Oh, my god. Mom, she got the scholarship. But first the nightline 5. Number 1 in just 60 seconds. Good evening. Thanks for joining us. Its been one week since harvey tore through texas, unleashing historic devastation. Tonight as the flood waters recede new threats surface. With a town waiting desperately for clean water while the young victims in the shelter get a safe space. Heres abcs gio benitez. Reporter a week after Hurricane Harvey rode ashore in texas the Lone Star State is on the long hard road to recovery. Some cities seven days later still underwater while others picking up the remnants from the battering winds. So many displaced. And tonight at a volatile Chemical Plant fires continue to explode. This is still an active, ongoing incident, and our focus really is dealing with the remaining six containers and the safety of the citizens in the area. Reporter but in orange, texas signs of relief. Were with the Army National guard and one of the things were seeing is that a lot of the people who needed help have already been rescued. But these guys arent taking any chances. They are going through these neighborhoods to make sure everyone is safe. Reporter these men are some of the 6,300 military personnel deployed to Southeast Texas rescuing more than 1,200 people. About 40 miles west in the city of beaumont rivers continue to rise. But there isnt a drop to drink. The water supply for this city of 120,000 is completely cut off. This flooding poses an ongoing threat to beaumont and the surrounding area. And beaumont is working aggressively at a fast pace to try to get the water system fixed. Reporter today residents lined up in their cars for miles, some waiting seven hours to get some drinking water. My colleague matt gutman was there. Have you seen how long this traffic jam is . Yes. Is it about two miles long . Maybe a little longer than that. Were doing our best. Were going to try to have trucks here as much as we can. Reporter theyre working around the clock to restart the pumps. But still it could take at least a week for the city to get clean water again. 100 miles down the road from beaumont in west houston theres a crowd gathered at the waters edge. Who needs to go to the paramount apartments . Okay, come on. Reporter days after this city flooded nonstop rescues still happening throughout the day. If you are living in a home today with water in your home, that situation is not going to change for the next 10 to 15 days. Reporter city officials urging anyone in west houston with water in their homes to get out now. Warning that releases from nearby reservoirs could keep as many as 20,000 homes flooded for the next two weeks. We cannot spend the next 14, 15, 16 days being a Water Taxi Service when we still have so much to do. Reporter even though evacuees are scattered across the state, more people are crowded into houstons Convention Center than any other shelter. Are you guys going to try to take that down . Reporter amid the rows of cots and blankets a splash of color and a sound some thought they wouldnt soon hear. Uhoh. Reporter a childs laughter. He had to try it for himself, right . Reporter Relief Organization save the children has set up this childfriendly space, a haven for the youngest whose lives are now upended. Theyve set up shop here in houston and in san antonio. At my house i have a big window like the size of one of these walls. And it the hurricane hit it and it broke. Reporter theyve got a staff trained in what they call psychological first aid, and the space is a bright and welcoming environment for parents to drop off their children for a few hours, time needed so they can begin to deal with this new reality. One of the most important things when you have kids go through that kind of trauma is to get to a place where they can just be a kid again. And thats what these childfriendly spaces are all about. Reporter Anthony Friesen was at his apartment when the water started rising. But my car is over here across the street in the parking lot over there. It drowned. Reporter he was rescued by a few Good Samaritans and is now here with his three children, happy to be alive but unsure of their future. They dont know it but they lost all their clothes. How do i help my son . How do i help my kids . How do i help them comprehend this situation . How do i he help them to understand the gravity of whats going on but also keep the stress off their minds . This will not be easy. This is a huge recovery effort. Youre going to need all those people to help. And to help everybody get back to that time when kids can get back to school, when people can get back into some kind of housing. Reporter in the week since harvey struck its left an almost incalculable toll. At least 39 deaths within blamed on the storm. More than 185,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed with more than 42,000 people currently in texas shelters. Damage estimates for the region are in the tens of billions of dollars. The scope of the devastation evident in these before and after images. Just to show you how quickly this water has been receding here in orange, texas were told these cars were almost entirely underwater just two days ago. It was just about up to here. And it was knee deep yesterday. Now you can see we can actually see the grass. The cars are out of the water. Reporter but even though the rain has stopped, the challenges havent. As displaced residents and rescue workers wade through still flooded streets, they face unseen dangers. Two volunteer rescuers reportedly died and two more are reportedly missing after they were possible will i electrocuted on monday. These two reporters from dailymail. Com who were with them managed to survive after a harrowing 18hour ordeal. I looked up and we were about 20 feet away from these downed power lines. And the current was taking the boat into the downed power lines. Reporter the occupants jumped off. The boat crashed into the power lines. A bug zapper. Thats the best way to describe. Amplified probably 10 million times. Reporter but they couldnt avoid electricity. I jumped off the boat, for my life and thinking were going to go straight for these power lines. And yeah, the next thing i realize im being shocked in the water. I still dont know how im alive. Come on. Reporter another threat, unwanted visitors. Police and local wildlife experts removed this ninefoot alligator from a familys back yard. We do know there are a lot of large alligators in this area. Reporter thats small potatoes compared to this 12foot gator texas game wardens had to move from a high traffic area. And he has been through a lot. Reporter other animal rescues, meanwhile, have been more tame. Weve been very busy. Weve taken in over 200 wild animals already. Reporter at the Wild Animal Center of texas exotic animals like this frigate bird are being treated for injuries. This particular bird has a fracture. He may have to have surgery. We dont know yet. Reporter carrying crates of beloved pets to safety. Reporter for many people hit by harvey this has been the hardest week of their lives but for 7yearold a. J. This marks a new beginning. Happy birthday dear today is a. J. s 7th birthday. Unfortunately, he has to be here. Reporter a temporary home. Not the most ideal location, his dad admits. Take him to get his hair cut. Let him have a little fun on the outside. Just to get from around here. Reporter but if anything is out of the ordinary dont tell a. J. What do you want for your birthday . Reporter his story like so many others, he may not have a home or many possessions but hes alive. A gift worth celebrating. I believe that god will find a way to make good of this situation not only for us but for everybody else. Reporter for nightline im gio benitez in orange, texas. Up next, theyve got brain, theyve got heart, but best of all, theyve got each other. The Scholarship Program sending traditionally overlooked students to prestigious universities. In posses. His happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital, but wondered, was this the best treatment for me . So i made a point to talk to my doctor. He told me about eliquis. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. Not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots. Eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Eliquis had both. And that turned around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots. Plus had less major bleeding. Both made eliquis right for me. Ask your doctor if switching to eliquis is right for you. My shoulders carry some i deserve others i dont but in the end only one name really matters because shoulders were made for greatness, not dandruff people spend less time lying awake with aches and pains with advil pm than with tylenol pm. Advil pm combines the number one pain reliever with the number one sleep aid. Gentle, nonhabit forming advil pm. For a healing nights sleep. One rainbow is magic. Even more magic would be two. Three rainbows are impossible. Unless they were made by you. Lucky charms. Now with 3 new rainbow marshmallows. Theyre magically delicious typically, College Admissions are based on grades and test scores. But the people at the Posse Foundation believe students are more than just numbers. For decades theyve made it their mission to give Promising Students the chance to succeed. Heres my nightline coanchor byron pitts. Im going to college. Road trip. 14 hours. Mother. Yeah. Should i bring these jars . Yeah. Youre going to need them for all the clothes youre bringing. Reporter across the country the season for both a bittersweet and joyous rite of passage. The disaster shes leaving behind. Reporter 17yearold amaya munoz putting the finishing touches on her lastminute packing before takeoff. I was just looking at baby pictures over there. Big day. Yeah. Big day. Very big day. Very proud. Reporter meanwhile, across town. Ready . Yes, we are. Taking jazz out. Jasmine kerr is also beginning her journey. Everyone is friendly and nice. Reporter from the bronx, new york to Depaul University in greencastle, indiana carrying her familys hopes on her shoulders. My older brother, he went to Stonybrook University and he wasnt successful there. He actually dropped out. He felt isolated in college. Yes. Its just a transition, a culture shock. Not having that support unit, that system in place, and the friends to lean on. Reporter but jazmine comes with allies her brother never had. Posse. A Scholarship Program combining a fouryear fulltuition grant to some of the countrys most prestigious schools. And it also comes with a builtin support network. The unique Program Sends students to college in groups of ten, posses, to have each others back through the college years. Historically, merit has meant high test scores in admissions. And that is problematic because the students in this country who get the highest scores on the s. A. T. , for example, are white and asian. Reporter so to help level the playing field, deborah beal started the posse program. Its exciting to see all of you in here. Reporter identifying star students through qualities like motivation and just plain grit that she says cant be measured by standardized tests and slowly helping change the demographic landscape at elite colleges across the country. 17,000 young people have been nominated across the United States for this scholarship this year. Reporter only 740 will be selected. Matched to one of posses 57 partner universities. Some of the best in the country. Jazmines quest began last fall. When she walked through these doors for the first round of interviews. It would mean getting like a support system in college, which is one of the hardest times. Reporter another candidate from the bronx, christoph shakur larman. Hes always had to weigh his ambitions with the humble reality. I come from a lowincome family. So this scholarship will help me push myself into getting into double majors for engineering and physics. Thats what i really want. I really just want to work. Reporter we followed posse in new york as they narrowed down this years candidates. It involved months of interviews and carefully observed Group Interactions like this one, in an imaginary career at a toy company. After that do we have it correct . Posse is finding extraordinarily talented young people, kids who might have been missed by traditional admissions screens because maybe they didnt go to a great high school, maybe they didnt have the best test score. There are those who think that and think ah, theyre watering down the admissions process, theyre lowering their standards. You miss so much of a person when you focus totally on test scores and grades. When you look beyond a test score, when you look at the whole person, you see so much that can contribute to an academic environment and a social environment, which college is. Were relying on you. Reporter 90 of posses Scholarship Recipients graduate college, far aboston National Average of 53 . As the Selection Process continued in new york, the pressure began mounting. What do you know about round 2 . Its a oneonone interview. Kristoff, the nasa home, spends an afternoon prepping with his guidance counselor, and cracks begin to show. Good eye contact. My eye like i know. You struggle. And thats why i mean and i told you guys to practice on your own. I think you need to practice with someone. Ive never had an interview before. Reporter after the next round of interviews he receives disappointing results. Jazmine and amaya, classmates at a bronx high school, have been practicing mock interviews on the weekends. Describe your leadership style. No, you cant. Reporter for amaya, an aspiring engineer, her first choice, the university of wisconsin at madison, one of the countrys top schools for computer science. But then i was thinking, if i dont get posse would i still really want to go to wisconsin by myself without i was like i cant go there if i dont get posse. Reporter three months after starting the process, finalists from around new york set out on their pilgrimage to Downtown Manhattan for their last and deciding interview. Ive been waiting weeks to finally go to this interview and see how its going to be. After all this ill could go home emptyhanded. Grab a seat. Reporter behind closed doors the finalists audition for what may be their most important roles yet. It was good seeing you. It was good seeing you. Talk to me if you find out anything. Reporter later that night our cameras joined a number of students as they awaited word. We found a few additional items left behind. Theres a tshirt that had a uw madison badger on it. And and it has the name amaya you got it . You got it. Yes yay oh, my god. Ma. Amaya got the scholarship [ crying ] thank you. When the call came you were nervous . Were you praying . We were nervous. I was crying. I was kind of just shocked. I didnt even believe it. Im so proud of you. Honestly, college is a big responsibility. And i wasnt really able to pay it. So this was basically like an answer to prayers. Amen to that. Thank you so very much. Theyre all clapping. Jazmines win, a culmination of a promise shed made to her father six years ago. She on a whim just looked at me one day and said daddy, dont worry about school. Im going to get a full scholarship. And i just said okay, like i believe it when ill see it. Yay. At that point i didnt know if i was walking on cloud nine, but life just changed at that moment. Pretty much with the support group i think you can do almost anything. So happy, so proud. Reporter jazmine and amaya, part of a milestone for the Posse Foundation. This week marks a billion dollars in scholarships awarded. Tell me when you get there. All right. Bye. Reporter for nightline im byron pitts in new york. When we come back, the heroes of houston. Extraordinary acts of courage and kindness from ordinary people. Not all Fish Oil Supplements provide the same omega3 power. Introducing megared advanced triple absorption. It supports your heart, joints, brain, and eyes. And is absorbed by your body three times better. So one megared has more omega3 power than three standard fish oil pills. New megared advanced triple absorption. Take the zantac it challenge pill works fast . Zantac works in as little as 30 minutes. Nexium can take 24 hours. When heartburn strikes, take zantac for faster relief than nexium or your money back. Take the zantac it challenge. One letter left on the board. Your clue is a great way to start the day. What is the final letter . Lutenfree, lutenfree. Its a g its a g g,g,g,g,g g z. Oh what show me z. No we were looking for g. Glutenfree breakfast cereal. Good starts with g. And now introducing new blueberry chex. And finally tonight, an entire region so badly in need and an entire nation there to help. We salute the heroes of houston. Heres abcs tom llamas. Reporter we witnessed countless acts of heroism. First responders risking their own lives. Patients inside. Reporter everyday people like brothers alex and george jackson. Using their own boat to save their neighbors. Its really sad. Some of the areas where we stop in the boat you cant see if its a foot or ten feet. Reporter jumping into action when we told them about a woman we heard was trapped. Yvette . This is your home . Yeah. Its our home. And these are our neighbors, yvette and james. One of our boys is here. And im going to start crying like an idiot. We feel still very fortunate. Were happy for your help. Were happy to get out. Reporter and we met young heroes as well. These students rushed to help their teacher when she returned to her flooded out home. I didnt even have to call. They just showed up. Reporter so shes your fourthgrade teacher. I mean, that was years ago. Yeah. Reporter but you still showed up. Why . I just wanted to help out any way i could. Happy birthday. Reporter and who could forget mattress mack . We have lots of beds. We have lots of food. We have water. Reporter the houston businessman who opened up his Furniture Stores giving shelter and comfort to so many. Heroes of houston. Those with badges and those without. Saving lives, restoring hope. Tom llamas, thank you. And thanks to all the heroes of houston. Thanks for watching abc news. And as always, were online at abcnews. Com and our Nightline Facebook page. Good night, america. Have a great labor day weekend. The Energy Conscious whopeople among usle . Say small actions can add up to something. Humongous. A little thing here. A little thing there. 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