Arianna Boshara received news that turned her world upside down Jan. 12, 2010. Her mother, Lora Iannotti, was trapped in Haiti after the country experienced a devastating earthquake.

“First I was really confused,” Boshara, sophomore, said. “Then it kind of hit me. ‘Mom’s down there, I haven’t heard from her.’ Next thing I felt was numb.”

Before the earthquake, Iannotti went to Haiti often. Her first trip was in 1990. After graduating college, she ventured to the third world country to practice her French and volunteer. The experience was life-changing.

“I can remember the moment. After dinner each night [the other volunteers] and I sat under the stars and spent hours talking about what we’d seen, and trying to sort through it. One night, some Haitian women sat with us,” Iannotti said. “It was then that I realized I’d always go back.”

Iannotti soon fell in love with Haiti’s culture. She enjoyed listening to Haitian music and loved the colorful Haitian artwork. She described the people as religious, hopeful and thankful despite all of their setbacks and the poverty they endure. Despite the dangers (diseases are common in Haiti and the water and some foods are dangerous to consume), it was a simple choice for her to go. Iannotti was careful to make every precaution to preserve her safety, but the earthquake came unexpectedly.

“We [Iannotti and her colleagues] were staying in Leogane, very close to the epicenter,” Iannotti said. “The first thing you sense is the noise. Like a truck or train. Then the shaking started. The floor was jarring violently.”

Iannotti managed to escape the crumbling building unhurt, but others were not so fortunate. She volunteered tirelessly through the rest of that day, filling needles with morphine, handing out antibiotics, making splints out of cardboard and dressing wounds.

“It was horrible,” Iannotti said. “I will never forget what I saw.”

However, even as Iannotti saw destruction and pain, she also found hope. The night after the earthquake, everybody who survived slept outside on the ground instead of in the destroyed buildings.

“After an earthquake, there are ongoing aftershocks. We were lying on the ground and feeling the whole earth move. You feel so small and insignificant,” Iannotti said. “But what you could hear all night was singing. The people were just trying to get their spirits up.”

When Iannotti finally returned home, her family was overjoyed to see her. But Iannotti decided, despite the sadness she witnessed, to return to Haiti. She currently researches malnutrition’s effects on children and is helping nourish the hungry children with Nutributter, a peanut butter paste with many nutritious ingredients.

After going through such a worrisome time, Boshara was nervous to see her mother return to Haiti regularly again. But through it all, Boshara wanted to share the experience. This spring break, Boshara packed her bags and journeyed to Haiti to see the country her mother is so passionate about.

“I hadn’t been to a third world country before, so I was trying to soak it all up,” Boshara said. “I was overwhelmed and excited.”

One of the first things Boshara noticed was that she was a minority there, in race and in language. But these facts did not discourage her. She spent the week visiting markets, the beach and schools and seeing the places where Nutributter is produced. A memorable activity for her was visiting several schools. The second school she visited in particular struck her.

“The building was run-down and open, and half of it had a roof. There were holes in the cinderblock walls so light was shining through,” Boshara said. “This time I really got to interact with the kids. They kept touching my hair and skin because of my skin color.”

Iannotti’s work really came alive for Boshara when she watched as the students were measured for her mother’s studies.

“You’d see a kid and think he was a perfectly healthy five-year-old, only to find out he was nine or ten. It was shocking,” Boshara said.

But she also noticed beauty in Haiti, and cannot wait to return.

“The spirit of the whole city was so lively. They don’t have much, but they are so thankful,” Boshara said. “I want to do more clinic work and work with the kids more for sure.”

For Iannotti, bringing her daughter to such a personal place was just as amazing.

“It was incredible. I’ve been imagining it for a long time,” Iannotti said. “I feel privileged to take my children and have an experience like that with them and let them see the world.”