Oak Grove students will go back to school Thursday, three days after an EF-3 tornado destroyed 500 homes.
Many students spent their days off, offering a hand wherever it was needed.
Seventh grader Colby McAllister helped a family friend by walking through a large field, picking up trash.
“As you can see, his barn got torn down,” McAllister explained. “I bet a lot of things were lost and it just feels horrible to me that a storm can do this to people, so I try to help in anyway I can.”
Caleigh Himes wasn’t directly impacted by the storm, but her boyfriend was.
“I’ve been here both days since seven in the morning and didn’t leave until nine at night,” she said.
She helped the Hipsher family dig through the rubble, looking for anything they could save.
Senior Ben Hipsher is trying to process it all.
“It’s crazy to see that you're going through all this house debris, and you're seeing stuff you just saw on the shelf not even a day ago,” he said.
His younger brothers, Lincoln and Gabe, turned 15 on Thursday.
Though they didn’t have a lot to celebrate, they were surrounded by family and friends.
“We’re helping our aunt clean up the house, clean up the glass and pack things,” said Gabe.
“And pack just a bunch of pictures and stuff, the memorabilia that’s left over,” Lincoln added.
Many of the teens we talked with are ready to go back to school.
“After all the destruction I've seen and heard about, just going back to school will make it seem normal again,” McAllister hopes.
“I feel like maybe people will be more connected now then they were,” added Ben Hipsher. “They will see what people are going through at their home life for sure now. So people may be more friendly to others, it may make it better in school, maybe less bullying and everything.”
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