Queens University unites for solemn ceremony to commemorate 9/11 and supports local community resources for those in need.
Queens University of Charlotte joined campuses across the nation on Sept. 11, 2026, in commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks through service, remembrance, and community impact.
Supported by funding from The Alliance for Campus Community Engagement, in partnership with 9/11 Day, AmeriCorps, and North Carolina Campus Engagement, the Queens community turned a solemn milestone into a multi-day initiative focused on unity and giving back.
Program Coordinator for Community and Civic Engagement Darryl White Sr. ’92, ’21, a Queens alumnus and U.S. Army veteran who was called to active duty following the attacks, led the campus events.
Across three days of service opportunities surrounding the ceremony, more than 150 volunteers dedicated over 250 combined hours to support local community members in need. Together, the Queens community assembled:
- 475 sandwiches and 275 personal hygiene kits complete with handwritten messages of encouragement for Roof Above, a shelter in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- 25 Welcome Home Cleaning Kits for Veterans Bridge Home, a community resource for service members in Charlotte.
“The 25th anniversary of 9/11 helps us to reunite,” White said. “Doing good is not just a one-day thing, Every act of service we do for our community goes a long way.”
The 9/11 commemoration began on the academic quad with the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by first-year nursing student Jasmine David ’30 from Salisbury, North Carolina.
“I felt ecstatic to be asked to participate in today’s ceremony,” David said. “I’ve been singing ever since I was little, and I was glad to take advantage of the opportunity to contribute to Queens in this meaningful way. It means a lot for our country and our veterans. And this is my way of giving back.”
At 8:46 a.m., the exact moment the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the community participated in a moment of silence led by University Chaplain Adrian Bird.
“It’s wonderful that we have this opportunity to gather here on the Queens campus as we remember, as we reflect,” Chaplain Bird shared before leading the prayer. “Hard to believe it’s been 25 years, and the impact of that day still resonates certainly here and around the world.”
Following the moment of silence, student veteran Rick Wright ’29 led the community in placing the first American flags on the lawn.
For Wright, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and creative writing major, taking part in the service event carried layered personal significance. Having served in the Marines from 1988 to 2003, Wright felt an overwhelming call to re-enlist following the 9/11 attacks.
His specialized skill as a static line jump master sent him “from the couch to the desert” for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Now pursuing his passion for writing alongside traditional-age undergraduates, seeing younger students honor the anniversary gave him a powerful sense of hope and continuity.
“I like seeing all of the young students out here helping with this and commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks,” Wright said. “For people who are older and lived through 9/11 we understand the sense of loss, the tragicness of it. It gives me hope that the younger generation is keeping the spirit alive and never forgetting.”
For Head Women’s Basketball Coach Jen Brown, a native New Yorker who was a high school student in midtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, the day carries deep personal weight.
“It’s very somber,” Brown shared, reflecting on her family back in Brooklyn and her sister, who served as a nurse responding at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “I don’t think people understand the mental toll it took on the first responders and the nurses and doctors. It was a very traumatic experience for everybody.”
Yet, Brown sees the same national unity that emerged in 2001 reflected on campus today.
When asked what today’s students, most of whom were born after 2001, should carry forward, Brown’s message was simple: perspective and gratitude.
“Never take any day, any second for granted,” Brown said. “You should be appreciative of every second you get to spend with your loved ones.”