Michael Groner

UT employee Michael Groner was a USF student and a newlywed on 9/11. He was working in downtown Tampa but sped home, only to find his wife sleeping, oblivious to what was happening.

Michelle Ettore

“I thought it was a movie at first. It wasn’t real, but when the second plane hit, I thought, ‘Oh yeah, this is real,'” the sophomore said.

Alex Davis

Asleep when the World Trade Center was attacked, it was nearly four hours before Alex Davis was woken up by his roommate who told him the news. “I immediately locked myself in my dorm room and stayed on the internet for three days. I was weathering the blizzard of rumors, trying to guide myself with accurate information in a hailstorm of uncertainty.”

Chris Janus

“We were informed in my English class, and we were locked in there for the rest of the day. The whole thing was surreal,” said Janus.

Jeremy Horowitz

The sophomore majoring in environmental science had a close connection to 9/11 while going to school in Long Island. “I remember sitting at lunch and hearing the news from friends. So many people were going crazy because they had family members in the city.”

Yeon Kim

“I remember sitting in class, not sure of what was going on. After leaving school, we found that most of the stores had closed up for the day. It wasn’t until then that I realized how grim the situation was becoming,” said the junior communications major.

Niki Saccareccia

She, too, was living in Florida when 9/11 occurred. “Most of the students were busy with their lives and didn’t understand the reality of the attack until well into the next day. I didn’t believe it myself until I got home and saw my parents sitting dumbstruck in front of the TV,” the junior psychology major said.

Kristal Glaude

The first thing she thought was “This could not be happening in America, not in America.” The junior recounts the moment when she realized terrorism had struck her own nation. She was sitting in French class when these moments unfolded on the television screen. “I didn’t know how to react,” she recalls. “I could only look around for other students’ reactions, but their faces read the same as mine. They were blank.” She had always thought that America was invincible. She hurried home from school that day and into her mom’s arms. “At that point I didn’t know where I was safe. My mother’s arms were my only sanctuary.” For the next few days Kristal was very unsure, she didn’t know if it was okay to go outside, to the mall, or even to school. “I don’t do well with uncertainty,” she says “I’m not happy getting on a plane and wondering who is sitting next to me or if it’s safe enough to pack my toothpaste.”

Duncan Kenyon

Even five years after the country suffered it’s most deadly attack, Duncan Kenyon, a sports management major, can recall finding out the news while working with kindergarten children in his local elementary school. Kenyon had to hold onto his emotions since he did not want to explain to the young children that their country was under attack. The attacks changed Duncan’s outlook on life that day. “It’s little things, like making sure that I tell my parents that I love them when I talk to them on the phone,” he says.

Krysta Teller

Marketing major Krysta Teller remembered she knew little about the twin towers and their significance. “I thought the U.S. was invincible,” the sophomore said. “I never experienced terrorism before.”