Lindsey Wilson University

Lindsey Wilson University Students Help Campus Remember 9/11

Since 2002, Lindsey Wilson student leaders have honored 9/11 victims with simple act of lining campus sidewalks with U.S. flags.

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (09/11/2026) — A group of Lindsey Wilson University students who were born after 9/11 spent part of their evening on Thursday, Sept. 10, making sure that the campus community never forgets about that day or its consequences.

The students were part of the Lindsey Wilson Student Government Association, who has since 2002 commemorated the day by placing 8-by-12-inch U.S. flags along sidewalks in the center of the A.P. White Campus. This year, it took nine students a little more than half an hour to plant more than 500 U.S. flags that greeted the Lindsey Wilson community on the morning of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"It adds a little more depth to the day," said Adelyn Bennett '29 of Columbia, a human services and counseling and psychology double major from Columbia who is sophomore class president. "The second you see the flags, you know what a big day this is for our country."

Bennett was born in 2007, more than 2,000 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But thanks to the Adair County schools she attended, Bennett learned to appreciate the nearly 3,000 Americans who were killed by terrorists when four hijacked commercial airliners struck the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"Our schools would have an assembly every year," she said. "The entire day at our school was spent learning about 9/11, making sure that none of the victims were forgotten. It's always been a big day for me."

Brayden Irvin '30 of Windsor, Kentucky, also received an education about 9/11 throughout the years he attended schools in nearby Casey County, Kentucky.

"9/11 is really close to me," said Irvin, a business administration and recreation, tourism and sport management double major who was born in 2008, more than 2,300 days after 9/11. "Every 9/11 we would do some kind of activity. It's why I got involved with it here."

'It's important to remember'

The meaning of 9/11 was also learned by a Lindsey Wilson student who grew up more than 3,800 miles from Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center once stood.

Business graduate student Kyra Engel of Langgons, Germany, said that "my parents told me about the day and said it was an incredible experience."

Engel, who was born in 2003, more than 600 days after 9/11, said that while 9/11 is not "talked about as much in Germany as it is here, but it's still really important to us."

"It's important to remember it and its impact," said Engel, who is the international student representative in SGA.

Student Trina Nguyen '30 said it was also important for her to get involved with the memorial. A nursing major from Columbia, Nguyen said she heard stories about the day from her family members.

"When I'm putting out these flags, each one represents someone who was affected by the tragedy or helped rebuild after that day," said Nguyen, who was born in 2007, more than 2,200 days after 9/11.

Close to home

A big reason Lindsey Wilson student governments have honored the victims of 9/11 for a quarter-century is because of the leadership, encouragement and guidance they have received from Dean of Students Chris Schmidt.

A native of Staten Island, New York, Schmidt watched the events of 9/11 unfold on a television set in the university's Cralle Student Union Building.

One of Schmidt's high school and college classmates died on 9/11. Joseph Maffeo was a 30-year-old New York City firefighter killed in the line of duty. Schmidt said he shares Maffeo's story with LWU students, especially whenever he accompanies them on trips to New York City and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan.

"I show the picture of Joe to the students, and I tell them as they go into the hall to look for Joe, to pray for Joe, to think about Joe's family, to think about his 1-year-old son that would never see him," said Schmidt. "I want them to know there are thousands of other families that never got to have their mom, their dad, their brother, their sister and their cousins come home after that day. It's very important that they understand the significance of the history."

'Still has an impact'

Lindsey Wilson student Mynor Chic '29 of Russell Springs, Kentucky, visited the 9/11 Memorial & Museum when he was a senior at nearby Russell County High School. Chic, who was born in 2007, more than 2,100 days after 9/11, said the memorial "still has an impact on me."

"It's very bittersweet to experience," said Chic, an engineering mechanics major who is this year's student government vice president.

Members of the Lindsey Wilson student government said the organization's annual effort to honor the victims of 9/11 has become a kind of temporary extension of that memorial in Lower Manhattan.

"It's deepened my appreciation for 9/11 because it's made me reflect on how much our country has gone through and how much we've grown together on this day," said Braxton Crook '27 of Lebanon, Tennessee, who has worked on the last three campus memorials.

"Putting out these flags represents how much we have in this country," added Crook, the student government's chief of staff who was born in 2006, more than 1,700 days after 9/11.

Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.

Media Attachments

LWU 9/11 01

Nine Lindsey Wilson University students spent part of their Sept. 10 evening planting U.S. flags alongside central sidewalks of the A.P. White Campus to honor the victims of 9/11. From left: business graduate student Kyra Engel of Langgons, Germany; Trina Nguyen '30 of Columbia; Adelyn Bennett '29 of Columbia; Brinkley Todd '28 of Louisville, Kentucky; Braxton Crook '27 of Lebanon, Tennessee; Ryan Burkett '30 of Shepherdsville, Kentucky; Brayden Irvin '30 of Windsor, Kentucky; and Michael Wood '30 of Charleston, Tennessee. Not pictured: Mynor Chic '29 of Russell Springs, Kentucky.

LWU 9/11 02

Lindsey Wilson University students, from left, Ryan Burkett '30 of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, Brinkley Todd '28 of Louisville, Kentucky, and Adelyn Bennett '29 of Columbia, were among the nine LWU students who helped plant more than 500 U.S. flags on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 10, alongside central sidewalks of the A.P. White Campus to honor the victims of 9/11.

LWU 9/11 03

Lindsey Wilson University student Michael Wood '30 of Charleston, Tennessee, plants U.S. flags along a sidewalk next to the university's L.R. McDonald Administration Building on Thursday, Sept. 10, to honor the victims of 9/11.

LWU 9/11 04

Since 2002, members of the Lindsey Wilson University Student Government Association have lined the central sidewalks of the A.P. White Campus to honor the victims of 9/11.

Kyra

Engel