Troy University held its annual 9/11 Stair Climb Wednesday morning in honor of those who lost their lives in the tragic event 23 years ago. The climb was held at the Veterans Memorial Stadium early Wednesday morning where AFROTC members, SGA members, Troy athletes, firefighters and any student who wanted to participate, gathered to climb a total of 1,980 steps.
Firefighters who participated in the climb wore their firefighter gear, remembering and honoring those dispatchers who climbed step after step in the towers to save as many people as they could.
Prior to the climb, everyone gathered together for the National Anthem and a moment of silence in honor of those innocent lives lost that day.
Maria Ciurleo is a junior applied sciences and resources of technology management major from Crestview, Florida. Ciurleo has been a part of the AFROTC here at Troy University for the past three years.
She shared why she wanted to do this climb and complete the full 1,980 steps.
“I do this every year for all the people who lost their lives,” she stated.
“My mom’s a dispatcher herself, so I wanted to make sure we do this for any first responder who went back in the fire to save those people. This is for them.”
Ciurleo went on to share how this experience has impacted her.
“You build more respect for those people and it really shows, especially being in military, to make those critical decisions that are impossible become possible.
“This has impacted me to be true to myself, keep my integrity and to always do hard things.”
“It's a good way to represent and honor the lives that were lost,” said Bella Brothers, a junior elementary education major from Prattville, Alabama.
Brothers, who attended the climb, shared the importance of continuing to remember 9/11 even after 23 years.
“Though I was born after the event, I think it’s really cool that we still honor it, even though it’s something that didn’t necessarily affect our lives in this generation.”
Brothers stated what she hoped everybody who participated in the event would take away from their experience.
“I hope everybody gains a new respect for the people that continue to serve in the fire and medical departments, the lives that were lost in the event and each other.”
Jenisa Cash, a transfer junior studying military operations from St. Cloud, Minnesota, is involved in the AROTC and climbed in the 9/11 event.
Cash was between the ages of 5 and 6 on the day that 9/11 happened and recalls everybody being very somber on that day.
“I realized how much of a sacrifice it was for those emergency personnel and how much they gave up on that day to help those innocent people in the towers,” she stated.
“They left for work and didn’t know if they were going to come back. They never should be forgotten.”
Although students were free to complete the climb alone, many gathered in groups and worked together, encouraging one another to keep pushing and finishing strong. Cash shared the impact she hoped the stair climb had on everyone.
“We're all here together working as a team to make this happen and we can only accomplish this as a team,” Cash said.
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