CitrusTV Speaks to the 2020-2021 Remembrance Scholars

Nicole Aponte, SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse University community comes together today to honor the lives lost in the Pan Am 103 Flight. Due to COVID-19, this Memorial Service is to be held on Zoom at 2:03 pm EST. – the exact time that the flight was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland – 32 years ago.

In a normal year, this service is held in person, in which each Remembrance Scholar offers a personal reflection about the student they represent. CitrusTV had the chance to speak to Remembrance Scholar Elizabeth Kunnel who describes today as a place of gathering and support for the families who tragically lost their loved ones 32 years ago.

She goes on to say that being a Remembrance Scholar means “being a part of a community that is larger than yourself.” This statement applies to all Remembrance Scholars, as they all live out the motto: “Look Back, Act Forward.”

Looking back and acting forward is something that senior Daijha Thompson practices every day as a Remembrance Scholar. “It’s not fair that those 35 students didn’t get the chance to live the lives they were meant to live.” She wants to bring justice and fairness to this situation through her actions and words.

Whether the same major, similar interests, or the optimistic outlook on life, the Remembrance Scholars all feel they are meant to represent the student they are assigned for a reason.

“It’s an honor and responsibility to create spaces on this campus that do not typically happen”, Remembrance Scholar Andrew Jack Seymour stated. “The opportunity to be a Remembrance Scholar is one of the most rewarding and challenging things I have done at Syracuse University, and I am very honored for the opportunity.”