Hi guys, my name is Shawn Cervantes, and I am currently a 3rd-year Mechanical Engineering student. I have thought long and hard about this, debating whether I should start this. But on May 29th, a fire broke out at my apartment complex (University Gardens), and the fire unfortunately spread to our unit and burned it down. Everything that I owned was caught in the fire, and I am still unable to access my unit to see if anything survived, but as you can see from the image of my apartment. The roof caved in, and the inside was burned. I lost everything.

This has been a truly difficult time for me and everyone else affected, whether it be the UCR students or families living there. We are all trying our best to make the best of the situation, but I know I can’t do this alone. Any support you can offer would mean the world to me as I try to work and rebuild and make the best of what I have. Again, anything from support to donations will help, however small. I truly appreciate anything, and it would mean so much. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and I hope this doesn't happen to anyone cause it is truly tragic.