Not even a Nor’easter could keep our scholars away from New York City.
On September 25, Freedom Alliance scholarship recipients Kenna, Kross, Ja’Niayah, Noelani and Alexa traveled to New York for the annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk weekend. Staff members , Calvin Coolidge and David Coolidge went with them. Storms slowed travel across the region, but everyone arrived in good spirits and ready to connect with their fellow Freedom Alliance scholars.
Remembering at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Saturday started with coffee, breakfast, and good conversation at Zaza Diner, then a guided tour of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Because of the weather, the tour stayed indoors, overlooking the memorial sites. Our guide shared lesser-known details about how the memorial was planned and built. One that stayed with the group was “meaningful adjacencies”: victims’ names are placed next to the people they lived, worked and served alongside. It was a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made on 9/11 and in the years since. When the rain let up, the group got to see the memorial’s architecture up close.
A slice of New York (and a whole new world)
Lunch was a classic: New York pizza at Hank’s Pizza. (10/10, we recommend it!) Next the group visited Mercer Labs: Museum of Art and Technology, an immersive museum where you don’t just look at the art, you step inside it. Between the swings, floral rooms, light installations and ball pits, the students called it an “out-of-this-world” experience.
Honoring Ja’Niayah with the Richie Sheirer Award
Saturday evening, the group attended the Tunnel to Towers Annual Appreciation Dinner at Terminal 5 in Manhattan. There, our 2026 Scholarship Ambassador, Ja’Niayah, received the Richie Sheirer Award.
Each year, Tunnel to Towers gives this award to a Freedom Alliance scholarship recipient. It honors Richard “Richie” Sheirer, who directed New York City’s Office of Emergency Management on September 11, 2001. He coordinated the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, helped get the very first Tunnel to Towers run approved in 2002, and later served on the foundation’s board. The award recognizes his civic service and his devotion to young people who have faced adversity.
Congratulations, Ja’Niayah. We couldn’t be prouder of you.
Sunday morning, the group fueled up at a local deli and headed to the start line. Every one of our scholars chose to run the 5K. They retraced the route of firefighter Stephen Siller, who ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in full gear to reach the Twin Towers on 9/11. Coming out of the tunnel to see thousands of people honoring fallen first responders and service members makes the early morning worth it every year.
Thank you, Tunnel to Towers
Tunnel to Towers has been a longtime partner of Freedom Alliance, and this weekend is one of the highlights of our scholars’ year. Thank you for honoring Ja’Niayah, and for helping our students build connections that last well beyond race day.
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