About 50 Long Island college students are heading to Puerto Rico to help with recovery efforts more than a year after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.

They will be joining about 500 SUNY and CUNY student volunteers who will be focusing on fixing roofs and repairing damaged homes.

The students were selected to take part in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's summerlong Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative. There were more than 1,500 applicants within the SUNY system.

There are five waves of volunteers, including those from Farmingdale State College, going to Puerto Rico for two-week spans that began in June and end in August.

Gideon Sherry, 20, is one of those Farmingdale students who is “willing to do whatever it takes to make the situation better.”

Sherry is also in the Navy and wanted to put his military training to good use this summer.

"My job in the Navy is an engineering aide, so I already do construction on the civilian side,” he said. “I work as an electrician, so all the tools I have. I would be happy to lend a helping hand."