Miracles after September 11 Tragedy

By Kate Roberti
Kellie Kenny remembers sitting in traffic on the New Jersey turnpike with a perfect view of the twin towers sparkling in the beautiful morning’s blue sky. The buildings taunted her due to her unusual tardiness.
If it were any other day she would have been at her desk on the 78th floor of the 2nd tower of the world trade center, not in her car listening to Howard Stern. She was running late.
Kellie had dropped her husband Brian Kenny off at a job interview in Morristown. He had lost his job at the trade center in November of that year.
“I was never late, that’s how my best friend Carolyn and I became so close- we were always, always the first ones there.” Kellie said.
On any other day, as the rest of the 225 people who worked on her floor would filter in, Kellie and Carolyn would be finishing up their morning coffee chat.
Kelly first began working in the trade center fresh out of college for Cantor Fitzgerlad, located on the 7th floor of the second tower. Former boss and Stonehill alum, Timmy Coughlin, created an early bird gets the worm environment. Kellie says she prided herself in being one of his “star students” and credits Timmy for her go- getter mentality that progressed her career. In March 1999 Kellie left Cantor to work for Baseline, graduating to the 78th floor.
On Sept. 11, 2001, stuck in unexpected traffic, Kellie watched from the turnpike as the first plane hit tower 1. In shock and disbelief she called Brian, “I had turned off my phone because I was talking to people for the interview, but in between conversations someone came in and told us one of the towers had been hit. “One or two? I asked, which one? And then someone put a hand on my shoulder. Both,” Said Brian.
Brian excused himself to the bathroom where he turned on his phone and received “the most chilling thing I had ever heard.” He said, his wife was hysterical on the voicemail. A plane had hit the tower, she was saying.
“While I was on the phone leaving the message about what I believed to be an accident at the time, I saw the second plane making its way toward tower 2,” Kellie said. She watched a plane directly into the 78th floor, all she could think about were the people inside: her friends, her co-workers. It was where she would have been on any other day.
After hanging up with Brian’s voicemail, Kellie called her best friend, Carolyn. She remembers screaming into the phone, “you better not be in that building, you better be safe.” Carolyn, her partner in punctuality was running late as well. Carolyn had been waiting for the elevator in the lobby of tower 2 when the first plane hit. She escaped unscathed.
“There are so many stories like mine,” said Kellie. Another good friend of Kellie’s had called into to work sick because it was her wedding anniversary.
“It’s weird how your mind works, I continued to drive, I continued to park for work in my usual spot. I got out of my car and stood there watching, I willed it to go away, I just want it to go away. “ Kellie said. “It was the weirdest sensation. I was willing it to go away, but it didn’t. I sat on the ground crying and just thought WHAT DO I DO? I wanted it to be normal day. I just wanted to go to work.” she said.
After calling a close friend in Chatom who was so thankful to hear Kellie’s voice, Kellie got in her car and began to drive out of the city. “My closest friend in Chatom wasn’t that far away from me, Brian and I made plans to meet there.”
Back on the turnpike, Kellie was now driving away from the deadly scene. Kellie did all she could to concentrate on the road. “I remember seeing people getting out of their cars and dropping to the ground crying. I couldn’t believe they were just hearing about it then,” said Kelly.
“Probably ten days later the funerals started.” Brian said. “The first Saturday four of my close friend’s funerals took place in different parts all over New York, we tried to hold on to some hope, waking up each morning hoping that there was going to be news.” The funerals went on for a months, we didn’t deal with it well. Each one we went too we knew every person there, some we hadn’t known had survived until then. It was the most difficult time of my life.”
The Kennys said they don’t know how they got through those first hours, days and weeks. “Its hard to not believe in interventions” Kellie said.
She said religion is now more a part of her life. “If there is or isn’t a heaven I don’t know, but isn’t it nice to think that there is... and that they are up there looking down on us. We feel the people who died that day helped a little with our miracles,” Kellie said.
The Kennys were blessed with another miracle four years later. Kelly had been told for years she was unable to have children, “I knew I was going to be a mother, the question was only how.” The couple decided on a surrogacy. Shortly after the decision, Kellie then learned she had again beaten the odds: she was pregnant as well.
The Kennys now have a son and daughter: Maeve and Owen, named in memory of close friends the couple lost on 9/11.
The Kenny’s live on a small horse farm in Tewksbury, NJ and their two children just started kindergarten this past September. The couple has redirected their career focuses. Kellie R Kenny has left Wall Street and works from home as the director of key accounts for a company based out of Bethesda, Maryland. She is a mom no matter where she works- “It’s about giving back, not money.” Kellie said.
A few of her accounts are: Michael J Fox’s Foundation for Parkinson Research, American Red Cross National Campaign, Brigham Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Memorial Sloan Kettering, ANERA, Children’s Hospital Trust of Boston.
Brian J Kenny is a proprietary fixed income trader for Rosenthal Collins Group in Morristown, NJ.
On each anniversary of September 11 Brian and Kellie take off work and do something together. “We always sit outside and reminisce about the guys, they were the funniest group of people in the world,” Kellie said.
“Every time we get down, we just hug each other and thank god,” Brian said. This September the Kenny’s kept tradition. “We always sit outside and reminisce about the funniest guys, the best guys in the world.” Kellie said.
This year as the Kennys sat under the night sky on their New Jersey farm telling stories of life before the fall of the sparkling towers, they watched four shooting stars fly above them. “It makes it hard to believe that there isn’t a heaven.”

Cyberbullying Leads to Unfocused Learning Environment

By Elise DiNardo

EASTON – When the final class bell rings and the middle school bully is waiting by your locker with clenched fists and poisonous words, a bathroom stall is no longer a sufficient hideout.

“So much social interaction takes place in the school environment,” said Aaron Kraus, a graduate assistant professor of psychology at the University of Akron. “Today, text messaging, email, and instant messaging have replaced locker talk, lunch room conversations and the informal chatter that used to be prevalent in schools. These devices have created a viral bullying world and hostile education environments.”

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, students have a much poorer perception of their school culture and climate if they have experienced cyberbullying. In a study conducted by the Center, cyberbullying is defined as “when someone repeatedly harasses, mistreats, or makes fun of another person online or while using cell phones or other electronic devices.”

Although outlets like cell phones, Facebook, and YouTube allow for bullying to be done outside of the school environment, the effects are still prominent in the classroom. Cyberbullying effects student achievement, attendance, and overall student behavior.

“Sometimes it’s not obvious to tell just by looking if someone is being hurt by cyberbullying,” said David Fish, 16, from Bedford N.H. “But I know how hard it can be to focus on school and learn when you read a mean text from someone.”

According to a 2008 study published by the center, middle school students who have been a victim of cyberbullying give their school climate a lower rating while those who have not been bullied perceive a better learning environment. Students in grades six through nine who experienced cyberbullying generally found less enjoyment in school and felt less safe while at school.

“The thing about the Internet is that people think they can say whatever they want to you because the conversation isn’t face-to-face,” said Jessica Silva, 21, from Brockton. “Cyberbully victims are tormented by what’s being said about them even once the incident is passed, taking their focus away from education. I think schools need to be more aware of the cyberbullying distraction.”

The U.S. Department of Education has recently focused in on improving environments in public school systems. The departments’ 2010 Safe and Supportive Schools initiative is working toward advancing conditions that make schools a safer place. According to the department, cyberbullying leads to aggressive and disruptive behaviors which “create a hostile school environment and interfere with the academic performance and mental health of students who are victims or witnesses.”

If an email, social network site, or video contains hateful or threatening messages or even a seemingly mild tease, a student may have difficulty paying attention to other things,” Kraus said. “In a time where students are learning who they are and presenting an image of themselves, cyberbullying will instill the fear of a shattered reputation. Many students will not have the cognitive resources left to focus and process information presented in class.”

In 2009, the Cyberbullying Research Center surveyed 930 students ranging in age from 11 to 18 and found the following data:

- 24.2 percent of students have been a victim of cyberbullying in his/her lifetime
-18.9 percent of students have experienced some form of cyberbullying in the previous 30 days
-18.6 percent of students have cyberbullied another in his/her lifetime
- 9 percent of students have cyberbullied another in some form in the previous 30 days

“Just last month everyone at school was talking about a Facebook group that was made as a joke but ended up really hurting the girl involved,” said Allison Nixon, 17, from Bedford N.H. “The school suspended the students who created the group, but the girl didn’t come to classes for almost two weeks.”

The Department of Education recommends that all school entities implement plans and programs focused on understanding community issues and problems that students face outside of the classroom. Although cyberbullying is more difficult to detect than traditional bullying, school systems need to be aware of the effects it has on victims and on the learning environment.