9/11 anniversary events acknowledge sacrifice, survival

Published 09.11.2023

Photos by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor

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    Students and employees planted flags, wrote thank-you notes to veterans and first responders, made paper cranes and more during a day of service to remember the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

    Students Ryan Fizer and Steven M. Gautsch made a point to plant flags to honor the memory of the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
    Students Ryan Fizer and Steven M. Gautsch made a point to plant flags to honor the memory of the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

    Stopping by the Bush Campus Center on Monday to plant flags were students Steven M. Gautsch, aviation maintenance technology, and Ryan Fizer, emergency management & homeland security.

    Both grew up in northern New Jersey, where despite being born after the tragedy, they are well aware of the effects of the nearby World Trade Center collapse. Fizer’s grandfather, a part of the National Guard, reported to the site the day after to provide service, and his father, a volunteer firefighter, mourned the loss of fellow first responders. Gautsch’s mother and father worked outdoors – in landscaping – and saw the twin towers burning.

    The twin towers of the World Trade Center – once an iconic part of the Manhattan skyline – were destroyed before Gautsch was born, and he wishes he could have seen them in person but noted their enduring presence in photos and on TV.

    “They still had a lasting impact,” he said.

    The campus community is invited to plant a flag on the Thompson Professional Development Center lawn to pay tribute to the emergency responders and military members who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
    The campus community is invited to plant a flag on the Thompson Professional Development Center lawn to pay tribute to the emergency responders and military members who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
    Gautsch, joined by friend Fizer, adds a flag to the PDC lawn.
    Gautsch, joined by friend Fizer, adds a flag to the PDC lawn.
    The flag at the college’s main entrance stands at half-staff to remember the events of 22 years ago.
    The flag at the college’s main entrance stands at half-staff to remember the events of 22 years ago.
    The flags, arranged by Gautsch to resemble the footprint of the World Trade Center’s twin towers, are blown by a light breeze.
    The flags, arranged by Gautsch to resemble the footprint of the World Trade Center’s twin towers, are blown by a light breeze.
    Handwritten notes of resilience begin to fill a replica of the “Survivor Tree,” a pear tree that endured the terror attacks at the World Trade Center.
    Handwritten notes of resilience begin to fill a replica of the “Survivor Tree,” a pear tree that endured the terror attacks at the World Trade Center.

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