Chester Academy honors 25th anniversary of 9/11 with a ‘Walk to Remember’

Chester Academy staff and students observed the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 with a schoolwide remembrance, planting flags in a field of red, white, and blue at the front of their building. Faculty remembered loved ones lost, and students honored the lives taken years before their own lives began, with a “Walk to Remember.”

At 8:46 a.m., hundreds gathered outside for the walk, each step representing one of 2,977 lives lost in the attacks. Some held each other, others carried memories of the day and people they will never forget.

Chester Kiwanis donated nearly 600 American flags for the event, and provided water bottles for those who walked.

The movement began last year as a public health campaign project in Jennifer Daly’s Introduction to Health Careers class. As students grasped topics in budgeting, resource mapping, and campaign planning, Daly enlisted their help in creating one for their own community.

Student involvement was a “game-changer” for implementing the idea, according to Daly.

“This was something I thought was important to do, but I really needed a little help figuring out how to make it big, so I engaged the students. They used the skills they had just developed in our Public Health Unit and applied them to the 9/11 Walk to Remember. Together, the class brought the idea to life,” said Daly.

Members of the class planned the mission statement, logo, route around campus, budget, special accommodations, and other steps necessary to put on the event.

“I felt that students get more disengaged just hearing about 9/11, and I felt like doing something that honored the moment and had something meaningful to it while also being fun,” said senior Ilanna Ulanday, one of 20 students who collaborated in planning the walk.

What emerged was an activity that was centered around a communal, kinesthetic experience that took the intention of remembering to a more impactful level.

The first year was a trial, during which the class extended the invitation for others to join. This year, it became a schoolwide initiative to respect, to reflect, and encourage students to learn the impact that can still be felt in 2026, and beyond.

“Seeing all the videos and hearing a lot of experiences from different teachers really helped us realize what it had done to many people, especially the ones that lost their families and friends during 9/11. It makes us feel the newer generation is in touch with everyone else...We are going to take this, and we are going to show you that we’re acknowledging it, and won’t forget about it, ever,” added Ulanday.