo after a 32-hour odyssey amid Tropical Storm Imelda. (Facebook / Angela Chandler)
A 21-year-old college student-athlete at Lamar University, Smith normally works a single eight-hour shift per week at the hotel. However, during Imelda, Smith worked as many different roles as he possibly could to care for the guests and other stranded locals.
Thanks to the help from some of the hotel guests and encouragement from his coworkers that called in to check on him, Smith helped pull an entire group of people through the trying time.
"It was a bit mind-blowing," Smith told ABC News. "It’s kind of overwhelming, but with others helping you, it gets kind of easier as it goes."
Amid the craziness going on inside the hotel, Smith also had to deal with the frustration of his car flooding during the intense storm.
According to Chandler, he never took the smile off his face.
"He’s part-time, his car flooded in the middle of all this, and there was one point when he looked sad and exhausted, but he never said a word about himself or complained about being tired," Chandler told AccuWeather. "He just kept working and it's one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen."
Chandler and her coworkers, who were at the hotel for a training session, were blown away by the poise displayed by Smith.
"We actually went to bed the night before not realizing what the weather was going to do that night," Chandler said. "So we woke up the next morning and realized that it was flooding, classes were canceled and the poor guy was there. We knew he had been there the night before and everyone was scrambling around in the kitchen. He had the phone on his shoulder in there helping with breakfast and we had a couple of other guests at the hotel helping by making eggs and another guy making coffee, it was just great."
1/32
In this photo provided by the Chambers County Sheriff's Office, floodwaters surround a home, Thursday, Sept 19, 2019, in Winnie, Texas. The area has experienced heavy flooding due to Tropical Depression Imelda. (Brian Hawthorne/Chambers County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Smith said he didn't know much about cooking before the storm, but thanks to the help of a quickly assembled team, managed to put together breakfast and dinner for the guests.
"So basically I only put out cereal and toast for them, but one of the guests said they were really hungry and that wasn’t going to cut it, so he asked if I needed help in the kitchen because I really don’t know how to cook," Smith said. "So I went in there and made eggs and the normal breakfast stuff and everything ended up turning out good... [for dinner] they all volunteered to help, so it was about seven of us making chicken Alfredo and garlic bread. Two of them were cleaners, two made pasta and the older man made the Alfredo sauce for us. We had leftovers so the other hotels called and asked if some of their guests could come over and eat."
Chandler, who joked that she may have accidentally damaged a griddle when trying to help cook, was also encouraged by the group that rallied together to make the best of the situation.
"You can’t help but look up and see the good that came out of that situation. You can put your head down and worry and cry, but it won’t get you anywhere," she said. "It’s just neat to see the good that has happened out of a bad situation."
After being cared for by Smith amid all the commotion, Chandler wanted to post the Facebook photo to share her gratitude. Little did she know, the post would be shared more than 13,000 times and garner 6,000 comments and counting.
The post has captured the attention of major news outlets around the country and popular TV shows that want to interview the pair.
Before she shared the story, Chandler said she didn't even know what it meant for something to go viral.
RELATED:
"I was sitting there on a chair when I looked up and thought what can I do to help this guy, and I just thought that I should blast it on Facebook. I had never made a public post on Facebook before, but I asked him if I could get his picture so that I could brag on him for doing a great job," Chandler said. "So he flashed his big smile and I typed up the post and put it out there and had no clue where that would go. Then I had my friends texting me asking if I realized that I was going viral and I didn’t even know what that meant. But he just did a really nice job. I knew he must have been scared because he’s what, 21 years old?"
Chandler has a son around the same age as Smith, which made her more sympathetic to what he must have been experiencing in the throes of Imelda.
After she got home following the storm, Chandler made sure to call the hotel to pass along a good word. As it turned out, Satchel was right back at work when she called.
"I said ‘Satchel what are you doing answering this phone? You need to be in bed!’" Chandler said. "He actually sent me a friend request and messaged me thanking me for sharing what I had seen. He said it’s amazing what can happen in your life overnight ... He took care of everybody."
No comments:
Post a Comment