Art Students to Honor 9/11 Victims at Event
Post Published On:Thomas University students will be participating in the 9th annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Thomas County Stadium on September 11.
Students in Dr. Richard Curtis’ Print Making Class are making colorful hand printing canvases with motivational and inspirational messages such as ‘Never Forget,’ ‘Always Remember,’ Keep Going’ and ‘You’ve got this’ for participants to see as they climb the stairs.
“Any support from this community means a lot to us and we are excited to see the artwork,” Captain Michael Mann of Thomasville Fire Rescue said. “We are hoping this will encourage others to do the same in years to come just further decorate and get more involvement from the community.”
The canvases will be installed throughout Thomas County Stadium as first responders’ agencies, community members, faculty and staff from local schools climb the stairs of the stadium to simulate climbing the 110 stories of the World Trade Center.
Mann said the stair climb is a way to symbolize the climb that all the first responders were attempting to make that day to save lives. It’s a way for us to finish the climb that some were never able to finish.
Some of the students who are creating canvases were either babies or weren’t born when the tragic events of 9/11 unfolded, however, they believe it is important to honor the victims and the emergency responders.
Senior Jennifer Coleman said she was a few months old when 9/11 occurred, but as she grew up, she became aware of what took place in New York, Virgina and Pennsylvania.
“When I heard about it in Middle School it was sad,” she said. “I watched movies and read books about it, and they gave me a better understanding of the traumatic events that those victims went through and how their families are still suffering from it today. Thankfully, we live in a society that still honors those people who lost their lives. I do have an appreciation for the people who were trying to get everything under control and sympathy for the people who lost someone. It is a very sensitive topic, but I am glad that I was taught about what happened because obviously it is one of the biggest events that happened in the United States.”
Senior Benjamin Paul is an international student from the United Kingdom, and he said he wasn’t born when 9/11 occurred but living in the United States, he knows the significance of the event.
“Being in the States for a couple of years now, I have understood a lot more about it,” Paul said. “I think this event is really important and it is a really nice thing to do. Although it may not have a big emotional impact on me, I do understand how it can affect others, so I just want to help and show support.”
The stair climb event will have two sessions. The first session will begin at 5 a.m. and continue to 11 a.m. The second session will start at 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m.
