Week #8/9 at Voices Center for Resilience

These past 2 weeks have been extremely interesting and educational for me as an intern. As the program comes to an end we have been given a lot more individual responsibility and have been able to put our own spins on some of the projects we have been working on.

Last Thursday, 7/22, I went into the 9/11 Memorial and Museum with the four other interns, and 3 of our bosses. Mary, who founded VOICES, was asked to give an interview with the OCME that was held in the memorial. The interview was about how the OCME has been able to identify more remains of 9/11 victims due to improved technology and what the correct way is to go about telling those families that their loved ones remains have been found, 20 years later. We were able to watch Mary give this interview while we were there and I could not stop thinking about the Great Man Theory, during this time. Mary truly seems to be some one “born to lead,” as she gave a phenomenal interview and talked about her son, Brad, death without hesitation. She was able to talk about 9/11 and the tragedies that followed for her and others in a very clear and motivational way that I felt exemplified the Great Man Theory. I know others who have been impacted by 9/11 and I have never met anyone who has been able to talk about this event in the way Mary has been able to, as she showed empathy, concern, and resilience during this interview. She created VOICES due to the impact that 9/11 had on her family and I believe this alone exemplifies the Great Man Theory. Everyone grieves tragedy and loss in their own way and this is something I have learned a lot about during this internship, and Mary’s was to become a leader in this community and help others, as she felt it was her calling. It was an eye-opening experience watching Mary give this interview after working for her for 8 weeks and seeing her talk about all the information and data that we provided for her to give this interview. We also walked through the living memorial that exists in the museum currently for all the 9/11 victims. We have been working on the living memorial for the 9/11 responders and survivors who have since died after the attack and it was really amazing and meaningful to see what all of the work we have been doing will one day turn into.