Below are first-hand recollections of the experiences of USC students during the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Taylor Hill, second-year advertising student
Hill was at home with her mother in Oklahoma. When her mom found out what happened, she immediately called her husband because he was in the army. He didn’t pick up and didn’t find out about 9/11 until he came home. “We weren’t allowed to leave the house all day. We just stayed in and watched TV. At the time, I didn’t really understand why,” Hill said.
Sterling Robertson, second-year international business and accounting student
“I was at recess and the teachers called us and lined us up. No one really knew what to say or how to tell us. They ended up just telling us that something bad happened, no specifics,” Robertson said. According to Robertson, school let out early, and he went home and didn’t do anything. Robertson's parents just watched the news all afternoon. He wasn’t worried because he didn’t understand what was happening.
Mary-Kate Koschnitzki, first-year exercise science student
School let out early, but Koschnitzki didn’t think it was anything unusual because everyone was leaving. She said her parents sheltered her from 9/11. They didn’t want her exposed to the violence.
Hayley Schmitt, first-year journalism student
Schmitt was frantically picked up from daycare by her mom. “I live in Nashville, and the roads are usually packed, but they were eerily empty that day," Schmitt said. "Everything was closed.”