Long Island students born years after 9/11 learn from those who lived through it

Schools across the New York City area marked 25 years since 9/11 with remembrance and service.

In Hempstead, students born years after that tragic day heard firsthand from those who lived through it.

"The first responders are the lifesavers. They were there day one," said Anthony Knight, who spent weeks working as an electrician on the smoldering pile at Ground Zero.

Knight got choked up remembering those who rushed into the burning towers and never came out. Twenty-five years later, he wants students to know not only what happened, but how people responded.

"Work together, be resilient and volunteer," Knight said.

Dawn Gonzalez' sister Jenine died when the towers fell. She offered a lesson learned through her own grief.

"You will have times in your life where you just maybe think that you can't go on," she said. "And you can find joy and happiness. Give it time."

Friday's lesson wasn't just about looking back; students turned it into action, making care packages for children experiencing homelessness.

"It is our duty to promote the peace and kindness that the community deserves," senior Zubasha Chowdhury said.

"Always check on that person that you care [about], that you love," another student said.

School Superintendent Gary Rush says the message of coming together must be taught year-round.

"Whenever traumatic events like that happen across the country, we band together the most," he said. "We shouldn't have to have traumatic events to maintain the way that we come together."

The students also confronted the hatred behind the attacks.

"If people keep hating on each other, people keep creating more violence, they'll just end up in a cycle of hatred," senior Leandro Amador said.

Students were asked to put into words what 9/11 means 25 years later.

One wrote, "Today, we remember what we can overcome."