On Sept. 11 at 12:30 p.m. the Iona community gathered in front of Ryan Library for a memorial service to honor the lives lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Iona College Pipe Band opened the service. Various Iona students, faculty, and guests spoke at the service. They shared words of comfort, prayers, and the names of Iona alumni that lost their lives as a result of the horrific attacks.

The Director of the Office of Mission and Ministry, Carl Procario-Foley, welcomed all those in attendance. Procario-Foley felt that the service was a fitting way for the Iona community to honor its fallen heroes. Senior Campus Minister Alexa Serrecchia encouraged the student body to participate in the projects of the “National Day of Service.” “The tradition of Iona and Edmund Rice, and the Catholic tradition call us to be beacons of light in service,” said Procario-Foley. He added that, “Service is an opportunity to seize that invitation to be agents of hope.”

Wednesday afternoon’s service included comforting words from Rev. Susan Jion Postal, Dr. Ingrid Greiger, junior Najee Barnes and senior Derek Krautkremer. The Mission and Ministry Choir and Iona Singers provided heartfelt performances. SGA President, senior Jaclyn Shearer, listed the names of the seventeen Iona alumni and first responders who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. Iona College President, Dr. Joseph Nyre, observed this as a day of remembering.

“[The service] really brought everything close to home knowing that alumni of Iona were directly affected,” Krautkremer said. Students, faculty, and guests sat before the Sept. 11 memorial plaque on the lawn in front of Ryan Library, where beautiful red, white and blue flowers were placed. “The least we can do is take a few minutes out of our day and remember those that were lost,” said Krautkremer.