Many of the class of 2020 were born in 1997-1998 might not recall the events of September 11, 2001, but some of the upperclassmen do and shared their memories of that devastating day.
Jake Helt ‘17Ÿ St. Louis, MO
“Being as young as I was when it happened, it took me a long time to realize that I would be telling my kids and grandkids exactly where I was and what I was doing when the attacks took place.”
Nico Gentile ‘17Ÿ Hawthorne, NJ
“If I remember correctly, I was at in a class called “movement,” which was essentially just a class for the elementary students to stretch or do yoga or some shit. Anyway, I remember all of us lying down on our backs when our first grade teacher came in to the room, pretty abruptly. She whispered something to the movement teacher and we went back upstairs to our main classroom. She sat us on the floor and said, “An accident just happened a few minutes ago in New York. A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.” At that time, the second plane had not yet hit. A friend who happened to be sick that day was watching the news with his mother in their living room. Through the large glass window, the NY skyline is easily visible, and they actually saw the second plane crash. My best friend lost his aunt at the World Trade Center, and two classmates of mine in high school lost their mother at the Pentagon. There’s still an eerie vibe when you visit the memorial at Ground Zero.”
Edie Lewis ’17Ÿ Memphis, TN
“I was in the first grade and all our teachers went into the hallway to speak. This really confused us until they came back and turned on the television. I was in complete shock”
Michael Fatsis ‘17Ÿ Yardley, PA
“After the plane hit, our teacher turned the tv on. We weren’t really supposed to see but we saw the footage of the first plane hitting the Twin Towers. We were dismissed from school early and put into lines in the parking lot. When I got home I watched the news with my parents.”
Rahul Peravali ‘17Ÿ Collierville, TN
“I honestly don’t remember much, but there was a lot of fear and hatred floating around…I remember my parents being extra protective of me. We had recently just moved to the states, and though I’m not Muslim, they feared that the color of my skin might instigate people to act antagonistically towards me”
Virginia Ariall ’17 ŸCamden, SC
“Really I remember being in 1st grade and our teacher cut on the tv in the middle of class. I remember some of the boys asking what movie it was. It wasn’t real to me then, I was barely 5 and had no idea what happened. The adults seemed pretty freaked out but were trying not to scare us kids either.”
On the fifteenth anniversary of this national disaster, let us remember to once again stand together as a community.