For so many Katrina survivors, life after the storm meant adjusting to a new reality. But for Tulane grad Colie Edison, it meant a total reality check—as one of The Real World 's seven strangers.

When Tulane senior Nicole “Colie” Edison heard New Orleans was being evacuated for Hurricane Katrina, she didn't think much of it. After all, she'd already been forced to evacuate once during freshman year (to Emory University in Atlanta) and again sophomore year (to Indiana University). “We were used to it; we just planned on partying for a couple of days,” remembers Colie, who was president of the Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi) Jewish sorority on campus.

Yet the devastating storm had other plans. Along with so many other New Orleans residents, Colie and her sorority sisters were displaced from their beloved home. Focused on finishing her senior year, Colie transferred to Boston University for the remainder of the semester. Soon after arriving in the land of Red Sox and baked beans, Colie had a date with fate.

One night, Colie and her friends came across an open casting call for MTV's The Real World. They decided to check it out. Colie says, “All my life, I've been told, ‘You should be on The Real World!' Eight months later, I was cast.”

In May 2006, Colie flew out to Denver where taping was slated to begin—just one week after her graduation from Tulane with a degree in communications and film studies. (The show's opening sequence later showed Colie getting her diploma and her emotional goodbye to New Orleans.)

A far cry from the sorority house, Colie's swank new Denver digs held six new instaroommates: Alex, a lady-killing athlete; Brooke, a high-strung Southern belle; Jenn, a professional dancer and party girl; Davis, a newly “out” frat boy; Tyrie, a charismatic former gang member; and Stephen, an outspoken conservative.

As the cast members got used to each other—and the camera's watchful eye—Colie's life took another serendipitous turn. The cast received word that their official job would be to act as Outward Bound counselors for youth who had endured Hurricane Katrina.

Colie, who'd spent 10 summers as a camper and counselor at New York's Camp Kennybrook, was ecstatic about the hands-on camping job. Not only were her worlds about to collide, but she'd also be able to contribute something positive in the storm's aftermath. After several grueling training sessions, Colie and her roomies led the teens on two five-day sessions of survival exercises, hiking, climbing and other outdoorsy adventures.

“I'm a white girl from New Jersey; we were helping black kids from Mississippi who are barely surviving from day to day,” Colie says. “Outward Bound gave us a platform to come together no matter what our backgrounds. It allowed [the kids] to take on challenges and new experiences and, at the end, go back to their communities as people who have grown.”

For Colie, the Outward Bound job was a welcome return to her roots. “I have camp counselor ingrained in my soul,” she laughs. Along with the familiar fun of leading the kids, she got to help others in need—something that had been a huge part of her college experience. As president of AEPhi, Colie and her sisters raised money for a hospital in Israel and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. In another Katrina effort, their AEPhi chapter also helped gut and restore the destroyed homes of elderly Jewish citizens. “We worked with a rabbi to bury all their religious belongings,” Colie says. “We wanted them to remain sacred rather than just throwing them away after the storm.”

Now living in East Brunswick, N.J. with her family, Colie shares how a recent family tragedy inspired them to rediscover their Jewish heritage. “My mother was raised Orthodox, but we kind of lost it,” she says. “The day my grandfather passed away, my mom met a 23-year-old rabbi in the supermarket who was starting a Chabad in our town. He says it's never too late, and we've been attending services ever since my grandfather died.”

Following in the footsteps of many Real World alums, Colie is preparing to move to Los Angeles in the near future. Her goal? To parlay her reality show experience and communications degree into a hosting stint on E! or Access Hollywood. In the meantime, she's touring the country doing speaking engagements and appearances with her Denver cronies. Though she was very close with roommate Jenn during taping, she now says she's inseparable with Davis. One thing's for sure: Having survived her experience in the “reality bubble,” this girl can't wait to see what adventures the real world has in store.