Kerry: I like to point out how many people were part of the recovery process. I want them to know how many people came back day after day for months, risking their lives to help put the city back together. I think in that part of the story you see the best in people. People really showed up for one another that day.
Ella: Yeah, I agree. Resilience in the aftermath and recovery is incredibly inspiring. Putting ourselves back together — a process of rebuilding.
Kerry: What does the promise to “Never Forget” mean to you?
Ella: Remembering all of the victims and learning their personal stories. That is something I try to do as a guide.
But everyone who visits the Museum has their own emotional reactions, and they can be very different. So I think “Never Forget” means to try to hold all those experiences and beliefs in your heart all at once.
Kerry: I think it means, like you said, never to forget the people. To remember what happened to them, to keep telling their stories, and keep saying their names — make sure that they are not forgotten.
Ella Hester is a Senior Interpretive Guide in the Education Department at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Ella was born and raised in Brooklyn and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. After graduating from the University of Chicago with a BA in History and Creative Writing, she is currently finishing her Master’s in Biography and Memoir at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Kerry Pfaff is the Assistant Manager of Interpretive Programs – Docent Program at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Kerry was born and raised in Staten Island, and went to high school at Brooklyn Tech. After graduating from the University of Mary Washington with a BA in Historic Preservation, she is currently finishing up her Master’s in Urban Studies at the CUNY School for Labor and Urban Studies.