Oshkosh North High School 9/11 Day of Service. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Behind Oshkosh North High School sits Akan’s Acres, an urban forest.
Students within the school’s Communities program are working on making improvements to the property as part of 9/11 Day of Service.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11, 2001, attacks — including more than 300 firefighters.
“Your heart drops as soon as you find out, and like, I can only imagine if I was alive and if I was there to experience it,” said Kara Cummings, a senior at Oshkosh North High.
“I know talking with my mom about it, she got teary-eyed. But I think it’s good for us to learn about, like the tragedy, and what America has gone through,” said Oshkosh North junior Jack Anderson.
The students, like everyone else currently in K-12 schools, are learning about that horrific day through stories and those who lived through it.
According to ‘9/11 Day’ — a nonprofit group — more than 35% of the U.S. population is under the age of 25 — meaning they didn’t live through, or likely don’t have much memory of, the attacks.
Oshkosh North social studies teacher Kurt Leib distinctly remembers the moment the attacks unfolded.
“You went from shock to confusion, and then there was just these episodes from one tower being hit to the next tower being hit, now a tower is falling,” said Leib.
What he also recalls is how the nation came together following the attacks.
“I remember the patriotism, remember that first pitch that was thrown out at Yankee stadium, and I remembered when the Packers ran out with the American flag. And as a social studies teacher, I want our kids to remember that day of tragedy, but I want them to replicate the patriotism and the unity that today is all about on the 23rd anniversary,” said Leib.
Leib wants to make sure no one ever forgets — and hopefully, they use this day to join millions of other Americans doing good in their communities.
“I like that I’m out here and still making a difference on 9/11, even thought I wasn’t born then. I know that what I’m doing is making a change,” said I’Yari Walton, an Oshkosh North senior.
Oshkosh North helped other groups during their day of service, including Father Carr’s Place 2B, the Oshkosh Humane Society and Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services.
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