A 2004 Handley High School Graduate experienced firsthand the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that shook Chile.

Allyson Caudill is a field director for WorldTeach Chile. She was in her 16th floor apartment at 3:30 in the morning when the earthquake hit. Caudill says the tremors woke her up.

She says she stood in a doorway waiting for the quake to pass. It threw her TV into her computer and sent her bookshelf on top of her bed. Caudill says she was one of the lucky ones. "There are people here that I care about very deeply that have been greatly affected. There are two million Chileans that have been affected by this which is one in eight which is a huge numbers and not only the earthquake, but the tsunamis that followed have taken out entire little towns in the south and it's heart wrenching, it is," says Caudill.

Caudill contacted her parents who live in Winchester, before they heard about the quake, to let them know she was okay. She says she is not leaving Chile and its people now in their time of need, if ever. Schools were scheduled to start March 3rd, but the earthquake has postponed that for many.