Meet a Memorial Host, Who Has Studied 9/11

Samantha Rooney, a Monmouth County, N.J. native, is one of the many visitor services hosts at the 9/11 Memorial. Rooney was in seventh grade on Sept. 11, 2001. She remembers an eighth grader running down the hallway of her school screaming that the “twin towers fell.” Her father picked both her and her brother up from school and took them to the beach, where they could see the New York City skyline. She saw smoke rising where the towers had been. “Words could not even express what was going on,” she said.

Rooney went on to attend Rider University, where she majored in history. Her senior thesis focused on 9/11 and how it affected Monmouth County. She researched all the victims of the attacks who were from Monmouth and how their deaths affected the county. Given her interest in 9/11 and desire to help those who were personally affected by the events, Rooney applied and began working at the 9/11 Memorial in March 2012.

Rooney enjoys interacting with the wide array of visitors the memorial attracts on the plaza. She also recently began working in the family reception room, which serves as an entry point for 9/11 families. She noted the reactions of family members. “They’re either very sad or they’re at peace,” she said, “Sometimes they want to talk and sometimes they don’t.”

While working on the 11th anniversary of the attacks, Rooney remembered speaking with a survivor about her experience evacuating the South Tower. She headed down a stairwell in the South Tower with her boss after seeing the first plane hit the North Tower. They got about ten floors down when she felt the building shake, at the moment the second plane hit the South Tower. They continued out of the building and began walking toward South Street Seaport. As they were walking, the South Tower collapsed and part of the building fell right in front of them. “It was the craziest story I’ve ever heard,” Rooney said.

She also recalled another visitor on the 11th anniversary near the Flight 93 section of the South Pool. He arranged hibiscus flowers in the shape of the infinity sign around the names of a husband and wife. “He stood in one spot during the entire names ceremony,” she said. “People would move the flowers around, and he would just rearrange them without a word.”

Rooney feels strongly about the educational aspects of the memorial and museum. “Children should be educated about 9/11,” she said, “They should not be absent-minded about the impact of the attacks.”

By Emily Bonta, 9/11 Memorial Communications Intern