Twenty-five years later, the memories of Sept. 11, 2001, remain vivid for members of the Columbia College community.
For some, 9/11 is remembered through the eyes of a child — a morning interrupted by television coverage, a trip home from school or the realization that a parent was being sent into danger. For others, the day is inseparable from military service, careers in public safety or loved ones who were in New York.
And for those who were not yet born, 9/11 is a defining moment they have come to understand through the stories and sacrifices of those who lived through it.
Across reflections shared by Columbia College faculty, staff and students, one theme emerges: Amid unimaginable tragedy, people came together.
‘The world shifted’
Dr. Scott Zimmerman, now a faculty member in the Robert W. Plaster School of Business, was preparing to head to work at construction sites when he watched the first reports of the attacks. He saw the second plane strike live on television.
Having recently left the military, the attack felt personal.
“Like a call I already knew how to answer,” Zimmerman recalled.
By Sept. 12, he was at a recruiting office, recommitting himself to military service. That decision changed the course of his life and provided him with a lasting perspective.
“Evil exists, and threats can appear without warning, but so can courage, community and purpose,” Zimmerman said. “Do not take a single day or the people beside you for granted.”
A generation changed
For Columbia College student Charles Jackson, the memories of 9/11 date back to age 7.
Jackson was getting ready for school in St. Louis when his father, a native of Upper Manhattan, watched television coverage of the North Tower burning. Jackson initially thought the footage showed downtown St. Louis.
Then he watched the second plane strike the South Tower.
“What I remember most vividly is the moment the towers collapsed and the look on my father’s face,” Jackson said.
His family had a direct connection to the attacks. A cousin who worked in the World Trade Center survived because she never made it to work that day.
Years later, Jackson learned another lesson about the lasting effects of 9/11 through his work in health benefits. He encountered survivors who continued to experience health problems from toxic exposure at Ground Zero and were still dealing with the consequences decades later.
“The impact of 9/11 didn’t end on that day — for many, it continues every single day,” he said.
Service and sacrifice
For members of the Columbia College community with military and first-responder backgrounds, 9/11 represented more than a historic event. It changed their careers and their understanding of service.
Antonia Turpin, a faculty member who was serving as a first lieutenant and registered nurse in the U.S. Air Force, recalls being glued to the television as the attacks unfolded. She picked up her children from school and anxiously awaited the possibility of deployment.
She remembers the courage of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93, as well as the firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, police officers and civilians who rushed toward danger.
“I couldn’t have been more proud to be an American that day,” Turpin said.
Tim Bradley, a Columbia College staff member who was working as a paramedic in 2001, remembers watching first responders enter the towers knowing many would not return.
A colleague was deployed with Missouri’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1 to Ground Zero, and Bradley knew several other first responders who traveled to New York.
The attacks transformed his profession. First responders changed how they trained and responded to emergencies, with greater attention to terrorism, hazardous materials and other potential threats.
“Years later, we still have these same things in place,” Bradley said.
Eventually, Bradley worked with one of the youngest EMTs to respond to Ground Zero. That responder still undergoes medical monitoring because of the long-term health risks associated with exposure at the site.
When the fear was personal
For staff member Alesia Poindexter, the morning became terrifying when she learned that two of the hijacked flights had departed from Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Three of her siblings lived in Boston, and her brother Keith worked at the airport.
“Oh my God! My brother is at work!” Poindexter remembered thinking.
She tried repeatedly to reach her family, but phone lines were jammed. There was a panicked delay before she knew her brother was safe. He survived after a co-worker asked him to trade flight shifts, but two of his friends died in the South Tower.
Another brother, a retired U.S. Marine, was assigned to Ground Zero through his work at a Boston veterans hospital.
A city that became a community
Columbia College student David Trammell was 16 and living in Queens, New York, on Sept. 11.
He remembers watching the second plane strike the World Trade Center on television. When he realized it was happening in real time, he felt numb.
Later that day, Trammell stood on a Queens street corner with members of his community and watched fighter jets overhead.
Despite the tragedy, he remembers an unusual sense of connection.
“The entire city felt like family,” Trammell said.
David Opdycke, a Columbia College staff member who was then working in admissions at a college in Florida, remembers a similar feeling on campus. Many students were from New York, and staff and students gathered to support one another while trying to reach family and friends.
“As tragic as it was, it was the unity of all Americans I remember the most,” Opdycke said.
Carrying the lessons forward
For some members of the Columbia College community, 9/11 is remembered from childhood.
Staff member Dr. Kristi Clevenger’s daughter was 3 years old on Sept. 11, 2001 — and it was her birthday. Clevenger dropped her off at daycare that morning before learning what had happened.
That evening, while her daughter opened birthday presents, Clevenger and her husband watched the news.
Clevenger’s father was a firefighter, making the stories of first responders especially difficult for her family.
For student Ronnie Valdez, 9/11 eventually meant understanding why his father repeatedly left home. Valdez was 11 when his father deployed to the Middle East. Over the years, his father would complete six deployments.
“At the time, it didn’t affect me,” Valdez said. “But later on I understood why he was leaving so much.”
Student Chico Allen was serving aboard the USS John Paul Jones during his first deployment when he watched the news unfold. His Navy ship supported the U.S.’ post-9/11 response shortly after the attacks.
“9/11 changed the world,” Allen said. “The idea of being in a peace-time military was no longer a reality.”
The many reflections of Columbia College faculty, staff and students offer different perspectives on a single day — fear and grief, service and sacrifice, loss and resilience. But they also carry a shared reminder.
As faculty member Dr. Michelle Kemp reflected: “I hope that we will remember to love one another and resist an us vs. them mentality.”
Twenty-five years later, that may be among the most enduring lessons of all.
