by maureen kelly chesky ’02
REMEMBERING 9/11: FACULTY REFLECTIONS
Associate Director of College Counseling
‘I did feel lost; the world I once knew was forever changed’
Maureen Kelly Chesky ’02 at her Commencement with father, Don, left, and mother, Jane, right. ¤ Maureen Kelly Chesky ’02 today, as Associate Director of College Counseling.
M
y senior year had just started as I sat in Mr. D’Avanzo’s physics class on a bright, crisp September morning. Although I cannot recall exactly what was on my mind at that time, I can imagine that some of the only uncertainties in my life likely involved the college application process and trying to understand what Mr. D. was teaching. I was probably even initially grateful for the interruption when Mr. Easler, then Dean of Students, unexpectedly knocked on our classroom door to deliver Mr. D. a note. However, as Mr. D. read from the note, he told our class that a plane had just hit one of the World Trade Center towers and that class was dismissed. Many of us walked down the hill to the Spa, confused about what was going on. In shock and disbelief, faculty, staff and students gathered around the campus center TVs and watched the events of that September 11 morning unfold. Our school’s global community not only tried to understand what was going on in the world, but from the steps of Rich Hall, classmates and teachers desperately tried to connect with
loved ones, some who were traveling on planes, some who lived and worked in New York City. One of the feelings I remember most from that day is feeling truly uncertain for one of the first times in my life. Thankfully, I did not suffer the direct loss that many did that day, but I did feel lost; the world I once knew was forever changed in ways that I would not yet even understand. Despite the uncertainty and the tremendous loss that many experienced that day, WMA remained a constant, unwavering community that helped its students navigate and understand the drastically changing world around us. Under normal circumstances, high school and senior year, in particular, is a time of great uncertainty, but when events like those of September 11, 2001, take place, the world is an even more confusing place to be trying to find your place in. Now as a college counselor, I think about this especially as the COVID-19 pandemic upends the world we know and changes the senior year experience for our current students. Despite the uncertainty, I know that WMA continues to be that community of students, faculty and staff coming together to support one another.
WILB R AHAM & MONSON AC ADEMY
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