As the sun rose over Rice Stadium Thursday morning, the echo of footsteps filled the stands. Dozens of students from Rice University’s Naval ROTC program, joined by peers from other universities and members of the Rice community, climbed, jogged and walked their way up and down the stadium stairs — 28 times in total, matching the 2,200 steps it would take to reach the top of the World Trade Center’s 110 stories.
The stair climb was held to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, now 24 years past. For participants, it was both a physical challenge and a deeply personal act of remembrance.
“We’re out here to commemorate the first responders and the heroes of 9/11, just to show our gratitude and show our remembrance,” said Austin Nguyen, a midshipman fourth class and freshman bioengineering major at Rice. “America has given my family a lot of opportunities, and it means a lot to be giving back — to remember those who gave their lives as responders and as heroes.”
Capt. Mike Kinter, who took over last month as the commanding officer of the Houston Consortium of Naval ROTC, said he was encouraged by the strong turnout.
“They started this a couple of years ago at the unit, and every year it gets bigger,” Kinter said. “Some of the athletic departments are here today, a lot of civilians from campus — it’s cool to see that turnout. Hopefully next year we can get more people and grow this event into something that reaches out to the local community.”
For Kinter, the meaning of the day was clear. “It’s a great day to take time to reflect on what today means and come together as a nation,” he said. “That’s what 9/11 symbolizes for me — the whole nation coming together, putting aside their differences and being unified.”
Among those joining the climb was Vincent Armetta, associate athletic director for compliance, who is now in his fifth year at Rice. Inspired by last year’s coverage of the event, he said he made it a priority to participate this time.
“It’s a great way to remember 9/11 and what happened that day and to start the day doing this with the community,” Armetta said. “For people my age and even younger who don’t really remember that day, it’s always a good reminder of what happened.”
The energy of the morning, he added, made the challenge a little lighter: “Being surrounded by the ROTC students definitely made it a little easier to run the stairs.”