Four years after levees broke less than a mile from Dillard University’s campus, submerging it under six feet of water and causing nearly $350 million in damages, university officials said they are still trying to put all the pieces back together.

The clock reads 9:45 p.m. as Lt. Menzies pulls up outside the NOPD headquarters and walks toward a monument dedicated to his fallen colleagues. It’s at this wall, with its mirror-like material, where visitors see their silhouettes, a reminder of life’s fragility.

My big take-away from the first day of The New York Times Student Journalism Institute: I can enjoy the Big Easy without becoming an easy target.