MCC Students Plan Ceremony to Remember Victims of 9/11 Attacks on 20th Anniversary

September 7, 2021

WHAT: Monroe Community College will hold a September 11 Remembrance Ceremony memorializing victims of the 9/11 attacks on the 20^th anniversary of the tragedies, featuring keynote remarks by MCC alumnus and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Andrew J. “A.J.” Tascione ’02 and Fishers Fire District Chief Daniel Chapman. They will recount where they were when the terrorist attacks occurred and reflect on how the 2001 terrorist attacks impacted their lives. Also delivering remarks will be:

MCC Acting Vice President of Student Services Kimberly McKinsey-Mabry ’95.
Jessica L. Brown ’02 and Daniel Chupe-O’Hanlon ’02, who are among the three then-student leaders at MCC whose vision led to the creation of the September 11th Remembrance Walk monument on the Brighton Campus in 2002. They helped plan this year’s event.
Isabella DeRubeis, MCC Student Government Association president and a second-year liberal arts and sciences-general studies student. DeRubeis, whose birthday falls in December, is among this year’s MCC sophomores who were born in 2001.
Mark Maddalina, who was the lead designer of the monument and has returned to campus every year to speak and mark the 9/11 anniversary.

WHERE: September 11th Remembrance Walk, outside The Pamela Ann Chesonis (PAC) Center, on MCC’s Brighton Campus, 1000 E. Henrietta Road; parking available in lot G.

Inclement weather venue: Stabins Physical Education Complex gymnasium, adjacent to lot G. Media with vehicles carrying satellite receivers to broadcast live are asked to park on the side, near the athletic field, in lot G.

WHEN: 8–9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11

DETAILS: Sponsored by the Student Government Association, the event is free and open to the public.

A.J. Tascione was a student government leader at MCC in 2002. Upon graduation, he served in the Marine Corps for 12 years, completing three tours of combat duty in Africa and Iraq. He now works as a senior manager of business operations for Seqirus.

Daniel Chapman has been a volunteer firefighter since 1987. After five years in public safety, he began his career with Fishers Fire District and Caledonia Police Department in 2000. He retired as Caledonia police chief in 2019 to assume the full-time role of Fishers fire chief. On Saturday, he will pay tribute to his predecessor and friend, Andy Stromfeld, who died in March from cancer related to the 2001 terror attacks. Stromfeld was a first responder in the aftermath.

Facts about the September 11th Remembrance Walk monument and ceremony

Attendees lay white carnations at the base of a memorial at MCC in honor of 9/11 victims.

In 2002, the memorial was erected as a result of early efforts of several MCC student leaders, who quickly drew the support of other students, administrators including then-President Flynn, and local businesses.
The effort to design, build and dedicate a place of remembrance was driven by a desire to create a distinct place for reflection and healing within the community. MCC students annually organize this remembrance ceremony.
The memorial stands at 8 feet and 4 inches high and weighs over six tons. The inscription on the plaque reads: “Our heroes are always in our hearts. In one morning our world changed forever. Let us honor the sacrifices of September 11, 2001 by living our lives in freedom.”
At 8:45 a.m. every Sept. 11, the sun aligns with the monument, a sundial, casting a shadow that bears a likeness to the Twin Towers that once stood.
A moment of silence is observed at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane hit the north tower in New York City.