GLENDALE, Ariz. — Monday marks the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on our nation. The anniversary is especially meaningful for one Glendale educator, who used to work at the World Trade Center.
On Sept. 11, 2001, two planes flew into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in the heart of New York City. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. That was the day nearly 3,000 people died, including hundreds of first responders.
Suzanne DeStefano lost many of her former coworkers in the attacks.
“Just pictures of the destruction, of the horror on people’s faces… it still takes your breath away to look at them,” said DeStefano, headmaster at Great Hearts Archway Glendale, as she turned the pages of old news articles.
For DeStefano, the anniversary is a reminder of the immense loss.
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“I like to think about and remember all the people I knew and cared about that perished that day, and it’s also a day of gratitude for me,” DeStefano said.
But it’s also a reminder of perhaps the day her life was spared.
“It’s just easy to take so many things in life for granted and to pause and just be thankful for life, for the paths you go on that can remove you from danger,” said DeStefano.
After two years of working on the 99th floor of the World Trade Center, in Tower One of the Twin Towers, Suzanne and her husband, who worked in Tower Two, decided to leave New York in July 2001, for her to pursue her career in education.
“I just felt this deep vocational calling to depart from the business world and to go into education,’ she said.
Two months later, the horrific events unfolded.
Her husband’s cousin was one of the firefighters who responded.
“One of the heroes that entered the World Trade Center, trying to save other people that day, and he perished,” she said.
DeStefano later learned the fate of her former co-workers.
“Nobody in the company that I worked for, that was there that day, survived,” she said.
DeStefano reflected on another news article, reading the headline aloud. “Nation and city face enormity of huge death toll.”
“I know teaching saved my soul, and I have been thankful that perhaps it saved my life,” said DeStefano.
Today DeStefano has been a teacher and an administrator for more than 20 years now.
This year, she plans to have a moment of silence for all the students and faculty at her school, a quiet way to pay tribute and remember those who lost their lives.
“I was called to be a teacher and I’m glad that I answered,” she said.
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