Pair of High School Groups Inspired in NYC

The Wilmington High School 9/11 Memorial Committee . But earlier in April, the students were the ones inspired.

Members of the Model United Nations club joined students from the memorial committee in an early April trip to New York City, and the 9/11 Memorial was one of the stops.

“Being there in the heart of NYC and standing there in place of the attacks created feelings of awe, sadness, and devastation,” said 9/11 Memorial Committee faculty advisor Tracey Kassin. “While we had talked about these things at our meetings and in classes around the time of the tenth anniversary, I think you only really see the magnitude and enormity of what happened when you’re there.”

Kassin said one of the highlights of the trip was seeing a tree that survived the attacks. She said seeing the names surrounding the reflecting pools was overwhelming, so seeing the tree provided a sense of hope an inspiration.

Committee members told selectmen on Monday that they’ve raised several thousand dollars in just a few months, and hope to reach about $10,000 to create the ideal monument.

The trip to “the city that never sleeps” was equally inspiring for the Model United Nations group.

Social Studies teacher Matthew Hackett said students in the club view global issues from different perspectives, which forces them to think differently about themselves and the world around them.

By traveling directly to the source of many of these conversations, students saw first hand how the process works.

“They constantly hear and read about what happens in New York and around the world, but nothing can substitute for sitting in the General Assembly Hall and the Security Counsel and seeing first hand men and women working on world peace in front of your own eyes,” said Hackett. “It was a very inspiring and eye opening experience for all of us.”