Oyster Bay High School Remembers Brooke Jackman '96, Who Died On 9/11

OYSTER BAY, NY — On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Oyster Bay High School is remembering Brooke Jackman, a member of the Class of 1996 who tragically lost her life in the World Trade Center. Her name is inscribed on a memorial outside Oyster Bay High School in her honor.

Jackman grew up in Oyster Bay before graduating from Columbia University in 2000 with a degree in women's studies, according to the Oyster Bay school district.

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Although she was working on Wall Street, Jackman had begun applying to graduate programs to pursue a master's degree in social work. On the evening of Sept. 10, 2001, she told her mother that she wanted to take a different direction with her career and that there was more to life than making money and working on Wall Street, the district said.

The 23-year-old was working for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower and was among the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees who died during the attacks, the district said.

Students from Oyster Bay High School's Bay News Now broadcast program interviewed Jackman's family and friends to learn more about her life and share her story.

The school said this helps "ensure that students who were born years after 2001 understand that Sept. 11 is not only part of national history; it is part of Oyster Bay's history."

Her sister said Jackman was never without her books and that school was always important to her, the district shared.

During high school, Jackman volunteered at a soup kitchen, a thrift shop that benefited cancer patients, and a school for children with disabilities.

"She was beautiful," her sister Erin said. "She was smart. School was always important to her. Her friends were always important to her. Her family was always important to her. She thought everyone should be included. She was just a great friend."

Jackman was always looking for ways to help others, according to the district.

The Brooke Jackman Foundation was established in 2002, combining Jackman's love of literacy and her desire to help children into one organization. The foundation has distributed more than 1 million books and 125,000 "Brooke Packs," filled with books and school supplies, to children in underserved communities across the nation, the district said.

The school district said it is important to carry on Jackman's legacy, as well as the memories of all those who died during the Sept. 11 attacks.

David Pontillo, an Oyster Bay High School teacher who attended high school with Jackman, also shared his memories with the students.

"Brooke sat here," he said. "She was in this school. She went here. She was part of the community. So it's not just a history thing. It's an Oyster Bay thing."