Many students attending Madison College are too young to remember much about the Sept. 11 attacks. Hannah Storck, the student director of the Madison College Volunteer Center, recalls what she felt that day.
“I was 11 and I remember the day. I was in sixth grade, I think, and one of my friend’s fathers was in New York when it happened so we were all in school – in class – and everyone was freaking out. It was a lot to handle in sixth grade,” Storck said. “You don’t really take anything seriously at that age and it was really shocking that this kind of thing could happen. I still don’t really know what to think about it sometimes.”
On Friday, Sept. 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., a tribute will take place in the Madison Area Technical College Truax campus cafeteria to honor those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Students, staff, and community members will read the names of those who were killed at the World Trade Center buildings, at the Pentagon, and on the hijacked Pennsylvania flight. At the time of the name reading, pledge cards for donations going towards a September 11 victims fund and Peace Park will be handed out.
Storck said she is excited about helping with this memorial. “I, myself, have never had a chance to actually volunteer with anything as a memorial for 9/11. Not that I don’t think about it, but I guess I’ve never been a part of that,” she said. “I’m excited for a new opportunity and I hope that we can get something to make a difference somehow with our project and the service event to follow.”
Any volunteers who wish to participate in the reading of these names can sign up in the Student Life Office, Truax Room 140 or Downtown Room 125.
Additionally, a 5K unity walk near the Truax campus will take place on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. According to Jason Wiedenhoeft, the Volunteer Center advisor, this walk will symbolize “the day of service” that President Obama instated for September 11. Those who raise $10 through personal donations or pledges will receive a ribbon and those who raise $25 or more will receive a t-shirt for this walk. All are welcome to show their support along with our local military personnel, fire department and academy members and police academy by participating in this neighborhood walk. If interested, contact the Student Life Office to register.
Last year, the Volunteer Center held a similar ceremony. Wiedenhoeft said that he was astonished to see how deeply individuals cared about those who lost their lives on September 11.
“There are a lot of individuals in this community who care very deeply about that tragedy and the way that it affects life now,” he said. “That became very clear to me when we had veteran students come to the event and volunteer who have fought in the war on terrorism, which is ultimately a result of the Sept. 11 attacks. I think that was probably almost sort of touching because it was like those people’s lives wouldn’t be where they’re at today if that didn’t happen. It makes you wonder what if it wouldn’t have happened. I think that, to me, is probably the most striking thing.”
Kenneth Xiong, a Liberal Arts transfer program student and member of the Volunteer Center board at Madison College, was at Camp Pendleton, Calif. for basic training with the Marine Corps at the time of the Trade Center attack. He vividly remembers prepping for gas chamber training in boot camp when he got word that the Trade Centers were hit.
“It made [Americans] realize that they are vulnerable,” Xiong said. “Everybody is susceptible to terrorism. Just because we are in between two big oceans doesn’t mean we are completely safe from the world. People in America, I believe, live in the sugar coating of a donut. We have it pretty good here compared to the rest of the world. Every now and then something like this does happen that makes us realize that this is real. This is the real world and not everybody has this luxury of, you know, being able to drive a car, being able to attend school regularly.”
Xiong also shares what he hopes people attending the commemoration ceremony will get out of it. “This was a tragedy,” he said. “You can’t forget this day. I do know that a lot of these kids that are coming are younger. A lot of this happened when they were in elementary [school], but it’s still an important day to remember. Lives were lost on an unprovoked attack on civilians. It’s one of those moments. People don’t forget about Pearl Harbor, you shouldn’t forget this day either. Friends, family were lost in an instant, and these were completely innocent bystander lives that were lost.”