Campbell community honors 25th anniversary of 9/11 with Memorial Stair Climb

Adrian Hopson was born five years after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Growing up in the military community of Fayetteville, that day has still meant a lot to the Campbell University ROTC cadet.

"A lot of American citizens died that day. First responders, civilians, service members … it was a real tragedy," he said, dripping in sweat after ascending and descending more than 3,200 stairs in the Pope Convocation Center Friday morning during Campbell's 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, this year honoring the 25th anniversary of that tragic day. "That's why it's important for me and the rest of our [cadets] to be here today - we're honoring those people, because they made a sacrifice that a lot of people today can't imagine."

Cadets, students, faculty members, staff members and local firefighters joining President William M. Downs at 6 a.m. Friday in the symbolic event honoring the first responders and citizens who both escaped and perished in the World Trade Center collapse in downtown New York City 25 years ago. The 110 who participated matched the 110 stories of the two towers - many of them wearing more than 40 pounds of equipment, from backpacks to firefighter equipment.

For even a well-trained and physically fit cadet like Hopson, the climb wasn't easy.

"I started to feel it about half way through the third lap. I almost fell on the last lap," he said. "But honoring those who [did it for real that day], it's their memory that motivates us."

Adult & Online Education Dean and U.S. Navy veteran Nicole Winget read names of first responders who perished through the arena speakers while participants climbed and played patriotic music to set the mood. Winget was living in Seattle, an undergrad in college at the time planning to become a JAG officer, and on Sept. 11, she was planning to go to work in that city's tallest downtown building.

"My boss at the time - who was retired Army - called all of us and told us not to come in and turn on our TVs," she recalled. "So I saw the second plane hit [the World Trade Center] on the live newscast. I remember it vividly to this day."

Winget said that day escalated her military plans, and she temporarily left college to enlist, eventually serving in the Middle East. "It was life changing," she says.

A twisted ankle kept her from joining the climbers, but she said being present mattered most.

"This isn't meant to be a fitness activity. It's meant to be a remembrance activity. Whether people do one stair or all 3,000-plus, being here is awesome."

Native Long Islander and Associate Professor of History Dr. Sal Mercogliano - a longtime volunteer firefighter - wore his gear to the climb and recalled that 25 years ago, he was standing just feet away from where the convocation center sits today. In 2001, the site was home to a trailer park where several students and faculty members lived.

"I was in the trailer that morning, and my wife was in Winston-Salem training at her new law firm," he says. "And I remember I was having high-def cable put into our house. As soon as the cable guy rigged it up, the first image we got in high definition was the first tower burning. I thought it was a movie."

Mercogliano said it took everything in him not to "grab an ambulance" and drive to New York City that day, but he instead went to the local fire department and spent the day there, ready in case he was needed locally.

"It was an emotional day. I still remember it like it was yesterday," he says. Being a part of something like today, I think it's important to remember everyone who passed. I've been in the Twin Towers. I've worked in the Pentagon. And for me, it's 343 firefighters who died that day. I've been a captain in my volunteer fire department for 20 years, and that's what gets me going today."

In a speech before the climb Friday, Downs called Sept. 11 a pivotal moment for his generation, much like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was for his parents' generation and the bombing of Pearl Harbor for his grandparents'.

"As I walk these steps this morning, my prayer will be that your generation will never know such a date," he said. "9/11, in some ways, seems like just yesterday. It remains fresh and raw. I can remember what I saw, what I heard, what I said to my children, what I felt and what I feared. We didn't know what had hit us. We didn't know who had hit us. We didn't know if more was coming, if we'd ever return to life as we knew it, or if we'd ever fly again. All we knew was that New York City had been attacked, the Pentagon had been attacked, and there was a plane down in a field in Pennsylvania.

"And in some ways, that day seems like a lifetime ago. A quarter of a century has passed. So much has happened. Some wounds have healed, many have not.
I am proud of those of you who are here this morning who have no direct memory of 9/11. You don't have to be here, but you are … and we are grateful."

Adult & Online Education Academic Counselor Kirsten Simmons and her daughter, Campbell sophomore Brooke Simmons, represented two generations Friday morning. Kirsten was working at the former St. Andrews University in 2001 and watched the tragedy unfold on an old TV in her building's common room. Brooke learned about Sept. 11 in school and through stories from her parents.

"One thing that stuck with me was learning about all the boats in New York City that arrived to help out … all the people who did anything they could to volunteer and help," Brooke says.

"We've had a lot of family members that had been in the military that have passed," Kirsten adds. "And we wanted to honor not only them, but the first responders then and today who sacrifice so much."

ROTC Cadet Marcy Jerono was a 6-year-old living in her native Kenya on Sept. 11, 2001, but even half a world away, she remembers that day and the impact it had on the world. Three years earlier, simultaneous bombs blew up American embassies in her country, as well as Nairobi and Tanzania, killing 224 people (12 Americans) and injuring 4,500 more.

Jerono moved to the U.S. in 2021 and enlisted in the military two years later.

"I'm very big on service, and that was one way that I saw that I could give back to a country that has already given me so much," she says. "Today justifies why I joined and what my future will hold as a U.S. Army officer. I see this as a way to not only protect my country, but also lead my soldiers."

Jerono carried a folder U.S. flag during her climb, a flag handed to her by a friend who lost a brother in war.

"It makes it very real. I know I have to stay vigilant and stay ready, because we never know when something like this can happen again."

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