“I have never before had a day like September 11, 2001. How does one know what to feel when they cannot even comprehend the reality they are seeing?” — Courtney Jett, in the September 13, 2001 issue of The Rotunda

While very few things unite Americans in 2026 — there is one glaring exception, particularly for those born before the turn of the millennium in 2000. They remember exactly where they were and what they were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. 

Those who witnessed the attacks from Longwood College are no exception. Twenty-five years after the tragedy of 9/11, while the horror of the attacks sticks with those who were alive to see it, the memories of the Longwood community uniting to help each other through the attacks and their aftermath are perhaps even more powerful.

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THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 11

“I had an 8 o'clock printmaking class in Bedford,” Senior Director of Alumni Engagement Nicole Perkins ‘05 said. “I overslept and arrived shortly before 9am. My classmates that I sat with were big gamers and were talking about a plane crashing into a tower. I thought they were talking about a game.” 

“It wasn't until a little after 9 a.m. when another professor came into the classroom and went to our professor in haste. They spoke for a moment and our professor calmly told us what was happening and for us all to go back to our dorm rooms and call to check on loved ones. She was visibly shaken, but so calm when she told us to go. Class was cancelled for the day.”

Throughout campus, each member of the Longwood community discovered the news alongside the rest of the country. Dr. Maureen Walls-McKay, director of Counseling & Psychological Services, delivered the news to her colleagues.

“Our vice president for student affairs, Dr. Tim Pierson, was in a meeting with other university leaders in the Hiner building and I interrupted the meeting to inform them that a plane had struck the World Trade Center in New York City,” she said. “Just before I went into the meeting I stopped at the TV in the Hiner hallway and the second tower was struck. It felt surreal.”

Dr. Sarah Tanner-Anderson ‘02 and ‘07, said, “I remember being in a class in the library when I heard someone loudly scream, followed by the commotion of people quickly gathering around the TVs. We all ventured out into the main area outside of the classrooms to watch the horror unfold real-time on live television.”

As the morning progressed, students, faculty and staff alike remained glued to their televisions for updates on the developing situation.

“When I got back to Frazer, now Johns, I found one of my best friends in the lobby coming from his class,” Perkins said. “He came with me back to my suite to watch the news as we tried to understand what was happening. The next two hours were heart wrenching and forever changed all of us. Suite doors were open and everyone was gathering in friends' rooms watching the TV.”

“We knew we were probably safe in Farmville, VA, but our minds were running while we frantically tried to contact friends and family. Then, the third plane hit the Pentagon,” she said.

Once the attacks turned toward Virginia, they became even more personal for those at Longwood. With a large student population from Northern Virginia, students began frantically attempting to contact their relatives.

“My friend's dad worked at the Pentagon… His siblings needed to be picked up from school, no one could get his mom on the phone and dad wasn't answering either. He was a wreck,” she said.

As millions of Americans rushed to contact their loved ones, the volume of calls overwhelmed infrastructure and knocked out phone lines. “I just remember that we were all so, so scared. I remember classmates panicking because they were from Northern Virginia and couldn’t contact their families with phone lines down,” Tanner-Anderson said. “This was before smartphones – we were at the mercy of what communication or news updates we could get. It was genuinely terrifying.”

Both Perkins and Tanner-Anderson, in particular, remember how their sense of safety vanished in that moment, particularly following the attack on the Pentagon. No longer was the horror of September 11 confined to the World Trade Center; it was now less than a three-hour drive away.

Perkins, originally from Tidewater, said her mind gravitated to the major military bases and shipyard not far from her hometown. The attack on the Pentagon “was the first time that morning that I realized we were not safe. Our friends and families back home were not safe. It was a jarring feeling,” she said.

“One that we all felt. One that I haven't felt since and hope to never again.”

Tanner-Anderson said, “I remember feeling, for the first time in my life, so incredibly vulnerable. So naïve. I think that was probably true for a lot of us, in that we lived with a blissful ignorance of terrorism. Having grown up in the 80s and 90s, I remember thinking war was distant and global problems were outward… September 11 was the first time I remember feeling like I wasn’t safe as an American.”

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COPING AND UNIFYING IN THE AFTERMATH

While the attacks themselves ended at 10:28 a.m., with the collapse of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the fear and vulnerability remained. 

“I remember how quickly the normal rhythm of campus disappeared. Classes, plans, homework, whatever you thought you were going to do that day — it all suddenly felt unimportant,” Perkins said. 

Reporters from The Rotunda, reporting the news while processing the attacks themselves, wrote, “Disbelief and shock has consumed the campus. Blank expressions cover faces of the Longwood community. So many students cannot understand why this has happened.”

Included in the Sept. 13 issue are reactions from students, which varied from confused to furious to despondent. “‘Our generation, a sheltered generation that has never been touched by anything close to this magnitude, is the one who will have to live through it. Our friends and family will be the ones who will die this time. I was scared. I'm still scared,’” one student said.

iN the hours following the attack, Longwood community members did what they could — joining the rest of the country in figuring out the best response to a situation once considered unfathomable at 8:45 a.m. the same morning.

By coincidence, the Virginia Blood Mobile was set up outside of the Farmville Walmart for a regular visit. According to The Rotunda, those working the Blood Mobile were overwhelmed by the outpouring of interest, running out of blood bags and at one point hitting a three-hour wait to give blood.

At Longwood, the attacks occurred just a few months following the Great Fire which claimed the original Rotunda (then-Ruffner Hall) and the original Grainger Hall. Already enduring one crisis close to home, the Longwood community was forced to come together once again — this time coping with an even greater loss with even fewer answers.

On the night of September 11, according to The Rotunda, then-President Patricia Cormier and Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Tim Pierson held a prayer vigil on Wheeler Mall. 

“After what we went through, I didn't think I'd have to stand up here again for another tragedy," Cormier said. "America will rally. The American spirit, our spirit, will prevail.” 

Pierson also addressed students and told them, “These tragic events give us pause to realize how precious life is. We know that we can hold on to others for comfort, help, grace and love." Following their addresses, members of Chi Alpha led the crowd in prayer — praying for the victims, their families, those in hospitals, those potentially trapped in the rubble, President George W. Bush and “even the perpetrators behind the tragedy.”

“As the students stood up and held the hands of the students around them, one last and final prayer was given that God would help Americans see through this tragedy.”

Another vigil was held in front of Lankford on September 14, where students were invited to share their thoughts. 

Then, on September 15, Longwood hosted its annual “Citizen Leader Day” — a day in which students were able to participate in a community service project in order to learn about citizen leadership. Originally intended as a coastal clean-up, its focus was shifted to support the relief efforts following the attacks.

Longwood students sold ribbons to those in Farmville, stationed around the community to raise money for the Red Cross’ relief efforts. Students also put together a quilt to be sent to New York University, and other students made quilts to be sent to victims of the attacks still in the hospital.

“‘What is so special about Longwood College?’ At a time when America and all that we esteem came under attack on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Longwood College community rallied together through prayer, support, and fundraising of over $5,000. Few schools can claim that their school is truly a close-knit family,” one student, Crystal Coleman, wrote in The Rotunda. 

“When news of the [attack] reached a quiet Virginian town, students shared tears, prayers, and are continuing to see each other through this tragic attack on America,” she continued.

The Rotunda published a ‘Thank You’ for the students, faculty and staff who participated in those efforts — including names like Walls-McKay, Susan Sullivan, Dr. Alix Fink and others.

Tanner-Anderson said, “Longwood has a special way of coming together during crisis. I remember feeling thankful to be a part of a family like Longwood as we grieved and mourned the loss of so many American lives, and, in many ways, of our innocence.”

“As the world seemingly began spiraling with fear and talks of sleeper cells among us, we banded together. Longwood was its own bubble of community and comfort,” Perkins said. “Some ran out and joined the military, others became political advocates against war, and all of us questioned the PATRIOT Act and what the future would hold.”

Two days following the attacks, Longwood held its annual Convocation ceremony. While the 9/11 attacks loomed over the event, the tradition allowed students to return to a sense of normalcy. 

One student wrote in The Rotunda, “While everyone in the room was laughing from the sights of the caps, I found it to be such a moving thing, and definitely a time for those seniors to look back on with happiness and for underclassmen to look forward to with pride. The ceremony on that particular day, seemed to be one that showed how, in the face of sorrow in this country, life does go on. And here at Longwood College we will still stand tall and proud, and we still congratulate our graduating class who deserve all the hope, success, and happiness that this world can bring.”

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REMEMBERING, 25 YEARS LATER

Among those who lost their lives in the attack is Joseph Achundia, a 1997 alumnus of Longwood College. Achundia was a psychology major at Longwood and a member of Pi Kappa Phi. The following was included about him in the September 12, 2002 issue of The Rotunda, which reflected on the first anniversary of the tragedy:

“‘Joe was a caring, thoughtful, and loving person. He would do anything for anyone without ever being asked. Joe loved every day whether he spent it hanging around with family or friends, or working. His smile seemed to never fade. Everyone who knew Joe was blessed. [He] was truly special. He lived to take care of others and make everyone happy. 

His soft voice and gentle demeanor were comforting and welcomed by others. Everywhere he went he made friends effortlessly. His work ethic inspired others. There was no job Joe could not tackle. [He] loved all things life had to offer, especially food, music, and the outdoors. Joe will be missed terribly. 

He would want everyone to realize how precious life is and move forward together to make everyday even more wonderful than the last.’”

Achundia worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center as a financial researcher for Sandler O'Neil. A plaque dedicated to his memory is located near Johns Hall, located on the side facing Willett Hall.

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At this point, and for several years now, the vast majority of Longwood students and recent graduates were not yet alive on September 11, 2001.

However, for those who were alive on 9/11, the memories of that day continue to stay with them. Even those not connected to a victim of the attacks have been directly impacted.

Perkins said, “9/11 was happening in real time, we watched on live TV as the second plane hit the towers. We watched as the buildings collapsed. We watched New Yorkers running covered in dust and debris. It was jaw dropping. It was like a movie, but we were living it. Not just us, but every American experienced it in real time.”

She added, “I think what stands out to me most now is how different the world felt after that day. We went to sleep on September 10 living our very normal college lives and woke up on September 12 in a different world.”

However, even those who were not alive to witness the attacks have been directly impacted as well. Notably, those born after September 11 have no recollection of what a pre-9/11 world may have looked like. 

Most of those currently enrolled at Longwood have never known a world without the Department of Homeland Security, a world without the PATRIOT Act, a world before a significant surge in Islamophobia or a world without continuous military deployments in the Middle East. 

For most Longwood students and recent graduates, the world on September 12, 2001 and after is the only one they’ve ever known. That said, it is not a world we are doomed to live in.

A better future relies on us acting more like Longwood on September 12, and less like the world that 9/11 left in its wake.