Emergency Relief for Sherlyn Contreras: Tornado Recovery Fund

Urgent Need After Devastating Tornado

On Friday, May 16, one of our dedicated graduate students at Washington University in St. Louis lost nearly everything when the St. Louis tornado tore through our neighborhoods. The powerful storm ripped the roof completely off their home, leaving it structurally unsafe and uninhabitable.

As their professor and mentor, I've started this fund to help them navigate this unexpected crisis. Graduate students often live on limited stipends, making recovery from such a devastating event especially challenging without community support.

How Your Donation Will Help

Your contribution will directly assist with:

• Emergency temporary housing costs

• Replacing essential household items and damaged belongings

• Moving expenses and storage fees

• Covering insurance deductibles

About Sherlyn

Sherlyn is starting their 3rd year in the Plant & Microbial Bioscience graduate program at WashU, where they are working on identifying resistance genes to devastating diseases in apple production. Beyond research, Sherlyn is committed to helping the community around them. They have been actively involved in the Young Scientist Program’s Continuing Mentoring branch, a 4-year program mentoring students in under-resourced high schools in St. Louis. Furthermore, Sherlyn has taken a leadership role in Latinx Graduate Student Association as well as the WUSTL ProSPER science communication program. Despite this devastating setback, they remain committed to their academic work and our community.

Community Support Makes All the Difference

Any amount you can give will make a meaningful difference as they rebuild their life after this disaster. If you cannot donate financially, please consider sharing this campaign with others who might be able to help.

Thank you for your compassion and generosity during this difficult time.

Ben Mansfeld – Assistant professor of Biology – Washington University in St. Louis