On this day in 2001, an event occurred that forever left a mark on this nation. In memory of that tragic day, we have asked several members of the UVI community to share their memories of that day.

“I was in third grade when it happened. I didn’t know what was going on or why my teachers seemed so sad. I saw adults crying; we didn’t really have classes that day, but I could not figure out the reason. When I got home, my mom told me what had happened. I remember feeling shocked and helpless. So many people were dying that day and it seemed like there was nothing anyone could really do to stop. Although I was only a child at the time, I knew when I saw the footage of the towers falling that nothing would ever be the same again.” – Arige Shrouf, 20, English major; Managing Editor of the UVI Voice

“In class, we had to stand in a moment of silence; I was so confused. I saw it [the towers falling] on the news. All I remember is that it was tragic.” – Shakirah Ritter, 20; criminal justice major

“I was 12 at the time it happened. I remember being at school, in homeroom; the teacher seemed distraught. I didn’t know what happened. When I went home and saw the images of the plane hitting the tower, I was a little bit scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen afterward.” – Joey Emmanuel, 24; UVI writing center tutor

“The day of… I don’t really know what happened. I didn’t hear anything about it the day of, I was only a kid. But the next day, around 10 am, our teacher stopped the class to ask if we knew about what happened. She asked us to take a minute of silence for everyone that had died. Afterwards, we just continued our day. We acknowledged what happened, but did not dwell on it. We continued class as if nothing ever happened. Probably because she thought we were too young to understand.” – Sarah J., 20; secondary education major

“I don’t remember the exact grade but I was in class when it all happened. Though I didn’t quite understand exactly what was taking place it was very scary and it made me really sad.” – Je’Ronn Simmonds, 19, Music Education

“When I was told about the tragedy I didn’t feel anyway but when I saw the damage on the television it was a scared for a moment.” – To’Quoya George, 20, Marine Biology

“I was in 5th grade at the St. Croix Christian Academy and it made me feel like the world is no longer a safe place.” – Jamall Marsh, 21, Computer Science

“I was lost. I was so young. I didn’t even know what the twin towers were but when I became fully aware of the situation I became very scared because I thought more attacks were going to happen throughout the United States. – Kalique Raymo, 20, Computer Science

“I was only in 2nd grade so I wasn’t really affected by this situation.” – Kimani Jett, 18, Accounting

“I was in 5th grade and I was already sad because this is the day my father died. It made me even more depressed to see that so many more people were dying on this day. I felt as if the day was cursed. So many people were crying it was scary.” – Shari Chryss Alfred, 21, Communications

“During 9/11 I was in the 4th or 5th grade staying at a friends house for about a week. My mother was in Atlanta for work and was delayed because planes everywhere were grounded. I didn’t find out the planes crashed till they called me to the office during class to tell me my mother was on the phone I was terrified to pick it up. My grandmother lived in Manhattan a few blocks away from the towers and I was scared she was calling to say someone had died. She had called to tell me everyone was ok, but that she wouldn’t be able to get home until flights were back up and running. It took her a month to get home.” – Zenobia Howe, 23, Communications

“It’s interesting to see how the students perceive the 9/11 attacks, they were only children when we were attacked, and they have a unique perspective. They grew up in a different world than we did and it’s important to see the distinction. I was in college at the time. I went to Borough of Manhattan Community College, only a few blocks from the Trade Center, the towers provided shade over my school. My job was located just below the trade center. I lost so much that day, my school became an emergency command center and I lost my job. From my neighborhood in Sunset Park, Brooklyn I watched the smoke rise from the fallen towers, I breathed in the debris that lingered for more than a month. It took me a lot longer to recover physically and emotionally. But I was one of the lucky ones, my trauma pales in comparison to some of my friends.” – Stephanie Hanlon-Nugent, part time journalism instructor and advisor to the UVI Voice