YORK COUNTY, Va. — Many adults can probably remember where they were when they learned of the 9/11 attack. Students at York High School weren’t even born yet, but York High School teacher Ryan Hagerty says he remembers it like it was yesterday.
“I was at CNU in the library, at the very top," he said. "It was a nice day. We had the TVs on and we saw the first one [plane hit the World Trade Center] and then, of course, the second one.”
It’s also easy for Stevenson Tose-Rigell to remember that day. The Newport News native was in the Florida classroom that President George W. Bush was visiting when he heard about the deadly attack.
“I’ll never forget him standing there telling us that our nation has been under attack,” Tose-Rigell said.
He shared his story with students at York High School on Thursday morning.
“Once we got to the classroom, we actually saw the plane go into the building. That’s when things really set in,” he said.
His late mother, Gwen Tose-Rigell, was the principal of Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida. She invited the President to tour her school and read books with students until Bush received word of the attack that morning.
“I think for those few moments he had a chance to really collect himself and figure out what the next move was going to be,” he said.
Students at York High School were eager to hear about Gwen Tose-Rigell, who was a 1970 graduate of the high school.
“It was interesting to listen to how it impacted that day that they found out and the days following,” student Giuliana Verry said.
“The sense of fear that they could have been a target and how difficult it could have been for her,” added student Shaun Abris.
Tose-Rigell says he feels his mother’s presence when speaking about that day.
“She comes back alive every year, even though she’s gone. It’s been 13 years but I’m kind of happy these kinds of things keep on occurring," Tose-Rigell said.
It's where he can remember his mother and share her story.