School, local community restores NCSSM teacher's faith in humanity

As floodwaters rapidly submerged her home, Cristel Miller, a chemistry teacher at NCSSM-Morganton, feared the worst. In the aftermath of the devastation, it was the unwavering support from her student, Levi Dozier, and selfless efforts of the Burke community that have left a lasting impression, restoring her faith in humanity when she needed it most.

Even today, her thoughts often take her back to that life-shaking event of Sept. 27.

Miller, a San Bernardino native, moved to Burke a year ago with her son, Brandon, who was picked to play Division I lacrosse at Queens University in Charlotte. Miller scored a job at NCSSM-Morganton and purchased her first home, near the Catawba River, east of Morganton.

Miller, like most, prepared for the storm by stocking up on food, making sure she and Brandon had essential items for the weekend.

“We thought it was just lots of rain, and it would be no big deal,” Miller began.

Around 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon that all changed. As rain fell outside, Miller and her son sat in the house reading. Cell phone reception began to get spotty, and Miller decided to go outside for a better look.

“... And then all of a sudden, you just see water slowly starting to come up from the drains,” Miller explained. “It was like someone turned the tub on and left it on.”

Floodwaters crept in slowly, inching up from the floorboard, slipping beneath the wall through the cracks, as if the house itself was being quietly swallowed.

Soon after, the smell of sewer drainage filled the rooms, signaling it was time to head out. With water then reaching her hips, Miller and Brandon rounded up their animals and headed for the car to drive to Jacksonville, N.C., to be with family.

For Miller, the next few days were a blur. Her phone chimed with notifications of pictures and video footage of affected areas. A photo taken of her home showed water near her house had receded.

Miller described what she saw as post-apocalyptic, like a scene from “The Walking Dead.” Her first order of business was to clean out everything in the house and move it outside.

During cleanup, Miller received an email from students with questions about chemistry lab. Miller said she emailed students to postpone assignments and gave details about her house flood. She included a photo to inform them she would be cleaning her home and might have limited contact.

Receiving the email, Levi Dozier, a student in Miller’s chemistry class, shared the email with his parents. Dozier’s mom, Christy, replied offering assistance.

Levi and his family showed up Saturday at 8 a.m. with a trailer full of supplies.

“It was a whole mobile construction kit on wheels. They showed up and we got the entire house gutted in one day,” Miller said. “If they hadn’t come in and helped, I honestly have no idea what we would have done.”

For Miller, words can’t fill the space of the immense gratitude from the outpouring of support she’s received.

“I think that was the coolest part of the whole thing, is just watching the capability of all these different factions of human beings coming together and not even saying anything other than ‘What do you need me to do?’” Miller said.

Members of the community have donated drywall, insulation, and electrical services free of charge. A laboratory manager at NCSSM-Morganton has offered her parent’s studio apartment as temporary housing for Miller until they are able to move back in.

The road to recovery for Miller has been a process and there’s still a long way to go, but the Burke community has restored Miller’s faith in humanity.

Miller expressed a sense of frustration when trying to find the words.

“I don’t even know how to say thank you,” Miller said. “What these people have done, this whole group, thank you seems insignificant, it doesn’t cover it... I don’t know what does and I’ve been having a hard time reconciling that.”

Where Miller is from, she said, it’s every man for himself. She admits that past experiences had tainted her faith in humanity. This new experience surprised her, reminding her that there are still genuinely good people in the world.

“This is actually what the human response is supposed to be about, not based on your political party or your religion or what church you go to. These are the things you do to help each other as human beings,” Miller said.