For some students at Hesston College, the televised destruction from Hurricane Katrina is both horrible and instructive.

Nine freshmen are enrolled in the college's new disaster management program. The school is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA and the program trains leaders for the church's disaster response organization.

Russ Gaeddert, who directs the courses, says Hesston is one of about 100 schools around the country with degrees in emergency management planning. He says the recent catastrophes will only increase demand for such courses.

The classes have watched the televised coverage of Katrina, noting which organizations have responded and what they've done. Later this fall, some of the students say they'll spend fall break working on the relief effort.