Christina Saville’s home is situated on Dam Road in Mayflower, a once picturesque drive named for the nearby water barrier on the Arkansas River.

Today Saville’s road and much of her hometown resemble a war zone in the aftermath of the April 27 tornadoes that leveled homes and killed 16 people, including one elderly man who lived on her street.

Like many survivors who are still piecing their lives together, for now, a motel in Maumelle is home for Christina and her husband of 32 years, Michael.

On Saturday, May 17, Christina Saville returns to her second home at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, when she walks across the stage at the Jack Stephens Center and receives her bachelor’s degree in construction management in spite of the many odds against her.

“It’s been interesting; I’ve learned a lot more than I wanted,” Saville says, with a weary chuckle.

“We’re still waiting on an engineer to survey the house. It was literally lifted off the ground. I felt it come up and then get slammed back down by the weight of the trees in our yard,” she said.

“I always hated those trees, but I’ve rethought it since then,” Saville said.

The 50-year-old came to UALR much the same way that other non-traditional students end up going back to school – she was laid off from her job in the low voltage subcontracting industry during the economic downturn in 2009.

She received the Shelby Breedlove Transfer Scholarship from UALR, specifically geared for high-achieving community college students, after graduating with honors from Pulaski Technical College in 2011. She has continued to excel since coming to the university.

But, when dusk was beginning to settle in Mayflower on April 27, Saville and her husband hastily gathered some belongings, including as much of her schoolwork as they could find, and left, momentarily unsure of what was ahead.

Saville took her first final exam the next day, Monday, April 28, at UALR, wondering whether she would have a home to return to after gas leaks just two lots from her home sparked fires that were sure to spread.

As she attempted to finish her exams with her wits intact, something struck Saville with the same force as the hard winds that had just devastated her town.

“I realized that, as much as it means to me to have a degree, I wanted to just go home,” she said. “It really makes you realize what is most important … I did not do as well as I hoped on the exams, but I passed.”

Saville will graduate magna cum laude on Saturday. She is quick to note that while surviving a disaster only days ahead of finishing a college degree does require fortitude, the real heroes are the neighbors and complete strangers who have descended on her hometown since April 27.

“Life doesn’t stop. I had obligations, and I knew it was better if I finished what I started,” Saville said. “The real heroes were those who helped us afterwards. That’s where the story is, honestly.”

Some of those heroes included understanding professors and even classmates at UALR who range in age from 21 to 40 years.

“They couldn’t have been better through this whole thing,” Saville said of her fellow students. “They kept me laughing.”

Saville plans to continue her education this fall to pursue a master’s degree in construction management at UALR, knowing that if she stops now, the likelihood she’ll finish is “slim to none.”

“This is the industry I love,” she said, fully aware that she is entering an occupation filled mostly with men. “I know I will be an asset to the industry,” Saville said.

Saville said is grateful that she and her loved ones came away from the storm relatively unscathed. She credits her husband’s support for getting her through, and she is also grateful for the reminder of why she moved here from Florida in the first place.

“When my husband and I came to Arkansas in 1989, it felt like home,” she said. “I fell in love with the people. That statement has never been so accurate as these past weeks.”