Librarians Post Photos in Remembrance of 9/11. (Max Walker/Media)

On Monday, September 13, the Columbus Academy Upper School gathered together as a community to memorialize  the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks against our nation. During morning classes, students heard four bells – 8:26 AM, 9:03 AM, 9:37 AM, and 10:03 AM – each representing the moment a plane went down that took the lives of 2,996 Americans, forever altering the lives of their friends and family.

Once gathered in the theater, students and faculty listened to video testimonials from Lower School teacher Ms. Penney, and alumnae Sohini Ghosh and Blair Soden about their experiences during the September 11 attacks. Penney was in Brooklyn and witnessed the smoke emerge outside of her classroom windows. Ghosh was a 9th grader. Soden was a senior. 

Mr. Morford described the broader context of the attacks, including escalating tensions in the Middle East. Then Dr. Bundy offered different perspectives on the history of September 11 and recounted the lasting legacy of trauma and memory. Further, Ms. Chahal shared her experiences about rising xenophobia and what it meant to be a follower of Islam in America after the attacks.

While September 11 will always be remembered as a day of tragedy, it is also a reminder of the resilience of our nation and first responders and to care for one another. Carolyn Vaziri said, “Yes, we are more alike than we are different.”