The Wantagh High School Key Club hosted Community Conversations on the evening on Sept. 24, a 9/11 service project that helped the younger generation learn about and understand the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The event was the official launch to the Key Club’s 9/11 service project, “Living Memorial: Stories That Serve.” Students will interview survivors, family members, first responders and community members connected to Sept. 11, then write and publish their stories on a student-created website.

They Key Club, led by adviser Kathleen Flynn, an English teacher, has been selected a recipient of a 9/11 Day grant for its project. The national nonprofit organization helped establish September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. 

During Community Conversations, students and guests heard powerful recollections of the day from New York State Sen. Steve Rhoads, a Wantagh High School graduate, and Phyllis Quinlan, the executive career coach at Cohen Children’s Center and a charge nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital on Sept. 11. They shared their experiences from the day, including the uncertainty that followed the attacks, the humanity that emerged in the aftermath and the emotional impact on themselves and loved ones. Both speakers emphasized the goodness of people that comes out in the worst of times, and the importance of giving back to the community.