When hurricanes threatened, a university had to decide when to close—and when to reopen

The situation. During two severe Atlantic hurricane seasons, FSU Panama City faced repeated threats from major storms. University leaders had to make decisions about campus closures, assess conditions following storms, and determine when it was safe to resume operations. Students, faculty, and staff needed timely, reliable information throughout.

What I did. I served as the communications lead on the campus crisis leadership team, participating in decisions about when the university should close ahead of approaching storms. I was responsible for communicating those decisions to students, faculty, and staff, providing updates on campus conditions following storms, and keeping the university community informed throughout the closure and recovery period until campus fully reopened.

Why it mattered. Emergency communications wasn't something that happened after leadership made a decision. It was part of the decision-making process. I had to understand the operational situation, anticipate what different audiences needed to know, and communicate clearly as conditions changed.