Inspired By 9/11: HHS Senior Decides to Join Military

Hingham High School Senior Carlie Burke was only 8 years old when the tragic events of 9/11 struck America, but the incident has changed her life.

Burke was not sparked by anger or hate, but rather by the will to help others.

She was impacted by the hundreds of firefighters, police officers, EMTs and doctors who helped the thousands of victims of the attacks in New York.  Now she wants to do her part in helping others.

“9/11 has inspired me,” she said. “Looking back at the videos of all the firefighters and cops and hospitals helping out, they inspired me to want to help people, not just in our nation, but around the world.”

Burke, now 18, is looking to enter the Navy or Air Force or an R2D military program after she graduates from Hingham High School next spring.   Her biggest life goal is to prevent diseases around the world and medically treat those in need.  Burke wants to focus on the importance of teaching people about diseases and improving public health conditions. 

“ 9/11 has opened my eyes that you should try to live life, the best way possible,” she said.

Burke still remembers when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower and United Flight 175 hit the South Tower.  She didn’t exactly know what was going on at the time but she knew something bad was happening.

She was just a kid living in Sarasota, FL and remembers being dismissed early by her mother from her second grade classroom from the South  Side Elementary School.

Although being somewhat shocked, she was still able to take a life lesson from the tragedy.

“It’s opened my eyes that you can’t really trust people, but at the same time you have to live your  life the way you want to live it,” she said. “You don’t know when another tragic event is going to happen, so when something does happen, you have to know you have lived the best way possible and that you did your very best.”

Burke has shocked many of her family members and friends around Hingham by the decision to enter the military.  She has no military background besides her grandfather who served in the Korean War. The majority of her  Hingham High School classmates cannot relate to her and are choosing college. 

The Hingham senior has already spoken to military recruiters.  She has battled new challenges.  To better her chances of entering the military, she has stopped taking her medicine for ADD and now relies on lots of structure; something she believes will help her live a successful life. 

Burke is set to graduate high school in June and has still not decided on the Air Force or Navy yet. Which ever she chooses, she knows she will succeed by staying true to her motto,  "living life, the best way possible."