Meet a 9/11 Memorial Host

Jason Nolan, a Connecticut native, remembers being in seventh grade gym class on the morning of September 11, 2001. An announcement came over the loudspeaker while his gym teacher was taking attendance, telling students what happened. His school sent students home early that day, and his parents came to pick him up.

Ten years later, Nolan moved to New York City after graduating college. He began working as a visitor services host at the 9/11 Memorial in April 2012.

Nolan recalled an instance after he had first started working at the memorial. Two French women were wandering around the south pool, looking for a name. He approached them and searched for the name they were looking for. When he brought them to the name, they both broke down crying. “It was the first time anyone had cried in front of me on the plaza. You feel what they’re feeling,” Nolan said, “It’s an emotional place.”

He spoke with two women about their friend and learned about their relationship with him. For Nolan, speaking with friends and family of victims is a way of getting to know them and honoring their memories. “They become more than just a name on the memorial,” he said. He noted one 9/11 Memorial volunteer who encourages visitors to read a name on the memorial aloud to better humanize victims.

Nolan usually starts his day positioned by the memorial entrance looking to help in any way and preparing for a slew of visitors. “Most visitors are coming to the memorial for the first time,” he said, “It’s important to keep that in mind.” Nolan is always open to questions when assisting visitors on the plaza, some of whom do not know much about 9/11.

One month ago Nolan was given the task of escorting a large group of cadets from The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point on a memorial tour. Many were visiting for the first time.

Nolan enjoys talking to people and getting to hear their side of the 9/11 story. “It’s rewarding to talk to people and listen to what they’re feeling,” he said. Nolan claims that working at the 9/11 memorial has made him prepared to deal with almost anything. It has also made him realize what a great loss 9/11 was for New York City and the entire world.

For someone with no personal connection to 9/11, Nolan also identifies with the story of the survivor tree. “It’s something that animates strength, stability, regrowth and renewal,” he said, “Those values speak to everyone. It’s a strong symbolism anyone can connect to.”

By Emily Bonta, 9/11 Memorial Communications Intern