Led by Associate Professor Mallory Prucha, Disaster Day is an annual engagement event in partnership with TTUHSC Interprofessional Education (IPE), TTU Veterinary Sciences and the School of Theatre & Dance to create a simulated natural disaster. The goal is to engage and educate students from a variety of healthcare and first-response-based programs to meet the needs of victims of disaster in a real time setting. To create the simulation, Disaster Day incorporates actors, make-up artists, and event personnel. Student volunteers are coordinated by a management team from the Arts in the Community Course.

As part of the planning for Disaster Day, Mallory Prucha interviews individuals that have been impacted by life-altering events from an array of backgrounds, hoping to represent their stories and contribute to the depth of the training. Actors often bring stories from their lived experiences. The program benefits the community through a one-of-a-kind training exercise for emergency services personnel, improving both immediate and long-term development of a skilled labor force and proactive response. Equally, it serves to expose students of theatre to a unique application of their skillsets.

Award Recipient:

• Mallory Prucha, Associate Professor of Costume Design, Associate Director of Academic and Curricular Affairs, JT & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts

Community Partners:

• The City of Lubbock
• Covenant Hospital
• American Windmill Museum
• UMC and Amarillo Emergency Centers
• Lubbock and Amarillo Fire and Rescue