Students Climb 2,200 Steps to Honor Lives Lost, Heroes of 9/11

TThe stadium stairs at Independence High School became a place of remembrance Wednesday morning as students and guests from the Kern High School District’s ROC/CTEC Public Service Programs climbed 2,200 steps in honor of the first responders who answered the call on Sept. 11, 2001.

The annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb took on added significance this year as the nation prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Students and guests climbed 2,200 steps, representing the approximately 110 stories of the World Trade Center towers and offering a glimpse into the physical demands faced by first responders who climbed the towers as thousands evacuated.

For ROC/CTEC students preparing for careers in public service, the memorial carried particular meaning. None were alive on 9/11, but the climb gave them a tangible connection to an event they have known only through history and to the first responders whose actions that day still resonate 25 years later.

“I decided to do the run because I want to show appreciation to everybody who risked their lives in the tragedy of 9/11,” Maddox Guerrero, a senior at Golden Valley High School, shared after completing the challenge. “When I heard the story as a kid, it inspired me to become an officer to help people, whether I put my life on the line or not.”

Ridgeview High School junior Yuritzi Villatoro also participated to pay respect to those who served that day.

“To be part of this is a huge honor, and I think it shows that we are dedicated students and we are determined to do anything,” she said.