[StBernard] Lanasa's dream reality

[Westley Annis]

Lanasa's dream reality

By WILLIAM WEATHERS
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Jan 28, 2007

There's still nothing for Frank Lanasa to go back home to in his native
Chalmette.

Because of the damage brought on by Hurricane Katrina, which sent eight to
10 feet of water into his family's home, the majority of the memories
attached to his childhood are gone.

More than a year-and-a-half later, Corinne Drive remains virtually a ghost
town, still visibly scarred from Katrina's wrath.

Today, Lanasa's home is gutted and remains unoccupied.

"There's not much to go back to," Lanasa said.

So Lanasa, like so many other Katrina evacuees, tried to press forward.

Lanasa still recalls the day after playing in a jamboree football game for
Holy Cross, he piled into a car with his parents to seek shelter outside of
harm's way. That took him to Gonzales and the home of a relative that wound
up housing up to 10 people.

The road to anywhere, much less Harvard University, appeared to be out of
the realm of reality for Lanasa given the chaos that had engulfed his life.

Throughout the tumult, though, Lanasa - a straight-A student who expects to
graduate in the top five of his class - never lost sight of his academic
goals and athletic pursuits while transitioning into a new school at East
Ascension and different surroundings.

"I knew my parents weren't the richest people, that I had to keep up my
grades and not lose everything that I had been working for during the
hurricane," Lanasa said. "I had to stay focused."

Lanasa, an honors student, continued to maintain a 4.4 grade point average.
He really showed off his academic prowess on the American College Test with
an aggregate score of 32, scoring perfect 36s on two components on the test
in English and Reading.

That academic acumen helped Lanasa, also a defensive back and special teams
standout at East Ascension, to open the door to Harvard University, where he
could realize a goal at attending the prestigious Ivy League school and
potentially play college football.

"I've been wanting to go there since I was little but I didn't think I'd
have the chance," Lanasa said. "I figured I'd go for the best."

Lanasa also made a name for himself on the football field for EA, changing
from wide receiver at Holy Cross to safety where he earned first team
All-District 7-4A and All-Metro honors for the Spartans last season with 32
tackles and seven pass break-ups.

"When he came from Holy Cross he had never played defense," EA defensive
coordinator Jason Brown said. "We was a wide receiver but he had such good
instincts. We moved him to defensive back and he was real aggressive. It was
a natural spot for him."

Lanasa made an official visit to Harvard in early December, going through a
comprehensive academic review along with touring the school's facilities and
eventually meeting with head football coach Tim Murphy, who informed him he
could play safety and play special teams.

The school's priorities certainly weren't lost on Lanasa by the time he
returned home. About a week later, he received word that he had been
accepted by the school.

"It would have been hard for me to imagine," Lanasa said, "things turning
out like this."